Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

What’s my ceiling made of?

17 replies

Tertius3 · 24/04/2022 20:59

We have an old house - built 1820. The surveyor had assumed lathe and plaster ceilings but some work done in the attic (removal of asbestos) has created small holes in the ceiling and it looks like grey cement.

the house has had a few make overs in its time and definitely some major updating in the Edwardian era to the 1930s and this was the last time anyone spent much on it!

does anyone know if grey cement was used or something like it for ceilings then?

im wondering how to repair the holes!

many thanks for any help

OP posts:
Geneticsbunny · 25/04/2022 09:29

Asbestos board looks a bit like grey cement but I would guess it is more likely to be lime plaster. Does it have horse hair in it? Can you post some pictures?

Geneticsbunny · 25/04/2022 09:29

Also how big are the holes?

Handsnotwands · 25/04/2022 13:03

Our ceilings are asbestos cement board.

looks like this

What’s my ceiling made of?
Original poster
Tertius3 · 25/04/2022 14:20

Thanks v much. Will post some pics when I can and see what you think.

if asbestos cement board can I just polyfill and forget about it?

spent SO much having the loose insulating asbestos removed just now.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 26/04/2022 08:24

Take some photos of the upper surface of the ceilings from above please.

PigletJohn · 26/04/2022 08:27

You mention "removal of asbestos"

What is the thing that is being removed, and is it being removed by an asbestos contractor? Why don't they recognise an asbestos board when they see it?

Original poster
Tertius3 · 26/04/2022 10:53

Yes there was asbestos lagging in the attic and it was removed by a contractor who did an asbestos survey first. I think there could still be hidden asbestos about the place though.. Perhaps the ceiling plaster isn’t asbestos! it is grey and cement like in appearance but I am extremely ignorant about plaster. I only know that gypsum is pink and lime I presume is lime colour.

Will attach photograph when I can and many many thanks for your help.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 26/04/2022 21:31

Lime plaster is dirty white.

But the photos will tell me.

Original poster
Tertius3 · 28/04/2022 15:49

Thank you so much for your reply. Sorry for the delay - I’ve now come back to the house and taken photos.

What’s my ceiling made of?
What’s my ceiling made of?
What’s my ceiling made of?
OP posts:
Original poster
Tertius3 · 28/04/2022 15:50

I’m going to be decorating myself - all our money going to external maintenance!

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 28/04/2022 16:04

Take some photos of the upper surface of the ceilings from above please.

PigletJohn · 28/04/2022 16:06

what is the size of the things in your phot? Please include something to show scale.

PigletJohn · 28/04/2022 16:16

picture 1 is of a plasterboard ceiling that has been skimmed, twice. the second skim looks like it was done after the ceiling had been painted. Some clumsy oaf has put her foot through the ceiling by standing on the plaster instead of the joists. This is not unusual. You can see the fibrous torn paper skin of the plasterboard hanging down in flaps.

picture 2 is of a popped nail head where the ceiling or the nail has moved and the plaster over the nail head has burst off. It is a galvanised nail so pretty sure to be on modern plasterboard. It might have been caused by poor fixing, or a dancing elephant or clumsy oaf in the loft, or a heavy piano or other heavy item put on a loft floor that was designed only for light loads. . This is not unusual. When the house was built, did it have a slate roof? How big was it?

Picture 3 is probably another nail head where the final skim has burst off but some plaster remains, cracked.

Until I see pictures of the upper surface of the ceiling taken from above I can't tell what the rest of the ceiling is made off.

Original poster
Tertius3 · 28/04/2022 16:50

Thanks so much. Sounds like plasterboard then? Yes it’s a slate roofed 1820 late Georgian house. The old ceilings are long gone then?

it was the asbestos removal company who were in the loft and damaged it.

am I able to repair quite easily myself? At least I don’t need natural paint on the ceilings then?!

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 28/04/2022 16:55

Take some photos of the upper surface of the ceilings from above please.

Original poster
Tertius3 · 28/04/2022 20:41

thank you so much for your help - will venture into the attic as soon as I can.

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 28/04/2022 21:35

slates are very light, so the roof timbers may have been designed very thin in the expectation there would not be much load on them. this is why many Victorian house roofs sag when burdened with tiles, especially ugly concrete ones which are very heavy. the loft "floor" joists are part of the roof construction and are only intended to carry the weight of the ceiling (not much) and spiders

larger houses tend to be built to higher standards than small ones.

i am not experienced in Georgian houses.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page