To skim or not to skim? Ask your questions and find answers on many subjects relating to plastering and dry lining

[firsthomenovice]

Hi,
I have just moved in to my first house and am starting to get to grips with DIY. Unfortunatley the house is full to the brim with polystyrene ceiling tiles which I am in the process of removing. I have completed removing the tiles from the ceiling of one room and found that the plaster underneath has a number of cracks. Most of the cracks are hairline but around the bay window a large chunk has fallen off about the size of an A5 piece of paper. The cracks around the window are also bigger than elsewhere on the ceiling. My question is, do I need to get a plasterer in to skim the ceiling or can I use a cheaper option such as filling the gaps and using a basecoat? I am worried that the rest of the ceilings in the house will be in similar, or worse, condition could anyone give me an idea of how much skimming costs? There are five rooms in total with the offending tiles all of which are 12ft by 12ft or smaller. Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[kbrownie]

Hi firsthomenovice,
Depends what condition the ceiling is in! Sounds like previous owners thought it easier to put false ceiling in. But if ceiling is in good nick just use some non shrinking filler on hairline cracks and on larger cracks meshed tape and filler, you may need to sand down and re-fill a couple of times. you will have to repair the area that has A5 size chunk missing, is it just the plaster skim or is it something more sinister than that.
If ceiling is in bad state, two ways to deal with it, rip it down and re-board or board over it. Cost depends on what you need to do and sometimes the area in which you live as far material cost and labour cost are concerned?
Hope this info was helpful
KB

[firsthomenovice]

Thanks KB. It looks like it is just the plaster skim that is affected so think I will go with your filler option.

FHN

[kbrownie]

Hi Again,
If it's just skim that's fallen away(A5 size piece) I'd recommend that that area be skimmed rather than filled. It'd be easier and quicker. But if you fancy DIYing yourself and never plastered before, you can buy a product called easy-fill it's used in dry-lining for taped joints. You can apply that, will take a coulpe of applications priming and sanding down.
Good Luck
KB