DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Lathe and Plaster Ceiling

Our house is about a 100 years old and we are having a new kitchen fitted. The kitchen has a lathe and plaster ceiling. I have been given conflicting advice. On the one hand I am being told to take the ceiling down. Then a plaster told me it would be better to board over it. He said this would strengthen the ceiling. The electrician's advice is also to take the ceiling down. Would appreciate your advice on this and on.........

Quarry Tiled Floor

The floor in the kitchen has the original quarry tiles and is quite uneven. One tiler has told me it needs to come up before it can be retiled. Another tiler says to screed over it. Who is right?

Because of conflicting advice we are receiving this project is turning into a bit of a nightmare!

If the lathe and plaster ceiling is in good condition then it's probably best to leave in place and board over. This would usually be a layer of chicken wire nailed through to the joists and then plasterboard fixed over. The chicken wire is to take the weight of any lathe and plaster if it cracks and loses its key.

Taking the ceiling down results in incredible amount of mess, dust and dirt.


With the floor, my only thoughts are that the screed should not be too thin otherwise it will crack. I have covered existing floor tiles with a thin layer of screed and it just cracked throughout. We left it and covered with lino type covering.

The other thing to remember is how much space you will lose in respect of headroom and fitting kitchen units, also raising the floor can impact on door openings etc,.

hth

xavi

personally I would remove the lathe and use plasterboard,its easier for the electrician,its less weight on the joists and you will get a flatter smoother finish.
With regards to the floor if its not out too far then I would use a latex self level compound.When the first layer has set fully you can always add more on top.