Plasterboard Ceiling Repair Advice

We have a property in UK that we let and part of the kitchen ceiling has come down due to water escape from the bathroom above.

The ceiling, I believe, had some polystyrene tiles on it at one time and has since been painted with textured paint and emulsion over the years.

My question is,for any current or ex plasterers, can a small patch be put up and the whole ceiling be skimmed to make it uniform again, or will any skimming put onto the previously painted surfaces not adhere properly, necessitating a complete ceiling replacement.

Hi. Clean all the area first. Repair patch if needed. Then overboard with 12.5mm plasterboard. Then skim finish.

Garry Don wrote:Hi. Clean all the area first. Repair patch if needed. Then overboard with 12.5mm plasterboard. Then skim finish.

The kitchen dimensions are 3.35m x 2.90m, if we need to overboard anyway, would it not be better to take down the whole of the old ceiling before re boarding?

First off, let me say that I'm not a plasterer!

You say that the ceiling had polystyrene tiles previously. I can't really see from the photo, but I'm assuming that these have been removed? - if not then they really do need to be removed as they are a fire hazard.
If they have been removed - which is why the textured paint was applied, then you need to be sure that the textured pain didn't contain any asbestos. Products like artex and other textured coatings used asbestos before it was banned as a way of giving the textured coating enough physical strength to stick together. If there is any asbestos in there it needs to be removed professionally before you go any further. There are plenty of companies that will do an assessment for you at a reasonable price, and you may want to have the whoile house done while you're at it. You'd be surprised at the ingenious uses they found for asbestos in the past.

Assuming that no asbestos is present, If you try to patch the hole then skim the whole ceiling to blend in then it depends on the emulsion and textured paint below as to how successful that is. You can sometimes get acceptable results skimming over existing emulsion on walls, provided that its sound, but ceilings are a different matter. Kitchen ceilings are usually worse, as they tend to have a layer of grease on them that makes it difficult for the plaster to bond.

It's actually surprisingly easy to put a new plasterboard ceiling up, provided you have the correct equipment and skills. If you went for that option then you'd get a really nice result that will be very flat and last for years. If you skim over the existing stuff then you'll end-up with something that isn't very flat and which may start shedding plaster over time.

If you want a cheap job then simply patch the hole with a fresh piece of plasterboard and try to disguise it as best you can by adding a textured coating and painting the ceiling to disguise it a bit more.

Pete.

Thank you Pete, I am trying to get a heads upon what the letting agent plans to do about it. I, like you, would prefer a complete new ceiling, installed by a professional plasterer. I do not like bodged jobs.

We have a property in UK that we let and part of the kitchen ceiling has come down due to water escape from the bathroom above.Espanabums asked...………………………….
Will your insurance company not cover that under your land lords insurance if your letting the property?

GLASSMAN wrote:We have a property in UK that we let and part of the kitchen ceiling has come down due to water escape from the bathroom above.Espanabums asked...………………………….
Will your insurance company not cover that under your land lords insurance if your letting the property?

Yes, but we have a high excess and so it probably will not be able to claim. The cost is besides the point really, I wish to know whether a patch and a total skim will be a professional job, rather than the more messy, but better in the long run, complete removal.

Espanabums wrote:

Garry Don wrote:Hi. Clean all the area first. Repair patch if needed. Then overboard with 12.5mm plasterboard. Then skim finish.

The kitchen dimensions are 3.35m x 2.90m, if we need to overboard anyway, would it not be better to take down the whole of the old ceiling before re boarding?

No need to take down the old ceiling just over board and skim as Garry Don said you would probably get away with 9mm board but the difference in price is very little this is only a days for for a good spread.

Put a piece of 12.5mm board in. Bit of bonding around the joints. Unibond whole ceiling and skim. Perfect.