Lath and Plaster Ceiling Repair in Essex

How a lath and plaster ceiling fails

A lath and plaster ceiling is built from thin wooden strips nailed to the joists, with plaster pushed between them so it keys over the back of each lath. The ceiling stays up because of those keys. Age, vibration from the floor above and past leaks all weaken them, and once enough keys break the plaster hangs from the laths rather than bonding to them. That is the stage where a ceiling can drop without much warning.

The signs are worth knowing: cracking that follows straight lines across the room, a ceiling that moves or sounds hollow when pressed gently, sagging between the joists, and fine plaster dust appearing on furniture below. Any of those deserves a look before it gets worse.

Repair, overboard or replace

There are three honest options, and the right one depends on how much of the ceiling is still sound:

• Patch repair: loose areas are cut back to firm plaster, the laths are checked and the area is reboarded and skimmed to blend in
• Overboarding: new plasterboard is screwed through the old ceiling to the joists, then taped and skimmed, sealing the old plaster in place
• Full replacement: the old laths and plaster come down and a new plasterboard ceiling is fitted and skimmed

How we decide which your ceiling needs

At the visit we press and tap the ceiling to map where the plaster has separated, and check the moisture history, because a ceiling that has been wet is weaker than a dry one of the same age. A ceiling that is sound except for one damaged area is patched. A ceiling that is generally tired but still attached is usually overboarded, which avoids the mess and disposal of a full strip. A ceiling that is loose across most of its area is safer replaced, and we will say so plainly rather than patch something that will fail later.

Where the damage comes from a leak that has not been dealt with, the cause is fixed first: our ceiling and leak damage repairs page covers that sequence. For smaller cracks and holes, our ceiling repair page explains the patching work, and the plaster ceiling repair guide compares the options in more detail.

Working in an older, occupied home

Lath and plaster comes down dusty, and older homes often have coving, ceiling roses and cornice worth keeping. Where a ceiling is replaced we sheet the room fully, keep the dust contained as far as we can and clean up at the end of each day. Original mouldings can sometimes be taken down and refitted, and we will tell you at the visit whether yours are likely to survive.

All of this sits within our wider plastering service, and the finish is skimmed ready for a mist coat once dry.