Ceiling sprayed/painted/papered on?

[LaQueSabe]

Water damage is causing this to come away from my ceiling. I'm concerned about what kind of ceiling it is, and wondering if any experts might have a better clue than me? (I know it's a state!)

Thanks

 

[footprints]

Looks like painted woodchip paper to me.
The ceiling is either plasterboard skimmed or in an older house lath and plaster.
Looks pretty poor might be worth getting a quote to re-board and skim it, a lot less messy than pulling the old one down.

 

[LaQueSabe]

Hi Footprints, thanks for your reply. It is a huge mess and horrible eyesore (I think grass growing in guttering has caused water to collect and cause this damage). It is an old house, so possibly lath and plaster...

Thank you!

 

[Tigercubrider]

Looks like old painted wood chip to me. I removed a ton of it and it's like leather if 20-30 years old and painted every 5 years. A cheap steamer helps get it off with minimal damage to the ceiling- then you can see how bad the plaster is.

 

[LaQueSabe]

Thanks, Tigercubrider. Yeah, I have a feeling if I'm too rough with it the whole ceiling will just crumble!

 

[Johnny Allround]

It’s definitely woodchip. Steamer will take you back to the original plaster, it’s then a decision on how you want to progress . Strip the whole room and have it reskimmed .

 

[Tigercubrider]

So long as you use common sense with the steamer, the plaster should hold up.
I would do it before any hot spell as it's horrible work mid summer

 

[Lower]

Just make sure you don't hold the steamer in one place for too long, which is tempting when the woodchip is covered in years and years of paint. Too much steam can cause the skim coat to separate from the layer beneath it.

 

[Johnny Allround]

It’s horrible work anytime!

 

[opps]

I'd be tempted to leave the paper where it is and just overboard. Removing paper from ceilings is far more work than removing it from walls.

Lath and plaster ceilings eventually collapse when the nibs poking through the laths start to break down (especially when subjected to rain water over a prolonged period).