What is this on the ceilings??

[worriedftb]

Hi all, I went to a viewing and this stuff is all over the ceilings, in every room, upstairs and downstairs. Does anyone know what this stuff is, and how would I get rid of it if i bought the property?
To me, it looks like wallpaper... on the ceilings 😐

I've also added another photo - there is what looks like a box-like shape on the ceiling of the downstairs reception rooms (not upstairs) - circled in red. This is above the fireplace/chimney areas (both receptions rooms only). It looks like someone did a plastering job around the box border and painted over too, but no idea what could be causing this?

Also, does the electric board look "modern". Any electricians out there? 🙏

Thank you very much for taking a look!

Yes that’s wallpaper

In terms of the electric just ask them to supply a safety certificate if you want to purchase

@mrsbyers thanks for looking! what on earth?? wallpaper?? why?? is it hiding something? :(

Trying to hide damp 💯

Gulp! do you think @Sunflower8848 ?
How would damp present on the ceiling? I thought it would appear on the walls more than ceiling.
Thanks for taking a look!

Wallpaper on ceilings is common where my in laws live up North.

Our last house had wallpaper on the ceiling. No damp, just odd decorative choice of the previous owners, I think it was the fashion at one point.

It looks like anaglypta wallpaper OP. There's a whole number of reasons why it could be there. You could ask the vendors? If you get a full survey as part of your purchase you could ask the surveyor to consider this including whether it could be covering something up.

It was fashionable at one point and it having a bit of a resurgence. It's also cheaper than re- plastering. It could be covering up a problem, or it could be a decorative choice.

The old house I grew up in had anaglypta everywhere (apart from the ceiling which were stippled artex). There wasn't a smooth service in the house but it was OK and was just painted over. It was a Georgian house so I suspect the walls would have been horrendous underneath. As long as the paper on the ceiling is flat with no bubbles, I'd just paint over it.

The box shape above the chimneys looks like the hearth of the upstairs fireplace.

Loads of houses had anaglypta on the ceilings when I was growing up. According to Dulux it's coming back inf fashion!

Wallpaper, or sometimes just plain lining paper on ceilings used to be very common. I doubt it is there to hide damp if it is in every room, plus the damp would show through very quickly I would think. Personally I would be thinking about stripping it off and potentially skimming the ceilings and would take that into account in any offer.

Regarding the electrics, while it is common for buyers to request safety checks on electrics, the seller is not obliged to pay for it. You would need to arrange any additional checks yourself, apart from standard stuff like evidence of a recent boiler service, for example.

We had wall paper on ceiling

Old cottage
Was used to hide imperfections

Easily remedied by removing and plastering over

Wasn’t hiding damp.Surely damp would cause the paper to get wet and fall off ?

It might be wallpaper, but it also looks a bit like Artex - a sort of thick paint used to give a decorative touch to ceilings in decades past. Artex was often made with asbestos fibres; it should be OK if left alone (ie no sticking Christmas decorations to the ceiling with drawing pins!) but if you want to get rid of it, you must use a licensed asbestos removal company.

Agreeing with PP here that wall papered ceilings used to be fashionable up until the 1980s, not necessarily used to cover up bad ceilings. The wallpaper in your second photo looks like a pattern that was used a lot in the 1970s. If it was put up to cover damp fifty years ago the damp would have ruined it long ago.

As for the box marked out by the chimney breast, perhaps the shape of the chimney breast was changed at some time or, when someone had the floor boards upstairs they put their foot through the ceiling and it's been patched.

To take wallpaper off of a ceiling you'd probably use a wallpaper steamer and scraper. It could come off very easily or, if the ceiling is plaster and lath and not stable the ceiling could come down and need replacing. That is messy but doable.

The electric board looks pretty modern.

We have textured wallpaper on some of our ceilings, it was here when we moved in and we haven’t removed it, just painted it in exactly the same way as if it was a plastered ceiling. It isn’t hiding anything. Looks normal in an older house to me.

Wallpaper if you're lucky. Everywhere I have lived that has had wallpaper like that has had it in place to cover a lumpy old surface. Could be anything under that depending on the age of the house. It's never been damp though unless there were other signs. I only buy old houses despite promising myself differently every time. Any time I've removed something like that the plaster has needed redoing and sometimes it extra lucky a bit chunk of wall or ceiling has come out. Electric box is not that old in the grand scheme of things but you can put a new box on old wiring so that really doesn't tell you anything. You need an electrical survey if you are worried about it.

Looks like it covering an adjustment to the chimney or ceiling finish, like removed coving.

The electrical board is modern, but it doesn’t mean the electrics are. We had a new board put in when we got a new oven, all the rest of the wiring is very very old!!

I live in the West Midlands. Wallpaper on every single ceiling 😅

Just to add that if you wanted to arrange an inspection of the electrics, it shouldn't cost more than about £200.

Seemingly patterned wallpaper on the ceiling is the next big decorating trend.

The house we bought had wallpaper on the ceiling in the front rooms. No damp just they didn't want to paint ceiling.

The consumer board looks quite modern - its metal for a start and has circuit breakers. Easiest way to find out is to check the planning page for the local authority, search the address and look for files associated with it and you should find the building regs for the electrical update as a new consumer board requires a building regs documentation.

Looks like the shape of a hearth in an upstairs room?
Ceiling paper is very common, especially in older houses. Usually used because the plaster isn’t great underneath. Years ago people who couldn’t afford wallpaper just painted so to have papered was a bit of a statement that you were better off and could afford it. 🙂