Plaster Ceiling Collapse

Homeowners can fill these commonly occurring hairline cracks with new plaster and repaint the ceiling.

Plaster ceiling collapse. Catostrophic plaster ceiling collapse the ceiling failure was catastrophic in that there was no signs that the ceiling was about to collapse. Stand underneath one corner of your ceiling on a suitable ladder and with your head almost touching the ceiling look across the surface do a 90 degree sweep looking for any unevenness sagging sections cracks etc. Ceiling collapse occurs when the material weight of the ceiling exceeds the support structure within.

The cracks often run parallel to the lath horizontally on walls and lengthwise on ceilings. Homes built between 1960 and 1980 have a greater risk of suffering ceiling collapse because of how the ceiling drywall was installed. The lath was wired to steel pipes or bars that in turn were hung from a smaller number of steel supports.

Thursday evening s collapse of a section of the ceiling at the apollo theatre in london brought in to sharp focus the need to maintain ceilings in period properties. This phenomon should definitely be a concern for anyone whose house was built between 1960 and 1980 especially if it was built during the 1970s. If the sagging is severe meaning that it s hanging an inch or more away from the lath base or if it covers a large portion of the ceiling your best bet is to remove the old plaster and replaster the ceiling or cover it with wallboard.

The final steel supports were hung from wire ties connected to fasteners that had been pin shot fasteners shot into the sides of concrete ceiling joists. When plaster begins to pull away from the lath there is a chance it may fall away from the wall or ceiling and come crashing down. Looking at the pictures of the apollo s interior there is much ornate plasterwork but being built in 1901 the base of the ceiling will undoubtedly be of lath and plaster type.

The combination of several factors led to this ceiling collapse. If you have wider cracks or sections of loose plaster the lath system beneath the. If it s not repaired the plaster ceiling can collapse.

Try again from the opposing corners. 1 as a result of improper construction or 2 from damage that accumulates over the life of the home. The support will fail for one of two reasons.