Lath and plaster ceiling repairs in Walthamstow. Failed ceilings taken down, reboarded, taped and skimmed — and left alone where they are still sound.
Almost every Victorian ceiling in Walthamstow is timber lath with lime plaster pushed through to form a key on the back. When that key crumbles the plaster is held by nothing, and a sagging E17 ceiling is not a cosmetic problem — it is weight over your head with nothing much holding it.
The ceilings most at risk are under bathrooms and in the front bedrooms of the terraces off Hoe Street and Higham Hill, where a century of footsteps above has loosened the key more than anywhere else in the house. Cornice and ceiling roses are often still intact on those same ceilings, and they are worth protecting.
Half a Walthamstow ceiling is often fine and half is not. We find the line rather than condemning the whole thing to make the job simpler.
Old lath and plaster removed, joists checked and any that have twisted brought back into line before board goes up.
Plasterboard fixed to the joists, joints taped, then skimmed flat. It is a ceiling that will outlast the one it replaced by decades.
Screwing new board over a failed ceiling hangs more weight off fixings that are already letting go. We will not do it, and we will explain why.
Where the ceiling comes down, a sound run of cornice is supported and left in place, and the new board is taken up to meet it.
Cables and pipes found above the ceiling are left untouched and pointed out, so an electrician or plumber can deal with anything that needs attention before the board goes up.
Send a photo or a quick video of the room on WhatsApp, or get a free fixed quote — no obligation, and we’ll tell you straight what it needs.
Push gently upward with a flat palm. Movement, or a sagging belly between the joists, means the key has gone. Fine hairline cracking on a firm ceiling is usually just age and skims over fine.
Over a sound ceiling, yes, and it is a good option. Over a failed one, no. You are fixing new weight to laths that have already stopped holding the old weight. It is the shortcut we are most often called back to put right.
Genuinely dirty - it is horsehair, lime and a hundred and thirty years of soot as well as plaster. We sheet the room floor to ceiling, seal the doorway, and take the waste out the same day rather than bagging it in the hall.
It can, usually without much warning, and lath and plaster is heavy. If a ceiling has a visible belly or moves when pushed, keep people out from under it and get it looked at soon rather than waiting until it is convenient.
Often. A sound rose can be taken down carefully and refixed to the new ceiling, or left in place if the area around it is being patched rather than replaced. Where it is badly damaged, a matching replacement can be fitted.