Written price after a look at the job
Lath & Plaster
Lath and Plaster Repair in London
Original ceilings and walls in period property, repaired rather than ripped out.
Dust sheeted, swept and cleared down daily
One person on site, start to finish
Work planned around parking and access
Almost every house in London built before about 1930 has lath and plaster ceilings, and a good many still have the original walls too. Thin timber laths nailed across the joists, with plaster pushed through the gaps to form nibs that hold it up.
When those nibs break the plaster starts to come away, and it does it slowly. The usual first sign is a fine crack or a very slight bow, and by then it has usually been going on for years.
Deciding what can be saved
A lath and plaster ceiling that is still keyed to its laths can be repaired and skimmed in place, and that is always the first thing checked, because keeping the original is cheaper and quieter than replacing it.
It gets tapped across its whole area rather than looked at. A ceiling can be perfectly sound at one end and completely loose at the other, and the difference is not visible from the floor.
Repairing in place
Where the failure is local, the loose section is cut back to something that is still keyed, the laths are checked and replaced where they have broken, and the area is built back up in coats to meet the surrounding level.
The repair is brought level with what is around it rather than filled flush and hoped for, because a patch that sits proud or hollow reads worse under paint than the crack it replaced.
When overboarding is the right answer
Where a ceiling has lost its key across a wide area there is nothing to repair it back on to. Overboarding through to the joists gives a flat surface fixed to the structure, with the original left undisturbed above it.
In a room with cornice the board runs up to it rather than through it, so the original run is kept and the new ceiling dies into it.
When to get it looked at
- Fine cracks that keep reopening in an old ceiling
- A ceiling that bows slightly, or sounds hollow in places
- Plaster coming away from a wall in a period house
- Damage after a leak in a Victorian or Georgian property
- Rooms where original cornice is worth keeping
Lath & Plaster on site
Photographs of finished work go here. Until they do, each frame is labelled with what belongs in it rather than filled with a picture of somebody else's job.
Lath & Plaster across London
Central and South West London
ChelseaKensingtonFulhamBatterseaClaphamWandsworthHammersmithPutneyPimlicoWestminsterBalhamTootingEarlsfieldSouthfieldsBarnesRichmondTwickenhamChiswickActonEalingShepherd's BushNotting HillHolland ParkBayswaterPaddingtonMaryleboneBelgraviaKnightsbridgeBrixtonStreathamDulwichCamberwellKenningtonVauxhallNine ElmsStockwell
Lath & Plaster: frequently asked questions
What is lath and plaster?
Thin timber laths nailed across the joists or studs, with plaster pushed through the gaps between them. The plaster that squeezes through forms nibs on the far side, and those nibs are what hold the ceiling up.
Can an old ceiling be saved?
Often yes. If it is still keyed to its laths it can be repaired and skimmed in place. That is checked by tapping across the whole ceiling, because it can be sound at one end and loose at the other.
How do I know if it has failed?
It bows very slightly, or it sounds hollow when tapped, or a fine crack keeps reopening in the same place after filling. Any of those is worth looking at before more of it lets go.
Is it better to replace it with plasterboard?
Not automatically. Keeping the original is cheaper, quieter and less disruptive where it is still sound, and in a listed building it may be the only option. Overboarding is for ceilings that have lost their key.
Will the repair show?
In flatness, no, because it is built back up to meet the surrounding level rather than filled flush. In colour, yes, until it is painted, so plan to paint the whole ceiling.
Do you work on listed buildings?
Yes, and the starting position there is repair rather than replacement. Where the work looks like it needs consent, that is flagged at estimate stage so it can be checked before anything starts.
Can you match old cornice?
A profile can be matched and a new section run into an existing length. Replacing a whole run because a metre is damaged is rarely the right answer in a period room.
How much mess is there?
Repairing in place is much cleaner than pulling a ceiling down. Floors are sheeted before anything starts and the room is cleared down at the end of each day.
Other work
Plastering
Backing coat and finish on walls taken back to brick, or fresh board skimmed flat and ready for paint.
Read moreSkimming
A finish coat over walls and ceilings that are sound, flattening out years of patching and filler.
Read moreRendering
Rear elevations, side returns and extensions rendered in a reinforced system, with the top coat chosen to suit the wall.
Read moreLath & Plaster in London
Call Frank or send the job details and he will come and look.
Get in touch
Tell Frank what the walls are doing and he will come and look at them. The visit is free and the price comes after it, in writing.
- Phone07788 866598
- WhatsAppMessage 07788 866598
- CoveringCentral and South West London