Have they plastered over wood chip? - please help!

[nickrjohnson1]

Hey,

I have just had my whole upstairs plastered. I took the week off work this week to paint and sand the floors - which I have done. I was working on the last room to be painted and saw some cracks in the ceiling plaster work. I painted around it and called the plastered, who said he would come over. When I went to put the second coat on I saw that bits of the plaster was coming off. After research on this site, I found that wood chip was under the plaster!! Before this research I wouldn't have know that wood chip was on the ceiling.

Now I have the feeling that all the rooms had strong wood chip paper on the ceiling, before they plastered over them!

For example, I can push on the ceiling near the curved edge (1930's house) and i can lift it up - I am sure that I shouldn't be able to do this?

In another room, again around the curved edge on the ceiling, there are cracks starting to show.

Will the whole thing have to do re-done? Will the whole plastered ceiling start to fall down under the weight in the future?

Is it normal for curved edges to have some lift?

Please help thanks.

 

[Richard C]

You can skim over Artex but not over wood chip or any other sort of paper for that matter; your spread should have advised you to strip it first. If he’s skimmed over it he has no idea & is a true cowboy , what’s the finish like? The plaster will crack & the paper will start peeling as appears to be happening already & before too long large chunks of it will probably end up on the floor. The whole lot will need to come off & it will need redoing; sounds like a total nightmare to me but I have heard that plastering over paper makes it easier to remove although I’ve never tried it. Another option is to rip all the ceiling boards down & start again or overboard what’s already there.

Mods this would do better in plastering where it belongs

 

[nickrjohnson1]

thanks for the reply Richard!

You think the rest is wood chip? It I can lift in around the curved edge?

 

[Richard C]

No way I can tell without seeing it but if you can lift bits of it off then it doesn't sound good; not too sure what you mean by "around the curved edge"
Some photos may help.

 

[nickrjohnson1]

Thanks again Richard for the reply mate.

Sorry I didn't explain it well. It is a 1930's building so it is not a square /flat ceiling it has curves in the ceiling. I am guessing that all plaster shouldn't be able to be moved away from the ceiling!

When the plasterer comes over I don't want him to say that is the norm. In your opinion it is not the norm? £300 worth of paint I have used so far to paint all the top floor and to start again!!

 

[jrplastering]

i would say that you need to do it again mate if its ontop of paper then itll never last and no you shouldnt be able to move it up and down
the bits that you can move up and down have you tried to pick at it and see if just the new plaster and old paper comes off or if the original ceilin under the paper comes down too.
either way i would say do it again, you can either take it all down (v messy and you dnt know what youll disturbe in the process)
or just find all the joists mark em up on the wall and chalk them through and over board it then skim again ( much tidyer).
but what deal you come to with your current spread is up to you the long and short of it is hes messed it all up and it needs to be rectified and as it was his mistake............ its up to you.
im sure all he had to say to you was the ceilins need the paper striped and you would have done it
JRP

 

[roughcaster]

A true plasterer would never plaster over paper of any type,, woodchip, lining paper etc. You even have to watch out if you're plastering over artex, because i've looked at a few ceilings where the artex has been put on over the paper.

 

[NickB_99]

You even have to watch out if you're plastering over artex, because i've looked at a few ceilings where the artex has been put on over the paper.

hadn't thought of that