Ceiling advice needed please, layers of plasterboarding

[ColdSarah]

Hi there,

Our ceiling is in a bit of a state after we took down a huge ceiling rose and other bits. There's too much to repair so we thought we'd just get it skimmed.

On close inspection though the paint peels off in sheets pretty easily in places and the last skim job doesn't seem great. We've had trouble throughout the house with the paintwork on the walls which bubbles up and peels off when we've tried to paint over it. I can't imagine the plaster would stay up.

The question is though... how many layers of plasterboard can you put up? This is a 1930s bungalow and it looks as though the old lath and plaster ceiling might still be up there with a layer of plasterboard over it. Can we put more up over all that? If not, how should we deal with it?

We'll have to get up in the loft in a bit to double check and see if the old ceiling is still there.

Just out of curiosity, when a ceiling has been plasterboarded is it normal to skim the whole thing or just over the taped seams? As our current ceiling seems to have only been skimmed over the tape.

Any advice would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Sarah
(No longer cold now its July and the boiler is fixed! Ha!)

 

[ColdSarah]

Just been in the loft and the old lath and plaster ceiling is still there. It's been overboarded once already but can we overboard again?

We really don't fancy taking the old ceiling down, but we also don't want problems in a couple of years!

 

[vinn]

Yes, at a pinch, you could drive longer screws (say 2-1/2" - 3") to fix a new third ceiling up.
However:
The ceiling will now be very heavy.
What section are the loft joists?
Are all joist pipe & cable runs located?
Will the electrics extend to pick up a new central light?
Is there any cove on the walls?
Is the loft used for any activity?

 

[ColdSarah]

Thanks Vinn,

The joists are about 12" apart. I didn't measure them but I can't get into the loft without help to check!

We have found someone to help who thinks we can take one layer off... I think the whole lot will come down when we try hahaha! We can try anyway and see how it goes.

We do want to convert the loft at some point and we have bought nice wallpaper to decorate so we think it's best to sort it now rather than maybe store problems for the future.

I read one a comment on one of these threads that cleaning up in the loft beforehand reduces mess when taking down a ceiling. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it? My other half says no but I think he just doesn't want to help me do it ha!

If the lathe and plaster ceiling is original from the 1930s might there be any harmful material in there?

Many thanks,

Sarah