Repair cracked plaster ceiling or just drywall over of it?

When we renovated, we did a real skimcoat to preserve the plaster in the LR, we did a light skim over sheetrock in the DR, and sheetrock upstairs in the BRs. You can see and feel the difference. Paster definitely classier.

slopefarm

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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petp | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Whats the general consensus for fixing old plaster ceilings; drywall over it?, or skimcoat it (ie; scrape it, plasterweld, fiber mesh, setting compound, then joint compound)?

Ceiling isnt in horrible shape, but its old, has peeling paint, some (not huge) cracks and unevenness/alligator skin from past repairs. Would like to get it perfectly flat and have it stay flat for years.

Will skimcoating crack again a couple of years down the road? There are other apartments on the bottom floors whose ceilings have been drywalled and theyre pretty much still perfect 15+ years later.

To complicate things;
1) electrical will be replaced eventually so dont think drywall now will be a good idea. but….
2.) its the top floor of a small apartment building. one of the old-timers on my block told me its not a good idea to drywall the top ceiling since in the event of a roof leak you wont catch it till its too late.
3.) but since its the top floor, it could probably use the added (if little) insulation that drywall would provide.

Any suggestions?
Thanks!

cking047 | 8 years and 2 months ago

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You can use a plaster washer and long screw to fix old ceiling back to original timber beams.
This stops movement on ceiling before you plasterweld,fiber mesh and plaster,
I had a guy do mine and 3 years later it’s still crack free,he didn’t use compound,he used an old school method of plaster and lime,I would be happy to pass on his info if preferred

NeoGrec | 8 years and 2 months ago

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When we renovated 17 years ago, every wall and ceiling was touched: lots of plaster skimming and some new drywall, depending on the conditions we found. Our ceilings are still perfect, regardless of the method used. In fact, the only area of the house that needs works today is our staircase hallway. I learned subsequently (common sense really) that there’s always movement in those walls due to traffic on the staircase — hence the greater likelihood of cracking. Hope this helps.

mab | 8 years and 2 months ago

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I had my ceilings done in 1998, and they were in bad shape (four rooms). Used skim coat method as OP described. I was very happy with the results, and to this day not one crack has reopened.

EJR | 8 years and 2 months ago

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FWIW, I think plaster has a nicer, warmer feel than drywall. I would try to preserve the plaster.

petp | 8 years and 2 months ago

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Thank you. I appreciate the replies.

utoeid | 8 years and 2 months ago

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If you can salvage the original stuff then do it. HappyDude has the way of it and it is what we did 20 years ago and have not had a single reappearance of a crack. BUT it is a time intensive process so if you plan on upgrading the electrical, do so now. You may find that along the electrical repair route you can save some $$ by patching in sheetrock but you cannot beat the old construction methods. There is so much beauty and engineering in it that makes today’s stuff seem flimsy in comparison.

zznyc

in General Discussion 8 years and 2 months ago

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We had our ceilings re attached and re skimmed 12 years ago with veneer plaster(No sanding involved) still looks great.We used bestwallplasteringco.com ,not sure if they are taking on any new work right now.We could not put new drywall over the ceilings because it would interfere with our plaster moldings and we are glad it was done this way.Hope this helps.