When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

On Friday, 29 January 2021 at 08:37:48 UTC, wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

Our bungalow when we moved in had polystyrene coving I have removed it from all but one room so far. A good scraper easily removes the coving the harder task is removing the adhesive. With judicious water spraying I found out that the adhesive will scrape off but it needs a bit of time spent doing it.

Derek wrote:

When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint
if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

If you can get through the layers of paint, I suspect acetone would
dissolve it, but still leave a mess such that you'd want to get it
skimmed or overboard it with more plasterboard.

On 29/01/2021 09:26, Tricky Dicky wrote:
On Friday, 29 January 2021 at 08:37:48 UTC, wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

Our bungalow when we moved in had polystyrene coving I have removed it from all but one room so far. A good scraper easily removes the coving the harder task is removing the adhesive. With judicious water spraying I found out that the adhesive will scrape off but it needs a bit of time spent doing it.

I cannot guess what the ceiling polystyrene is adhered with but it sounds like the stuff that was pasted on walls before over - papering in an effort to €œinsulate€� the walls, if it is then likely it will have been stuck on with wallpaper paste.

I have seen the rolls of very thin polystyrene (about 3mm) just stuck
with normal wallpaper paste.

On 29/01/2021 08:37, Derek wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.


Was this polystyrene from a previous owner or was your house a new
build? Polystyrene tiles and "On a Roll" were popular in the 70s/80s
often in an attempt to hide cracked ceilings.

It is easy to remove with a scraper but what may be more difficult is
the fixing material. With luck, a polystyrene roll was probably stuck
to the ceiling with a strong wall-paper paste and after scraping off the
polystyrene repeated washing with water and sponge will remove the paste
Tiles are often struck down with a polystyrene tile "cement" which on
some ceiling surfaces can also be scraped off fairly easily - but with a
lot more effort. As others have said the cement may also be water soluble.

While it is a good idea to remove polystyrene from a ceiling as it is a
problem if you have a fire consider also in what condition the ceiling
may be underneath the polystyrene. To get a decent ceiling surface you
may have to get it skimmed or over-boarded and skimmed. If the latter
probably over-board the polystyrene.

Where polystyrene is easy to get off I have used a 4 inch scraper
https://www.screwfix.com/p/heavy-duty-scraper-4/16530

but for more difficult installations a smaller scraper can work better,
especially when after removing the polystyrene the "cement" remains
stuck to the ceiling.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsen...iece-set/20018.



--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In article , Steve Walker
wrote:
On 29/01/2021 09:26, Tricky Dicky wrote:
On Friday, 29 January 2021 at 08:37:48 UTC, wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if
ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

Our bungalow when we moved in had polystyrene coving I have removed it
from all but one room so far. A good scraper easily removes the coving
the harder task is removing the adhesive. With judicious water spraying
I found out that the adhesive will scrape off but it needs a bit of
time spent doing it.

I cannot guess what the ceiling polystyrene is adhered with but it
sounds like the stuff that was pasted on walls before over - papering
in an effort to ”insulate• the walls, if it is then likely it will have
been stuck on with wallpaper paste.

I have seen the rolls of very thin polystyrene (about 3mm) just stuck
with normal wallpaper paste.

I'm sure that what I used - but it was over 40 years ago.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

On 29/01/2021 09:26, Andy Burns wrote:
Derek wrote:

When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint
if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

If you can get through the layers of paint, I suspect acetone would
dissolve it, but still leave a mess such that you'd want to get it
skimmed or overboard it with more plasterboard.


No need for any chemicals - you will be able to scrape it off
irrespective of top levels of paint. Polystyrene is so weak that
mechanical means that it should come off easily. The trick is to get a
small area cleared first so that you can run your scraper against the
original surface of the ceiling - underneath the polystyrene layer.



--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 29/01/2021 10:36, alan_m wrote:
On 29/01/2021 08:37, Derek wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if
ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.


Was this polystyrene from a previous owner or was your house a new
build?Â* Polystyrene tiles and "On a Roll" were popular in the 70s/80s
often in an attempt to hide cracked ceilings.

Kotina was the brand name IIRC


It is easy to remove with a scraper but what may be more difficult is
the fixing material.Â* With luck, a polystyrene roll was probably stuck
to the ceiling with a strong wall-paper paste and after scraping off the
polystyrene repeated washing with water and sponge will remove the paste
Â*Tiles are often struck down with a polystyrene tile "cement" which on
some ceiling surfaces can also be scraped off fairly easily - but with a
lot more effort. As others have said the cement may also be water soluble.

kotina was applied with thick wallpaper paste


While it is a good idea to remove polystyrene from a ceiling as it is a
problem if you have a fire consider also in what condition the ceiling
may be underneath the polystyrene. To get a decent ceiling surface you
may have to get it skimmed or over-boarded and skimmed. If the latter
probably over-board the polystyrene.

Where polystyrene is easy to get off I have used a 4 inch scraper
https://www.screwfix.com/p/heavy-duty-scraper-4/16530

but for more difficult installations a smaller scraper can work better,
especially when after removing the polystyrene the "cement" remains
stuck to the ceiling.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsen...iece-set/20018.





--
Climate Change: Socialism wearing a lab coat.

On 29/01/2021 08:37, Derek wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint
if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

It is almost certainly expanded polystyrene and at that vintage entirely
without any kind of fire inhibitor in it. Removing it is sensible.

It has almost no physical strength and will shed small spheres
everywhere at the slightest provocation.
You will find out why they covered the ceiling with it afterwards
probably loads of cracks in the old plaster. Replastering a ceiling well
is a job for experts - DIY amateurs will struggle to make it stay up.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 29/01/2021 10:39, charles wrote:
In article , Steve Walker
wrote:
On 29/01/2021 09:26, Tricky Dicky wrote:
On Friday, 29 January 2021 at 08:37:48 UTC, wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if
ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

Our bungalow when we moved in had polystyrene coving I have removed it
from all but one room so far. A good scraper easily removes the coving
the harder task is removing the adhesive. With judicious water spraying
I found out that the adhesive will scrape off but it needs a bit of
time spent doing it.

I cannot guess what the ceiling polystyrene is adhered with but it
sounds like the stuff that was pasted on walls before over - papering
in an effort to €�insulate€¢ the walls, if it is then likely it will have
been stuck on with wallpaper paste.

I have seen the rolls of very thin polystyrene (about 3mm) just stuck
with normal wallpaper paste.

I'm sure that what I used - but it was over 40 years ago.


Very common in the 1970's. My bedroom in a shared flat had
this stuff all over the walls to 'keep out' penetrating damp
during winter driving rain.

And a paraffin stove for heating ...

On 29/01/2021 08:37, Derek wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

just don't paint it whatever you do....

I have it on some outside walls. It was just put there with ordinary thick
paste at the time. There was also some wall and ceiling paper made from it,
but thinner, not recall the name, Novamura or something like it.
It absorbs paint like a sponge though.
Brian

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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Derek" wrote in message
...
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of wallpaper
and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like all the
pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if ceiling gets dirty
from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this material? I would like to
remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone ever removed this and is it
hard to remove. There is also polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

Yes, I remember seeing somebody show it was not flamable, it has some stuff
in it that makes it kind of shrivel up and end up like little ball bearings,
but certainly we put it up with thick wallpaper paste and its still up now.
Brian

--

This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
On 29/01/2021 09:26, Tricky Dicky wrote:
On Friday, 29 January 2021 at 08:37:48 UTC, wrote:
When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks like
all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint if
ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has anyone
ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also polystyrene?
coving round the walls as well.

Our bungalow when we moved in had polystyrene coving I have removed it
from all but one room so far. A good scraper easily removes the coving
the harder task is removing the adhesive. With judicious water spraying I
found out that the adhesive will scrape off but it needs a bit of time
spent doing it.

I cannot guess what the ceiling polystyrene is adhered with but it sounds
like the stuff that was pasted on walls before over - papering in an
effort to "insulate" the walls, if it is then likely it will have been
stuck on with wallpaper paste.

I have seen the rolls of very thin polystyrene (about 3mm) just stuck with
normal wallpaper paste.

On 29/01/2021 10:50, alan_m wrote:
On 29/01/2021 09:26, Andy Burns wrote:
Derek wrote:

When I moved into my house in 1975 all the ceilings were done with
polystyrene type materia.It was about the same width as a roll of
wallpaper and must have came in rolls. When you look up at it looks
like all the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is very hard to paint
if ceiling gets dirty from smoke. Does anyone know the name of this
material? I would like to remove it but am afraid to start . Has
anyone ever removed this and is it hard to remove. There is also
polystyrene? coving round the walls as well.

If you can get through the layers of paint, I suspect acetone would
dissolve it, but still leave a mess such that you'd want to get it
skimmed or overboard it with more plasterboard.


No need for any chemicals - you will be able to scrape it off
irrespective of top levels of paint. Polystyrene is so weak that
mechanical means that it should come off easily. The trick is to get a
small area cleared first so that you can run your scraper against the
original surface of the ceiling - underneath the polystyrene layer.



+1. 3 inch or wider flexible "filling blade" should make light work of
it. (The old fashioned type with a central handle is better than the
modern rectangular sort).