What would you do with this ceiling/wall?

[eatentoomanygrapes]

I call it the sauna effect, but has it got a real name? Was it a trend? Can it be painted white and turned into some sort of trendy shiplap kind of feature or would you remove immediately?

Red carpet would be going, too...

Forgot to add a pic...

You can paint it white. It might be covering up a dodgy surface and you might be giving yourself a massive job if you start taking it off.

Also called tongue and groove or matchboarding. Discussing it with DH as I type he agrees could be anything under it.

Google "wood ceilings" and look at the images.

Wood ceilings, white or natural, can be really gorgeous if done well.

Showed DH your pic he said blimey! Said yours looks good quality and could be anything under including no proper ceiling at all.

How old is the house? If it's older than 70s there should be plaster under there.

I would remove it personally as it's a grim even if painted. But you may need to replaster the walls. Have you tried taking off one panel to see what's under there?

I'd paint the ceiling white, then build out the wall so it's level and hide it behind plasterboard.

My SIL has similar and painted hers white and it looks sooooo much better, well worth a try! Could be painted in any colour really, I would paint the whole room the same colour (walls and the wood) and then it will stand out much less

I’d guess it’s hiding some dodgy plaster but was done for the aesthetics of it. But you’d need to have a budget for reinstating ceiling rather than just for skimming plaster.

I’ve painted tongue-and-groove ceilings similar to that - you need to caulk all the cracks and gaps, and use good crack-filling undercoat.
Every little gap will show as dark black beside pale ceiling paint. It’ll look much better if painted well, but it’s not as easy as slapping on some Frenchic!

Wood ceilings were very fashionable in the 70s. I worry about the fire hazard though.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the advice!

We will be doing lots of work to the house so I can't decide whether to risk ripping it out or just save a bit of money and paint it white.

As someone suggested maybe removing one subtly could be the way to go. The ceilings in this house are all quite weird in their own special, textured way... fun.

I’m currently sat in a room that’s covered in it. On of several rooms in this house done the same and the rest just have ceilings like it. I absolutely hate the stuff so it is all coming down one day when I can afford to do it (not a small or cheap job in this infernal establishment and I hate to think what very expensive to remedy horrors we might uncover!). We did the smallest bathroom last year and that was relatively simple albeit we discovered a bit of what obviously used to be loft space but that no one has accessed since about 1930 judging by the wallpaper. I am absolutely no fan whatsoever and even when painted white (or any colour) it makes me a little bit stabby every time I pay too much attention to it 😂

The ceilings in this house are all quite weird in their own special, textured way... fun. Do you mean they've been Artexed? If it's Artex that indicates two things - it'll be a bugger to remove, and it's probably covering up flaws, which would indicate that this wood is doing the same.
How old is the house?

@heldinadream Pretty sure it's mid-60s.

The dining room ceiling is artex, but then the hallway is this weird stuff! What even is that?!

[quote eatentoomanygrapes]@heldinadream Pretty sure it's mid-60s.

The dining room ceiling is artex, but then the hallway is this weird stuff! What even is that?![/quote]
Looks like some kind of polystyrene tiles that have been painted? Can you pierce or poke it easily?

@heldinadream Damn I didn't try! This was our third viewing (haven't got the keys yet) and I tried to photograph everywhere but didn't poke it, damn! The bedroom ceiling is also ultra weird, and come to think of it the bathroom... but we are moving bathroom entirely upstairs.

I love a beautiful, timber raked ceiling. Would probably change the wall though!

The hallway ceiling looks like polystyrene tiles. They are a fire risk.

We boarded over some dodgy ceilings in a previous house with plasterboard and painted them. They look fine.

Agree that wood can look great. But also can look a bit crap if not authentic to the house.

Has it always been a house @eatentoomanygrapes ? It almost looks like some type of meeting area with the wooden ceiling/ panelling and the polystyrene tiles...? The polystyrene used in houses tended to be square tiles, yours are very commercial looking, like an office ceiling.

IIRC I don't think polystyrene tiles are a fire risk in themselves, it's when they're painted that they become horrendously dangerous, I'd definitely check though!

Good luck with your new home 🏡

It depends, if it’s in an original mid-century house it can look fantastic and I would leave it as is.

If it’s retrofitted and you’re planning a full renovation/redo anyway then I’d take it out and budget to totally redo the ceiling, as you’ll probably uncover a horror underneath and need to put a whole new ceiling up (plus potentially asbestos removal & disposal costs)

Polystyrene tiles are a risk because they melt, drip and spread fire, they also give off toxic gases when they reach high temps. Remove them.

@7catsisnotenough that's what I thought too, it definitely gives off meeting room vibes, but no it's definitely a home in the middle of a fairly bog standard 60s estate. The ceilings are just all baffling 🙈

Thanks all, okay it looks as though one of our first jobs is to destroy all fire hazards! Lucky we have a bit of money set aside to renovate before we move in. But I fully expect costs to spiral... 🥴

Have you had a survey? They should pick it up. The second ones look like polystyrene tiles which need to go- fire risk. I'd take them all off, wooden ceiling too.

Looks like a fun project op!