Covering Your Ceiling – Repairing Work Done The Wrong Way

In my previous blog post I discussed two ways to deal with an old or cracking plaster ceiling – remove and replace or cover with new drywall.

Both have pros and cons, but this post is about what happens when you cover the plaster with drywall the wrong way.

Red Apple Renovations was called in to look at a ceiling in a master bedroom in Andover, Massachusetts that was cracking. Further investigation showed that the ceiling was a horsehair plaster ceiling that had been covered with a single layer of drywall. A large ominous crack had develop across the ceiling and it was visibly sagging.

The client hired us to take down the ceiling, drywall and plaster and install a new drywall ceiling.

When we came back to start the project, a second large crack had developed in the ceiling. It also was visibly sagging in the middle. Once we removed the layer of drywall we saw that it was indeed sagging down approximately six inches in the center.

Once we started removing the ceiling we saw that the plaster had pulled away from the wood that was holding it. All of the nails were hanging in space. The only thing that was holding the ceiling up was the connection between the plaster, lathe and corners of the walls.

What is scary is that this ceiling was very close to catastrophically failing. If it had fallen while the homeowners were sleeping, it could have meant a trip to the hospital, as well as serious damage to the furniture.

This happened because drywall covering the plaster had been installed improperly. What needs to be done in this case is use long drywall screws and make sure they connect to solid wood underneath the plaster. This wasn’t done and the drywall screws only connected to the wooden lathe intertwined with the plaster. This turned the new layer of drywall into a dead weight that started to pull the ceiling down.

The moral of this story is that if you are going to cover over a drywall ceiling, make sure your drywall screws connect to solid wood. You can make sure this happens by poking holes in the ceiling to see where the framing is located and place your screws accordingly.

Sometimes the easier way isn’t the best way. If you undertake this project make sure you or your contractor knows what they are doing.