plaster ceiling rose loose

[starfish]

I had an escape of water above my lounge and a lot of the water made it through the light fitting and as the room was dried the plaster ceiling rose which is about a metre in diameter is parted from the ceiling at one side. there is also a small hole in it where the screw has parted from the rose.

When the insurance surveyor saw it he said through the hole is a copper screw and it will just screw up, so no problem.

I have just got up a stepladder for a look and can't see how it will just screw up and can see when I pushed it back into position there is a lot of weight on the light fitting.

how will this be fixed?

 

[chuckey]

As in your case,large plaster moulding are screwed in place then the "join" blended in. Just screwing in the one screw won't work, because its head is not big enough to pull the whole moulding back and if it was the moulding would crack in half.
What I would do is to prop the moulding up , back to where its mean't to be, using foam/cushions, to spread the load from a point source. Then drill holes countersink them, and put in new brass/plated screws.
The problem is that the moulding has pulled right of one screw, there will be others still sticking out behind it*, also the screws might all be through the wooden laths which have pulled of their nails.
For absolute certainty, drill a hole right through the moulding and ceiling. Push a piece of knitting needle through the hole, go upstairs, lift the floor boards and figure out where the joists are and the state of the laths. this will furnish you with enough info. to mark out your fixing holes.
Frank
* You could try sliding a thin metal rule in the gap to see if there are any rogue screws sticking out.

 

[Pford75]

As someone currently dealing with insurers and their 'surveyors'...they appear to know little about period properties and will aim to fob you off with the cheapest possible repair.

If you house is listed, you might want to seek the view of your local CO...and then use this as leverage with the insurers for a 'proper' repair. Either way, I don't see why you should have to undertake the repair yourself....I insure my car and don't expect to have to respray and panel beat if I have a prang!

An alternative to the CO route, get a qualified plasterer who deals with this sort of work and ask him for a quote to do the job properly...there are many potentially hidden problems....so worth getting an expert opinion.

 

[starfish]

Thanks for your detailed replies, the screw (3" ) in question still has a good hold in the what I think must be a joist and i will check that there are no other loose screws. Before your replies I was thinking of putting no more nails around the facing edge of the rose and then adding a small washer to the screw so it would maybe embed into the plaster. I think i may need to get a professional in. I can easily push the rose into position.

can the plaster be drilled easily or does it crack?

 

[starfish]

I cant go back to the insurer, because I agreed to the small sum they have offered for decoration £150 . I tried very hard to argue that the rose and ceiling and plaster cornice needed more but the surveyer won!!!

My problem is I never got quotes from builders before he came.

 

[chuckey]

Plaster drills easily with a conventional twist drill, produces a lot of dust!
frank

 

[starfish]

Ok so I need to stick up with tile adhesive and then drill plaster, making sure the hole hits the joist and replace screw, countersinking the screw head.

 

[chuckey]

Tile adhesive, I am not sure this is the way to go for the following reasons:-
As only 1/2 of the tile has dropped, putting tile adhesive under this side will produce a wedge that might not squeeze out on tightening up your screw(s).
The original surface of the ceiling, might be loose and dusty, the adhesive will stick to the loose stuff and not to the actual ceiling.
The surface under the rose might suck all the water out of the adhesive causing it to thicken up in very short time, like 10 seconds so the adhesive has "gone off" before you have screwed the rose back.
If you really think that adhesive is going to give you some advantage (sticking the rose to loose plaster?), I would go with a " no nails" sort of product, it has no real body and the excess will wipe off with a wet cloth.
frank