The dreaded stipple ceilings

circadian

Hi all,

I'm currently getting work done in a few rooms in the house which will involve removing part of the coving. It's pretty old and ornamental so getting a match will be difficult to replace anything affected by the work.

This brings me to two options;

Replace all the coving and leave the stipple ceilings alone.
Remove all the coving and at the same time take the opportunity to get rid of the stipple on the ceilings at the same time.

Personally, I dislike coving and stipple but I'm also mindful of the cost of doing either of these. I think replacing the coving in two rooms would be a bit cheaper but dealing with it is a nightmare considering how easily it can break.

I was considering removing the coving and putting fresh plasterboard on the roof to cover the stipple and having someone skim it. I know this will cost a bit more but I don't think it'll be too much since plasterboard is relatively inexpensive and it's two rooms that aren't particulary big.

Has anyone done this? Are there any pitfalls or things to watch out for?

NickNickleby

Did this twice.

First time round, it was the hallway. guy came in a stuck new plaster board on top of the old stuff. Was never a fan of the approach, but SWMBO was swung by the price. Anyway, hairline cracks appeared, and coming down the stairs, if I look to the right, I can see the lower layer looks like it might be coming away. This is not obvious from below, so its not the end of the world I suppose.

Next time, got the old kitchen/diningroom ceiling ripped down and completely replaced and skimmed. Much better job. Its a few years ago now, and I can't remember the prices involved, but I remember being surprised how cheap the big job was. BUT, it was quite messy. Despite that, this is the approach i would use again, if I decide to do the living room.

cheers

squidgeroo

We did this. Best thing ever. Bought a house that was stippled from head to toe!!! Removed the coving, put new insulated plasterboard over the ceilings to cover it (as not a great job to try to remove stipple or even to plaster it) and then plastered the new board and paint. Got new nicer looking coving put up. The rooms definitely looked like they were was missing something without the coving. No pitfalls at our end.

squidgeroo

must have been the guy who done the work - we got it done 6yrs ago and not a crack in sight in the entire house.

the_pen_turner

squidgeroo wrote: »

must have been the guy who done the work - we got it done 6yrs ago and not a crack in sight in the entire house.

cracks in the slab is more down to the joists moving. too much flex and the joints will crack.
probably a conversion overhead

raxy

Why pay someone to do it? Simple job to do yourself. Just a bit of effort & a lot of mess. I'd take down the ceiling & put up fresh board. Depends what's over it though. In a bedroom we put boards over the ceiling. Didn't want to have to pull up the insulation in the attic so was easier. There was a dip in the ceiling so we put new rafters up to level off & then the new plaster board.

Sleeper12

A good plasterer can skim over the stipple.

If it's deep stipple they scrape off the big points then use bonding to level it all out & finally skim

As for the coving, Woodies do ornate coving & you may be able to match it up. Failing that you can get coving made to order. Not sure on price but if it's only a small piece it might be an option.