The decades that gave Haywards Heath its textured ceilings
Much of Haywards Heath was built in the twentieth century, a lot of it in the decades when textured ceiling coatings were the standard finish. Mid Sussex District Council's historic assessment of the town describes post-war estates extending the south-west along the railway around Vale Road, the eastern side towards Gravelye Lane and William Allen Lane, the infill between the town and Lindfield around Backwoods Lane, and the northern spread around Birchen Lane and Fairfield Way. Closer to the centre, the same report calls the Harlands Road area perhaps the key area of post-war expansion. In the town centre itself, blocks of flats replaced many large Victorian villas after 1945, on Boltro Road, Perrymount Road, Oathall Road and Church Road. Even the Lucastes conservation area is mostly houses from the 1950s and 1960s.
If you own or let a home from those years, there is a fair chance a swirl, stipple or combed pattern is still overhead, or was added to an older house during a later makeover.
Covering it, not chipping it off
Pro Finish deals with textured ceilings by plastering over them, which is cleaner, quicker and kinder to the boards than scraping. The surface is checked for loose or hollow areas, sealed with a bonding agent so the plaster grips it without sanding, then filled with a first coat that levels out the peaks. A second coat is trowelled smooth, giving a flat, modern ceiling in British Gypsum plaster that takes paint like any other.
The asbestos question
Textured coatings applied before 2000 can contain a small amount of asbestos, so in a 1960s or 1970s Haywards Heath house it is a sensible question to ask. The material is only a hazard when it is disturbed, by sanding, scraping, drilling or breaking it up, and nobody can confirm it by eye. If you are not sure how old your ceiling is, have a sample tested by an asbestos surveyor before anyone does work that would disturb it. Plastering over a sound coating leaves it sealed in place rather than removing it.
Flats, landlords and the town centre blocks
For landlords, the gap between tenancies is the obvious time to get rid of a dated textured ceiling. Because nothing is scraped off, the work is relatively clean, and a typical room can be prepared, plastered and left to dry in a short window. In a block, think about access and parking on streets such as Boltro Road and Perrymount Road, and check whether the lease needs the managing agent's consent for works.
If the ceiling underneath is failing
A skim will not fix a ceiling that is sagging between joists, cracking along board joints or coming away in flakes. Those need new plasterboard, fixed over the old ceiling or in place of it, before plastering. Walls with a texture over poor plaster may need taking back and replastering, which we explain on our page about plastering and skimming in Haywards Heath.
Once the ceiling is flat, it is the ideal moment for downlights or a crisp new cove; see coving and cornice in Haywards Heath. For more on the method, read about Artex ceilings and walls plastered flat, and for the rest of our local services visit the Haywards Heath page. Free, no-obligation quotes on 07824 165672.
