Over boarding over boarded ceiling

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 10:33

I got the expanding one of our loft hatches this morning and found that the ceiling is over boarded. We're getting the plasterer in in 2 weeks and his original plan was to over board the artex, but that would now mean it'll be tripled. I've asked for his advice too but wanted to get some other opinions here.

Loft hatch cross section:

We had the ceiling tested for asbestos before we moved in, which was a negative, but obviously didn't get this hidden layer tested. It has a pretty identical finish to the bottom layer (whispy artex) so could this be why they boarded it over?

My initial thought is to removed the bottom layer, which definitely doesn't contain any asbestos, and overboard onto the original layer as planned.

Nedved11 · 26 Apr 2015 at 12:35

That's a lot of weight on ceiling joist, with another layer on top which looks like old 3.5 x 2. Each plasterboard weighs a good 25kg. Is the ceiling that bad that it can't just be skimmed?

LeeUK · 26 Apr 2015 at 12:45

A dodgy cowboy/diy type plasterer my sister got did this once. Instead of taking the old ceiling down he just plaster boarded on top then skimmed over. And to top it off all the old unevenness and bulges were still visible on the new ceiling.

Total con job.

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 12:54

It could be skimmed yes, but either way should I take the bottom layer down, none, or both?

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 17:13

Just had this reply from my plasterer, ignore the terrible grammar etc:

it depends if they nailed the boards or screwed them has to skim over has it is . it would have to be scraped back flat.
thats a lot of hard work plus your adding more weight to it. if it was mine i would over battten then board which i did price to do. it just gives you that piece of mind. hope this helps .

Can anyone explain what he means and offer their thoughts? I think he means create new battens then board onto those, on top of what's there already? But unsure.

JBuk · 26 Apr 2015 at 17:37

He means batten over the existing ceiling (hopefully with long screws to get into the joists) then board over the batten

Personally I would remove the ceiling as the weight would concern me, batten and shim across the joists so they're nice and level then board over

mattyg · 26 Apr 2015 at 17:44

I'd just rip it down. Re board and skim. Messy but better

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 17:44

As in rip down both layers?

NoNameNoNumber · 26 Apr 2015 at 18:10

Pull the lot down and board out... Will be an infinitely better job and you'll not have to duck

JBuk · 26 Apr 2015 at 18:11

May as well yeah, then batten it perpendicular to the joists of they're a bit too warped

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 18:23

Stupid question, but will all the insulation not fall down if I do that? How do I stop if from falling down?

JBuk · 26 Apr 2015 at 19:01

Ermm

What type of insulation is it?

If its rolls of fibre wool just take it out first then relay after, or buy some new ,its not too pricey

If its the loose stuff then you may have to remove and bag it and replace later or get some new

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 19:14

Yeah it's rolled wool but it's a double pitched roof so access to one half of the bedroom ceiling is via another tiny loft hatch at the other end of the house which isn't boarded either.

Hmmm, lots of mess and will need a skip too... and get it all done before the plasterer is booked in 2 weeks. Ahh!

Participant · 26 Apr 2015 at 19:26

Are you trying to do the house up quickly and cheaply to sell, or to do a proper job for the long term?

Russinating · 26 Apr 2015 at 20:28

Both. Our original plan was to do up, sell, move on, but I think we'll be here some time yet (5 years maybe). I don't like the idea of bodging but am also weighing up mess/unleashing other issues and ease/quickness/cheapness (no skip required).

Would removing just the bottom layer be a happy medium? Not dropping all the dirt down from the attic or disturbing insulation etc but reducing the weight on the joists and amount of general bodge.

kaptainmarc · 27 Apr 2015 at 09:08

Get it down

just ripped my bathroom ceiling down and that has was the loose insulation with rolls on top

Lots of sheets down roll then roll them up after too keep the mess down

When we put the ceiling back put half the boards up put the insulation back and had it flopping over the end and then put the rest of the boards up. It was actually quite an easy job just very messy!

justalex81 · 27 Apr 2015 at 09:21

tear it all down and put new boards up. by the time he battens over the existing and puts more boards in, you'd have lost 50-75mm in ceiling height!

a1ex2001 · 27 Apr 2015 at 11:13

If it was a single old cieling I would happily have it overboarded, we've done several in our house and they all look great. When we came to the bathroom we discovered that unlike all the others someone had already overboarded the lath and plaster, we didn't want the additional weight and loss of cieling height so down it came!

It is a proper messy job but pretty quick and you have access above so at least you can sit on the joists and kick it down rather than having to pull it down on top of you! Seal the door with tape open the window wide wear a mask and get lots of rubble sacks. It won't take more than half a day but expect to be pulling black dust out of you hair for weeks!

Burned_Alive · 27 Apr 2015 at 11:30

If you do rip it down, make sure you take the necessary precautions, in terms of a proper facemask, etc. You'll create a lot of dust and it could contain asbestos.

cawill · 27 Apr 2015 at 12:31

How long does the asbestos test typically take to get a result? If you could confirm that the original artex contains no asbestos then I would take both boards down.