Lath and plaster lime ceiling repair

Hi, I moved into a 1830's house 3 years ago. The lath and plaster ceiling in the front room in a corner has blown, only occured a year ago. The size of the area is about a meter in area, the corner is at the back of the room. We thought the reason why it cracked was due to the shower directly above, so we have not used it for a year, but it seems to be getting worse can it be repaired?

 

Easiest option will be to plasterboard and skim over the whole ceiling.

A lath and plaster ceiling will be nearing the end of its life and if you start trying to patch it up you may well end up with more problems else where and cracking when the new meets the old.

 

why has the lath & plaster ceiling "blown"?
shine a light through any cracks and look for water stains.
is the floor above stable - no movement?
no possibility of historical bathroom leaks causing rotting joists?
put a level on the FFL of the floor above and the ceiling below - look for slopes or dips.

if everything is OK so to speak, then:
carefully clear away any loose plaster,
pilot hole all the laths, & then screw the laths to joists - also drill and screw perimeter laths.
brush some water and Pva (or similar) on to the laths - do two coats.
when tacky trowel up a thin coat of plaster - let it alone for a few mins
then keep adding to it in tight trowellings.
you can tape the edges
or soak the perimeter with water only
(taking up all suction) & then skim to a feathered nothing.

 

Hi both, Tried to find leak but everything looks dry above, but without ripping out the shower above we can't really tell. Had a couple of quotes so far, do put up plaster board to cover all the ceiling and skim ranges from £650 to £2,000 ( the highest is to take down old ceiling). Makes me want to cry.

 

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