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January 11, 2008
Ceiling Tiles
I own an attached brick home built in 1910. All of the ceilings have ceiling tiles that have been painted over many times. Could this have been done at some point to hide crumbling plaster? If and when I decide to remove these tiles would I have to sheetrock the ceiling. The house has been pretty well maintained so I'm assuming there must have been a good reason to put these ugly tiles up in the first place. Any ideas?
Comments
People tended to put those ceiling tiles up to avoid fixing damage caused by a prior water leak or some other issue. Chances are, there is something those tiles are hiding. But I imagine it must have had some visual appeal at some stage so you may find that there is nothing wrong with the ceiling. The only way to know for sure is to rip them down and look.
FYI: Old ceiling tiles may contain asbestos and the paint may contain lead. Be careful!
Posted by: Mrs. Limestone at January 11, 2008 3:47 PM
Our house had horrible ceiling tiles on 2 of hte 3 floors. On the 3rd fl it covered a rotted out ceiling, on both floors, it covered shoddy electrics.
I'm convinced at one time there's one contractor that made a mint ruining Greenpoint, putting in tacky ceiling tiles, wall panels and vinyl siding everywhere.
Posted by: guest at January 11, 2008 3:52 PM
I'd assume there were some problems with the ceiling for anyone to spend to put up tiles.
Definitely have a qualified lab do testing on a sample BEFORE you start pulling any down. If there is asbestos in it (and ceiling tiles often did contain asbestos), you likely want to hire a certified asbestos removal contractor to take it down and dispose of it.
Posted by: guest at January 11, 2008 4:29 PM
to hide electrical, plumbing or ductwork...
Posted by: guest at January 11, 2008 4:32 PM
Thanks for the responses. I had no idea that they might contain asbestos. The house was owned by one family since it was built and has been very well maintained so I'm not afraid the tiles are hiding shoddy work. I think, unfortunately, at some point in time these ceiling tiles were in style and not considered tacky.
Posted by: guest at January 11, 2008 4:35 PM
I think the tiles are there because it was a quick fix to hide crumbling plaster. Old plaster ceilings always need work. Most old houses I've seen have had plaster repair to their ceilings. Those tiles were a cheap "do it yourself" way to fix your ceiling without spending much money to have a plaster guy skim coat the ceilings. I'm sure it was done cheap and fast. If you're lucky they are just nailed to the ceiling or 1x2s. If they're glued it's going to be a larger job. Good Luck!
Posted by: Rick at January 11, 2008 5:43 PM
Rick, Unfortunately I do think they are glued. These tiles are the least of my problems right now but they do bug me and will have to eventually be addressed. At least there's no paneling in the house. lol
Thanks for all the responses.
Posted by: guest at January 11, 2008 6:39 PM
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