If you do decide to remove a lath and plaster ceiling, be prepared for lots of mess and make sure to clear the spaces below to avoid them becoming covered in debris and dust. If you live in a listed property, you will need to consult with your conservation officer before making any changes to your ceiling. It is also a great way of plastering more intricate or curved sections of ceiling as it is more flexible - some experts also say it can prevent the spread of fire for longer than modern plaster walls. It has great soundproofing qualities and tends to offer better insulation than modern plasterboard, although this will obviously depend on the type of plasterboard you use. (Image credit: Getty) Should I Remove Lath and Plaster Ceilings?īefore removing the entire lath and plaster ceiling to replace it with modern plaster and plasterboard it is important to take a few things into consideration.įirstly, lath and plaster does have its benefits. Extra support can be provided with new battens between the joists and damaged laths can be cut out and replaced with new ones. If laths have come loose, sound ones can be fixed to the joists using screws with wide washers. Whether or not you decide to attempt repair on a DIY basis is up to you - if only a small area of the ceiling is damaged, you might be able to make a patch repair, while larger areas will really benefit from the skills of a plasterer well-versed in traditional plastering methods. While patch repair will be a far cheaper option than total replacement, if more than a third of the ceiling has failed, it is generally advised that replacement will be the most sensible option. In these cases, you will need to decide between repairing old ceilings or replacing them entirely with a modern plasterboard. However, in some instances, these could be a warning sign that the plasterwork has begun to come away from the lath and, if you have taken on a property in a bad state of repair, you might find sections of plasterwork that have already fallen away from the ceiling. In some cases, small cracks or a little unevenness may be nothing to worry about- in fact lath and plaster ceilings are naturally a little uneven. While none of these necessarily point to a huge issue, they may well be signs that a little maintenance or further investigation is required. While they can last hundreds of years, it is not uncommon to find old lath and plaster ceilings requiring a little repair work in renovation projects.Ĭheck your ceiling for sections that look as though they are uneven or sagging and be on the lookout for cracks too. (Image credit: Simon Maxwell) How Can I Repair a Lath and Plaster Ceiling? Do not cut through any wires.In addition to enhancing historic interiors, lath and plaster is chunkier and has better soundproofing qualities than modern plasterboard. If you're not skilled in electrical work, this is the job of an electrician. If there's wiring in the wall, you'll need to reroute this wiring to above or below the opening. If you're creating a complete opening to another room and have determined you don't have any weight-bearing walls, then you can use the reciprocating saw to cut the studs in the wall. Continue until all lathing has been removed. Remove all nails from the studs as you go and drop them into an old can so you know where they are and won't step on one. Use your pry bar to hook under the lath strips that are exposed and pull them away from the studs to which they're nailed. If you are opening an entire area, like to create a doorway, then do the other side of the wall. Keep hitting the plaster with the hammer until it is all broken up and falling from the lath. Using your hammer, hit the plaster hard enough to crack it and start it to crumble. Turn off the electricity to that area at your breaker box or fuse box so if there's wiring in the wall you won't run the risk of electrical shock. Make First Hitsĭetermine the exact area you want to remove and mark it with a pencil or chalk. Turn off the fans on your air conditioner or furnace also. You may also want to use plastic drop cloths to seal off doorways to other rooms so the dust won't travel to other parts of the house. It would also be wise to move as much furniture and accessories as possible from the room to a safer spot, or to at least cover them with drop cloths. Put down your drop cloths to protect your floors because this is a very messy, dusty, dirty project. If you're removing part of a wall to install a door, half wall, breakfast bar, or pass-thru, you'll be fine. This may be more of a job than you can take on, so you may want to hire a contractor. If you are removing a load-bearing wall, you need to be skilled enough to build a header to support the weight of the rafters and roof above.
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