Repairing artex and split plasterboard after flood.

[diydoger]

I have a hole in a ceiling from a water leak. See image below. Ruler is 30cm.
What would you suggest to fix? Would you patch in the flaps or artex and paint, and try and make it invisible, after repairing the split between the plaster board? Or perhaps skim over the entire ceiling with plaster and repaint? What would you do here?

 

[vinn]

Remove the Artex as far as the mould goes.
Then treat the mould with one of the concoctions available - then go to the decorators forum for further advice.

If its plasterboard: does the p/b sag or is it loose at the crack - can you push it up a little?
Is there a joist or a noggin behind the crack?

 

[diydoger]

Thank you for reply, yes, you can push the plasterboard up, it bulges/sags a little, Im not sure if its where two boards join, not sure whats behind the crack, Ill go and look when I next at the property.

 

[diydoger]

I cant see behind the plasterboard, so not sure whats behind it.

 

[roughcaster]

You've no chance of repairing an artex ceiling and making the repair "invisible". The best way to repair that is to cut out the damaged area of plasterboard, ( which will probably go beyond the area shown), put some new noggins in to support the new area of plasterboard to be fitted, tape the joints, then pva and skim over the whole ceiling, and paint when dry. Anything else would be a waste of time and money.

 

[Doggit]

In these sort of cases, it'll be overboard the ceiling, and then skim and paint it. Even if you take off the damaged artex, and fix the plasterboard, you'll never rematch the artex neatly, nor replicate the pattern sufficiently to make it invisible.

 

[diydoger]

Thank you your replies.
If the ceiling was repaired by cutting out the damaged area of plasterboard, repaired etc, and the ceiling replastered and painted.
If the flood happened again, to the same extent, what would be the repair? Do you keep cutting out the damaged area?

I am trying to work out costs for damages. A neibour has flooded me more than 4 times, I need to access what the damage costs would be for all the contiuned flooding so I can then be informed to get quotes from builders and then take the figures to my solisitor.

 

[Doggit]

We can't give you costs; only the person that's going to do the repairs can give you that I'm afraid.

If the neighboour continues to flood you, then you need to get the management company to get them to make sure they can't (I assume that you're in a block of flats, and you pay the freeholder a service charge) do it again.

 

[diydoger]

I am not a tenant, I am a freeholder, if a leaseholder does not pay for damages you have to take them to court.
Its not costs I am asking on the thread, Ill have to speak to local builders for the cost.

What I want to know is what kind of repair would be done would be done if it was repaired multiple times.

 

[Doggit]

Okay, just to try and clarify, is the neighbour next door, or above you. If you are in a house, then you need to take action against the neighbour for continued damage. DO you have legal cover on your home insurance. Have you put this trhough you're insurance company yet.

I gave you the repair I'd use in post #6, and if it w painted, then it would be easier to handle any future repairs that are required.

 

[diydoger]

Neighbor is above, I don't want to get into the legal issues, I have a solicitor to do that, its part of a long case of disputes that are too long to go into.

What I want to know is with continued flooding, what would be the repairs?
I note Doggit says overboarding, I think this may not be practical to overboard the whole ceiling 4 times for the 4 floods. I would be interested why you think its the most practical.
What do others think? What would be the answer to continued flooding?

 

[Alastairreid]

The only thing you can do is patch it if you think its going to happen again, but as the rest of the guys have already said! you will always see the patch.

 

[roughcaster]

Just out of interest Diydoger, how do you keep getting flooded,, leaking pipes? can they not be repaired by you neighbour to save you all this hassle?

 

[amfisted]

I'm a DIYer, and I succeeded in making a reasonable match of a comb patterned area of Artex along a joint where one sheet of plasterboard had dropped below the level of its neighbour. Not sure whether that's an easier or harder match than your pattern would be, but in my humble opinion it can be done.

It helps when, as in my case, the light in the room both during daylight hours and at night falls in such a way that the least successful features of the match are hidden. To assist in this I put up a new light fitting with lamps that could be adjusted to point away from the repair.

Mind you, none of the above is worth a carrot if the flood is repeated.

 

[diydoger]

Just out of interest Diydoger, how do you keep getting flooded,, leaking pipes? can they not be repaired by you neighbour to save you all this hassle?

The landlord of the flat above doesnt make the correct repairs, I dont belive he is qualified to do the work, I belive he does insubstaintial repairs, using cheap or tempory fixes. His tenants are also irresponsibile with mental health or behavioural issues, and their use of the fixtures may also cause or increase issues especially in light of the bodged fixes.