Replacing a section of ceiling

aodh_rua

I've a small leak in an upstairs bathroom that has come through the kitchen ceiling. The affected patch is about 2 feet by 1 foot, and I think it'll need to be cut out and replaced.

I was wondering if this is a big job - or pretty straight forward. I presume it's a matter of putting in a new section of board and skimming it in. It's a plain section of ceiling - no complications like fittings etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Buford T Justice

aodh_rua wrote: »

I've a small leak in an upstairs bathroom that has come through the kitchen ceiling. The affected patch is about 2 feet by 1 foot, and I think it'll need to be cut out and replaced.

I was wondering if this is a big job - or pretty straight forward. I presume it's a matter of putting in a new section of board and skimming it in. It's a plain section of ceiling - no complications like fittings etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

It firstly depends on the state of the Ceiling currently. If its just stained, then it can just be painted. If its actually destroyed from the water then cut it out and replace it. It is reasonably simple and straight forward to do, but this would depend on how handy you are.

Cut out a square, and try to do it so the seams are half way over the joists if possible to get a good fixing for the new piece. Cut the board slightly bigger than the hole and trim to fit. Screw up, and skim over then paint. Although it does sound very simple, you will need to have some skills here.

antiskeptic

aodh_rua wrote: »

I've a small leak in an upstairs bathroom that has come through the kitchen ceiling. The affected patch is about 2 feet by 1 foot, and I think it'll need to be cut out and replaced.

I was wondering if this is a big job - or pretty straight forward. I presume it's a matter of putting in a new section of board and skimming it in. It's a plain section of ceiling - no complications like fittings etc.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

It's pretty unlikely that you'll make a neat job of it if your not familiar with skimming. The insertion of a new board isn't that complicated but you would need to be a competent diy-er in order to prepare things properly for skimming. If wanting a neat job then you'd likely be best to get someone in to do the lot - few people are going to be interested in just the skimming.

Does the ceiling look that bad? I mean, why not let it dry out and repaint it? Or has it bulged and buckled?

handydandy

If access to the leak is only by cutting out the patch then do it before the leak causes a bigger mess, The things I have seen ........

Any way, if the ceiling is stained but still in good nick you can easily reuse the same piece and patch around it, smooth it down and re paint after the leak is sorted.

Sounds easy! Patching it up takes a bit of skill to make it look like there was never a hole there and if you repaint the patch it will almost certainly not match the white colour paint on your ceiling now so you might have to repaint the whole ceiling for the right job.

mickdw

Skim wont blend in. If its a big area, I would skim it and at the join do a job with a filler which would be much finer than skim.
A small patch, I would do completely with filler.

aodh_rua

It's maily just discolouration, but a the water has also caused a small break through the board - it's definitely a replacement job. I've a friend who is a plasterer - he might be the main to skim it for me.

antiskeptic

aodh_rua wrote: »

It's maily just discolouration, but a the water has also caused a small break through the board - it's definitely a replacement job. I've a friend who is a plasterer - he might be the main to skim it for me.

A small breakthrough can be trimmed off with a Stanley knife, filled with Polyfilla and sanded flat. Wait for to dry out then re-paint with a few coats.

No need to make a mountain from a molehill