Ceilings show everything. Light rakes across them, so any dip, joint or old repair reads clearly. They’re also the part of the house most likely to have had a leak, a loft conversion, a removed wall or forty years of textured coating over the top.
Cracks along board joints, around the perimeter or radiating from a light fitting are common in Sunderland terraces and semis alike. Where the boards are sound and well fixed, these can be reinforced and skimmed.
Where a ceiling is sagging, springy underfoot from above, or has cracks with movement in them, it needs looking at before being finished over.
Plenty of older Sunderland properties still have lath and plaster ceilings. Some are in remarkable condition and can be repaired or overboarded; others have lost their key and are better taken down and reboarded.
This is one of the few jobs where the honest answer often changes once you’re actually in the room.
Some textured coatings can potentially be skimmed over depending on their condition and how well they’re bonded. Overboarding is the other route where a coating is better left undisturbed.
Important: older textured coatings may sometimes contain asbestos. If you’re not sure what an older textured coating contains, identify it before disturbing it — that means no scraping, sanding, drilling or grinding in the meantime.
Water-damaged patches, holes from downlights and small damaged areas can often be repaired locally. A full reboard and skim is the better route where the boards are failing across the ceiling, or where the level is badly out.
Ceilings are dusty, disruptive work and need the room clear. We’ll be straight with you about that before we start.
Send a few details and photos if you have them, or ring and talk it through. Either way we’ll help you work out what the wall actually needs.
