Boarding over ceiling with cornice

[sjws1888]

Hi
I've got several lath and plaster ceilings with large original victorian cornice. A couple of rooms have minor cracks in ceiling but nothing significant (i.e. ceiling is not coming away from the joists).

I want to get new ceilings up as I work my way round each room but I've taken down lath and plaster ceilings before and would really rather not do it again - the dust and soot would ruin the rest of the house.
So I have read about the process of boarding over the lath and plaster ceiling with long drywall screws, I've held up an off cut of 9mm plasterboard on the ceiling and the surface is just level with the cornice (i.e. the corning would not be raised relative to the new ceiling.) I have seen that some people have got round this by then running a small piece of beading around the edge where the plasterboard meets the cornice do disguise the fact that the lip of the cornice is not visible any more.

Has any one done this before? If so I'd like to hear how it went and any tips or things to look out for - or even a photo of the finished article if anyone has one.
If anyone has done this exact process, I would really like to know, did you put the beading around where plasterboard meets cornice and then skim the ceiling, or the other way round, skim first then beading?

Cheers
Joe

 

[alan333]

I've sheeted over lath but then put up coving, so maybe I can parly help.

On the new boarding get as many screws into the joists as possible, and elsewhere screw to the lath in the middle too. Ideally cut your boards to fit at joist centres, but as this is only really practical one way make sure that all the edges have a decent fix into anything - even the lath itself. Put several in as necessary to support edges. Tape and fill the joints. Skim if you like.

In theory cornice should be removeable, perhaps by cutting along the edges. It'll probably be screwed up and pointed, rather than bedded. It would be an awkward job tho and inevitably you'd break some. If I was doing the trim edge that you suggest I'd do it after the new gyproc was up and taped/skimmed.

 

[TheVictorian]

You could remove the plaster but leave the lath, from my experience most of the filth happens when you pull the lath down..

 

[stevethespreader]

put a plaster edge bead over the edge of the board then set it back away from the cornice by an inch or so ive not done this myself but have spoken to people who have and seen their pictures once skimmed you wont see the bead, and the edge of the bead on the board then looks like part of the profile of the cornice, i was once on a job where they boarded right to the cornice on a 75m2 ceiling and it looked terrible , but setting the board back away from the cornice by an inch or so or what ever it takes to match the profile looks much better heres a link to what a plaster edge bead is in case you are wonder what that is http://www.buildingmaterials.co.uk/...ngth-3000mm/?gclid=CK2Do4HnlbcCFRLLtAodoT4APg

 

[Shawsy]

Steve the Spreader has got it 100% correct , that's exactly the way I would do it as well .

 

[sjws1888]

Thanks for all the replys.

So I just want to check this I've undersood stevethespreader's suggested approach - so I board over the ceiling and the plasterboard is cut an inch short of coming right up the cornice, and has a plaserboard edge bead all around the edge. This is then skimmed.
Did I get that right?
If so when the ceiling is skimmed, I assume that the inch or so gap between plasterboard and cornice does not get skimmed (so the original ceiling is still visible in that gap). Sorry for asking stupid questions - just want to check that I've understood properly.

I don't suppose anyone would have a photo of a ceiling where this has been done?

Cheers.

 

[stevethespreader]

Thanks for all the replys.

So I just want to check this I've undersood stevethespreader's suggested approach - so I board over the ceiling and the plasterboard is cut an inch short of coming right up the cornice, and has a plaserboard edge bead all around the edge. This is then skimmed.
Did I get that right?
If so when the ceiling is skimmed, I assume that the inch or so gap between plasterboard and cornice does not get skimmed (so the original ceiling is still visible in that gap). Sorry for asking stupid questions - just want to check that I've understood properly.

I don't suppose anyone would have a photo of a ceiling where this has been done?

Cheers.

yep thats pretty much it the inch or so gap does not get skimmed once all painted it looks like part of the pattern of the cornice, it will be hard to get a pic of this unless someone on here has one

 

[dann09]

Good call steve.

sjws,

steve is not saying to cut an inch off the edge of the board, merely set the edge bead on the board and then offer the board up, keeping it one inch (25mm) from the cornice/coving.

AAMOI: With respect, dont ever try to pick out the plaster from the lath across a whole ceiling.
And dont ever screw up to the lath when its not over a joist, sods law that you hit a loose cable in the joist bay.
Either, totally remove the lath and plaster, or board over it.

sjws, there are no stupid questions.

 

[trowelup]

yep thats pretty much it the inch or so gap does not get skimmed once all painted it looks like part of the pattern of the cornice, it will be hard to get a pic of this unless someone on here has one

I know this is ancient, sorry for the necro. Would this work with 2.2m ceilings and standard/simple coving? I have artex on every ceiling, and there's so much needing done to this flat that testing for asbestos is so far down on the list and completely unaffordable to fix professionally.

I've skimmed the walls in the two small bedrooms (doing a wall at a time lol) and the livingroom on the wall with the chimney breast. The first attempts will need redone as they look like the surface of the moon when a torch is shone over it. The last attempts are nowhere near professional looking but I can live with it being mindful of lighting and decorating. Before I learned about asbestos I scraped the livingroom wall and chimney then skimmed it. I didn't think much of it till my granda died of mesothelioma a couple of years ago. He told us a stories about him and the other tradesmen jumping in piles of powdered asbestos when plumbing the ships being built on the Clyde. Was in his 90s so hoping I run as good after scraping one wall

I also have a long hallway (9 meters) with medusa finger artex on the walls that I know for certain was done in the 80s so pretty confident that will have asbestos. The hall is very narrow , I initially was going to dot and dab with 6mm plasterboard but can't find any info on using that thickness for anything but doing arches, etc. Should I overboard, plaster over it or scrape it off like the living room then skim?

I'd get a plasterer if I could afford it but it's tight atm. Cheers

TLDR; Should I overboard the ceiling up to the last inch of the ceilings or skim the artex ceilings that don't contain asbestos. Should I overboard or skim the medusa finger artex in the hallway that more than likely contains asbestos?