Part of ceiling collapsed

JimboEvans · 1 Jun 2012

Part of our ceiling collapsed on Tuesday morning.

Untitled

JimboEvans
1 Jun 2012
1

As you can see from the picture it is an oval shape. It is about 2m long by 1m wide and 3/4" thick.

I have done a few minor repairs before using plasterboard, then used skim plaster to cover the surface, but have not attempted anything this big.

Q1) Should I cut the plasterboard to fit the oval shape or remove existing plaster from the ceiling so that I end up with a rectangular shape into which the plaster board would fit?

Q2) What is the best tool for cutting plasterboard?

Q3) What is the best tool for cutting the existing plaster to a depth of 3/4"?

Q4) What is the best plasterboard to use for a ceiling (we have a Wickes nearby) ?

Q5) Any other tips?

Many thanks,
Jimbo

PrenticeBoyofDerry · 1 Jun 2012

JimboEvans said:
Q1) Should I cut the plasterboard to fit the oval shape or remove existing plaster from the ceiling so that I end up with a rectangular shape into which the plaster board would fit?

Always cut repairs square/rectangle

JimboEvans said:
Q2) What is the best tool for cutting plasterboard?

Stanley Knife or drywall saw.

JimboEvans said:
Q3) What is the best tool for cutting the existing plaster to a depth of 3/4"?

You wont find a tool that will cut plaster to a required depth, the depth of the plaster is what its is.

You will need to use plasterboard/plaster to bring the repair to the required level of the existing ceiling.

JimboEvans said:
Q4) What is the best plasterboard to use for a ceiling (we have a Wickes nearby) ?

You need to measure the depth you have, add on 3-5mm for plaster finish then buy a the appropriate board.
For example you stated 3/4 inch, that's approx 19mm, you can buy 15mm boards but not from Wickes, standard depths are 9.5mm and 12.5mm.
So I would suggest going with the 12.5mm and a good covering of skim or a bit of packing out.

JimboEvans said:
Q5) Any other tips?

If the lathe is in good condition you could base coat and skim finish.
But saying all that, you will probably find that the whole ceiling is ready to fail and as soon as you start working around that area other bits will drop. So I would actually rip the lot down and put a new ceiling up!

cotswoldbuilders · 1 Jun 2012

You could board it, then bring out near to level with bonding then skim, or just bonding and skim.
By looking at the photo you could be wasting your time, more might come down.
Its a messy job but Id take the lot down, new board and skim.

Filo · 4 Jun 2012

I would n`t take the lot down, far too messy and dusty, overboard the whole ceiling and get it plastered

tim00 · 4 Jun 2012

My two cents go with overboarding, but first a couple of Q's:

1. what's above the ceiling - bedroom, bathroom, loft?
2. are the joists steady - dont lift or wobble?
3. you have some kind of coving, can you post a pic of it?
4. why did it "fall down"?

1john · 4 Jun 2012

If you start removing more of that then it more than likely will come down. You need to ask yourself if a 2m2 section came down of its own accord how well is the rest of it stuck up there?

griddrunner · 4 Jun 2012

Was there cracks there before it fell?
are there cracks on the rest of the ceiling?

PrenticeBoyofDerry · 5 Jun 2012

My two cent go with doing the job right first time round, regardless of mess.
"Rip it down and start again" (sounds like the words to a song?)

JimboEvans · 5 Jun 2012

Many thanks for you all for your replies. Here are some further details:

There was a long crack down the centre and the ceiling began to sag on either side of the crack. I meant to fix the crack, but have been in hospital for the last month, so it did not get done.

There is a bedroom above and the TV can now easily be heard in the bedroom! There is Victorian coving surrounding the ceiling.

There are no other cracks on the ceiling and no further plaster has fallen down over the last week.

I thought I would reinforce the perimeter of the plaster, with this:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/154902

AND following a procedure like this:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/video/0,,1630910,00.html

Then I would buy some sound proof 12.5mm plasterboard (15mm is too difficult to find):
http://www.wickes.co.uk/soundshield-plasterboard/invt/224657/

Cut it to fit the shape using one of these:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/red-plastic-wallplugs/invt/500581/

and screw in position using drywall phosphate screws into the joists.

Then skim plaster: http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/600243

Any thoughts?

Mikefromlondon · 6 Jun 2012

Thats a Diamond patch you have! Is this your way of celebrating a Dimond Jubilee?

You should not have any problems as long as the rest of your ceiling has a good adhesion, I can't see any problems even if you were to use ordinary screws to hold the good bit of ceiling in around the perimeter, use a small drill first so that the screws don't split the old ceiling and using very light pressure (lowest torque) so that the screws just bite flush with the old ceiling, may be a little recessed, use small size 6 screws about an inch long, beware of any electrical wiring running inside.

Screw every 8" or so apart around the perimeter, and well away from the edge, not too close to the edge or it will split up. Or use that large washers as suggested in your link and in that video, sounds a good solution, replacing the whole ceiling means you are going to loose your traditional coving, which you want to avoid at all costs.

JimboEvans · 7 Jun 2012

I've ordered all the things I need. I've even found some 15mm plasterboard. What I can not find in the UK are Plaster Washer/Ceiling Buttons. If I lived in the US it would be easy:

http://www.kilianhardware.com/ceilbutplasw.html

I'd rather not wait that long. Does anyone know of anywhere in the UK I can get them? I've tried searching on Google. I've Amazon,Ebay, Screw Fix, Builders suppliers, Wickes, B & Q.

However, I'd rather not wait for them to be delivered from the US.

Are they called something else in the UK? Does any one know where I can get them from.

Many thanks

Mikefromlondon · 7 Jun 2012

The nearest we have to these is the clout nails, used for ceilings and roofing felts, but builders use ordinary screws that does the job fairly well, as long as you don't go made with the drill torqe, don't push screws too deep into the bords, just flush would be nice.

As for the old ceiling if you need to reinforce its anchorage using screws, do be carefull so as to not start sgredding it to bits as you dig screws into it, every few inches around the perimeter and a few in other places to hold it up, use a pilot drill first as you would also feel if the screws are going to be screwed into those wooden ribs behind the old plaster.

joe-90 · 7 Jun 2012

Just use plasterboard/drywall screws.

Are you sure 15mm isn't to fat to fit?

phatboy · 9 Jun 2012

Those washers look very similar to Wediboard washers, so you could probably use those instead? They are widely available.....

phatboy · 9 Jun 2012

Those washers look very similar to Wediboard washers, so you could probably use those instead? They are widely available.....

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Part of ceiling collapsed

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