01/18/2026
What should I do with the old ceiling before I hang up a new one?
Basically, I had an old wooden ceiling and would like to hang up a plaster ceiling instead. I've removed the old ceiling and old battens. There was then a plastered ceiling with some old stucco underneath. The old stucco was in bad condition, so I've removed it with a chisel. I've had an electrician mill the electricity into the old ceiling.
My plan is, in short, that I want to hang up new battens and then plasterboard.
But before I do that, I'm a little in doubt about the condition of the old ceiling. I got a lot of good advice from my original post, so I hope you can help me on the right track again here 😁
(1) In one corner (picture 1) there is a crack. The wall on the left side of the crack is an outer wall. I'm in doubt whether it's something you should do something about? I asked the electrician (he probably doesn't know that much about it, but certainly more than me), but he said it's probably just something that happens "when the house moves a little over time" (the house is from the 1930s)
(2) Where the stucco has been, there's a "hole up". Should that be covered up in some way? Or do I just hang up the new battens and ceiling and don't think too much about it?
(3) I don't know how much I should bother knocking down the old plastered ceiling? If pieces fall down, won't they just lie on top of the plasterboards (I'm making 2 staggered layers)? There won't be much space between the old ceiling and the plasterboard. The new batten boards are 95mm wide and 21mm high