What to do with this horrible ceiling? (Pics)

[ProseccoOnIce]

I'm about to do up DD's bedroom.

The ceiling is not smooth/flat as I would like it - see pics

Does it need re-plastered? Is there anything I can do to smooth it down?

Thanks

I'd just get that replasrered. Plastering isn't that expensive and would-be a big improvement.

Yes, it needs replastering.

This type of finish can have asbestos in it so don't try to sand it down. I have exactly the same thing and I hate it.

Errrr....that is my exact ceiling and light! I had to look twice! 😂

It could be artex which could contain asbestos. If it’s all perfectly in tact with no crumbling then it could be skimmed smooth by a plasterer. But definitely do not sand it or anything without having it tested for asbestos.

If I was in the house I'd take a photo, but it'll have to wait til I get home, and then the moment will have passed..... I recognised the corpuscular shadows immediately 😅

*crepuscular ffs 😣

Definitely a skim over job by a plasterer! We thought we could love with dosgy ceilings then realised after flooring that we couldn't and had them skimmed, was a really annoying job to do after the rest of the room was done and we had to decorate again afterwards.

This with bells on. Personally I’d just get it skimmed

Absolutely agree with everyone else.
This is a professional job because of the possibility/ probability of asbestos.

I had similar ceilings until recently (in every room!) - had a plasterer in, who coated them with some sort of green stuff and skimmed them smooth. Mine are too recent to contain asbestos so that wasn't an issue - it might be in older properties.

Yes, it's a bit of a hassle! Painting ceilings is a horrible job itself, but then you have to decorate the walls again too. We had ours done over several months so that we had time to wait for the plaster to dry, paint the ceilings, paint the walls, then move on to the next room. We got good at moving furniture around!😂

Get a plasterer in.
My new house has ugly artex on every single ceiling and I'm desperate to get them skimmed but I've heard prices are nearly £1000 for a large living room/diner like ours

Also, notably - the minute you have someone in to test it for asbestos by scraping a bit off then it’s no longer considered “in tact” and would need to be properly taken down and removed by a professional removal firm.

So really, your absolute best option is to get it skimmed.

If there’s already any crumbling it flaking then it needs to be tested and potentially come down to make it safe for your DD.

If it's artex it will be more expensive than just a replaster. Also there is chance it can drop and bubble and need redone or touched up (from experience). They can also put Ul new plaster board over the top and then skim it. Might work out cheaper.

I've had a lot of plastering work done in my old house. I'd imagine it could be £300-£500 to get the work done obvs depends where u are though.

Thanks for all the replies - really helpful!

Thankfully it's a small room so won't be too expensive & all the other ceilings are ok apart from the kitchen (which is a job in itself & I'm just ignoring).

Asbestos might be a real possibility- it's a 1970's flat & the previous owners have done very little over the years.

And @DanglyThings - how weird! It's a Next ceiling light if yours is too?

@ProseccoOnIce this is mine 😅

@DanglyThings - that is hilarious!!! Exactly the same!!!

It might not be asbestos.... ours is a 1970 house and 7 years ago we used a texture paint because the ceiling was full of cracks and we couldn't afford to get something done about it. The texture looks much nicer than the cracks...

@ProseccoOnIce Ceiling twins 😄

I would also get that plastered. Sometimes that sort of rubbly finish is put on to disguise a less-than-stellar plastering job underneath.

Get a plasterer to have a look at it. All of our ceilings were similar and we found that 2 were actually painted with distemper which can’t be plastered over. Luckily the rest bizarrely were fine but the two that had it needed to be boarded before we plastered and it cost us an extra £400.
Our house is a similar age to yours.