Ceiling replacement
Author
Discussion

Parrot of Doom

Original Poster:

23,075 posts

258 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
Can anyone offer a rough opinion as to the average cost of employing a plasterer/builder to replace an old bedroom ceiling? About 12x10 foot. The old lath/plaster ceiling is falling down. I'd thought of building a suspended ceiling but wanted options before I made a decision.

Busamav

2,954 posts

232 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
take the old one down and clear from site , new plasterboard and skim 250 - £300

Parrot of Doom

Original Poster:

23,075 posts

258 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
So worth doing then. I'd priced up a suspended ceiling and to do that isn't much cheaper.

cjs

11,487 posts

275 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
It will make one hell of a mess, better off screwing new plasterboard over the existing ceiling, then tape and skim. Price above about right.

motco

17,387 posts

270 months

Friday 11th February 2011
quotequote all
Clipso stretch ceiling Easy DiY job but the materials quite pricey. Result is superb.

mrmaggit

10,146 posts

272 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
cjs said:
It will make one hell of a mess, better off screwing new plasterboard over the existing ceiling, then tape and skim. Price above about right.
+1, do it this way.

ianreeves

259 posts

228 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
Having this done as part of our kitchen replacement. Area is 5m square. Cost to overboard and skim £300.


Spudler

3,985 posts

220 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
mrmaggit said:
cjs said:
It will make one hell of a mess, better off screwing new plasterboard over the existing ceiling, then tape and skim. Price above about right.
+1, do it this way.
Bodge.


Only way is as Busamav suggestion.

mrmaggit

10,146 posts

272 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
Spudler said:
Bodge.


Only way is as Busamav suggestion.
Either is acceptable, one makes less mess.

Spudler

3,985 posts

220 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
mrmaggit said:
Either is acceptable.
Maybe to someone sat in an office.

mrmaggit

10,146 posts

272 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
Right.

To reply to Spudler.

Technically, Busamav is correct. You should remove all traces of the existing ceiling, laths, plaster, nails, bits of mortar and all sort of crap that has fallen on the ceiling in the past, re-board and reskim.

Trouble with this is that unless the ceiling is absolutely, totally knackered; (and even if it isn't) you'll generate piles of rubbish to remove, and have dust all over everywhere as well, and then still have to re-board.

Overboarding removes the need for most of the dust and mess, and in most cases you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Having done both ways, I know which one I'd be looking at doing unless I couldn't avoid it.

But in the end, it's up to whoever is having the job done, and what suits them best.

Regards.

Deva Link

26,934 posts

269 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
£250-£300 sounds OK to board, tape and skim. But to take the old one down and clear it as well? If it's a proper firm it'll cost them to dispose of it.

Busamav

2,954 posts

232 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
I only suggested take it down as the OP mentioned parts of the existing were already falling down.

We have some rooms with totally new ceilings and others where we have overboarded and skimmed , all depending on the state of the existing .

It does make a mess , but it is the right way to do it , you then get a chance to fill the void with dense quilt to stop noise transfer to possible bedrooms above .

In fact one of the ceilings we removed , was to assist with the rewire and placement of new sockets in the bedroom above .

mk1fan

10,856 posts

249 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
I always take down the existing and replace with new.

But then again I'm prepared for and accept the work involved.

Removing of the old ceiling is dead easy and so the OP could do this prepwork ahead of getting the tradesman in to fit the new plaster ceiling.

Fatboy

8,257 posts

296 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
mrmaggit said:
Right.

To reply to Spudler.

Technically, Busamav is correct. You should remove all traces of the existing ceiling, laths, plaster, nails, bits of mortar and all sort of crap that has fallen on the ceiling in the past, re-board and reskim.

Trouble with this is that unless the ceiling is absolutely, totally knackered; (and even if it isn't) you'll generate piles of rubbish to remove, and have dust all over everywhere as well, and then still have to re-board.

Overboarding removes the need for most of the dust and mess, and in most cases you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Having done both ways, I know which one I'd be looking at doing unless I couldn't avoid it.

But in the end, it's up to whoever is having the job done, and what suits them best.

Regards.
Having done the all down and replace, it is really bloody messy - overboarding is OK, just be careful to check it hasn't been done before, as you can end up putting a bit too much weight in the ceiling, but you'dprobably need to overboard a couple of times before it became a problem smile

cjs

11,487 posts

275 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
Busamav said:
I only suggested take it down as the OP mentioned parts of the existing were already falling down.

We have some rooms with totally new ceilings and others where we have overboarded and skimmed , all depending on the state of the existing .

It does make a mess , but it is the right way to do it , you then get a chance to fill the void with dense quilt to stop noise transfer to possible bedrooms above .

In fact one of the ceilings we removed , was to assist with the rewire and placement of new sockets in the bedroom above .
Overboarding also stops noise, another benefit.

Parrot of Doom

Original Poster:

23,075 posts

258 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
I'm not bothered about the mess, I just want the best solution really. The ceiling will come down in about 30 minutes, guaranteed. There isn't much holding it up. The lats will take longer to remove, if required.

Wings

5,935 posts

239 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
cjs said:
It will make one hell of a mess, better off screwing new plasterboard over the existing ceiling, then tape and skim. Price above about right.
Agree, did the same on an old lath & plaster ceiling, just means for the OP to find the beams, take off worse of the lath & plaster, fix plasterboard and skim over.

Wings

5,935 posts

239 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
cjs said:
It will make one hell of a mess, better off screwing new plasterboard over the existing ceiling, then tape and skim. Price above about right.
Agree, did the same on an old lath & plaster ceiling, just means for the OP to find the beams, take off worse of the lath & plaster, fix plasterboard and skim over.

Mr GrimNasty

8,172 posts

194 months

Saturday 12th February 2011
quotequote all
There is no 'technically correct' answer! Just the solution that you prefer or the solution that the condition of the lath and plaster dictates. Another reason NOT to take down the old ceiling is that the lath and plaster may be disguising very uneven joists, such that the ceiling will look like a sea with plasterboard, so that will create even more work on top of the mess.