Does anyone know if it is acceptable to repair a cracked plaster ceiling by screwing furring stips across the ceiling beams (through th eold plaster ceiling) and then hanging new sheetrock panels to create a new ceiling? you end up with the new ceiling about 1 1/2 inches lower than the original ceiling. I am trying to find out if anyone has heard of this method being used. Thanks.
It's a common repair method, as is just adding a layer of sheetrock over the plaster that is screwed through into the joists above. Weak plaster or large plaster 'bubbles' must be removed prior to sheetrocking - in some cases the furring strips can resupport the weak areas. Usually it's better to remove the damaged plaster and shim the damaged area back up thtoe same plane of the ceiling prior to recovering.
There is a point, if the existing ceiling is heavily damaged, where it makes more sense to remove all the plaster before installing new sheetrock.
