Are there any construction experts on here?

[delderek]

Friend of mine just come back to the uk, and the heavy rain has resulted in his ceiling being saturated from the apartment above. Ignoring any insurance liabilities etc. He says the ceiling has now several big sagging patches in it and you can dig your fingernail into them. Now I thought the floors/ceilings in apartment blocks were concrete, but concrete doesn't sag. So anyone know how they are constructed?

[marbro8]

Friend of mine just come back to the uk, and the heavy rain has resulted in his ceiling being saturated from the apartment above. Ignoring any insurance liabilities etc. He says the ceiling has now several big sagging patches in it and you can dig your fingernail into them. Now I thought the floors/ceilings in apartment blocks were concrete, but concrete doesn't sag. So anyone know how they are constructed?i have been in the building trade as a plumber and now gas engineer for 36 years, and depending on how old the apartment is? i know when i first worked on new builds in the late 70's the floors where chipboard;) the old high story blocks where constructed with concrete floors, but it was the mainly 3/4 story low rise that had the chipboard floors

[essexeddie]

Water has got between the concrete ceiling and the plaster that's all, separating the two. That will have to be scrapped off and re-plastered after its all dried out. Simple

[warbey]

Water has got between the concrete ceiling and the plaster that's all, separating the two. That will have to be scrapped off and re-plastered after its all dried out. Simple


Plaster doesn't sag, surely.?

Looks as if Plasterboard with a layer of Plaster , Maybe, except You can't dig Your Nails into Plaster.Seperate this from whatever it's attached to
and replace..

Looks a messy job though.

[delderek]

Water has got between the concrete ceiling and the plaster that's all, separating the two. That will have to be scrapped off and re-plastered after its all dried out. Simple

Correct the plaster has separated. .but you can dig your finger into the cement. Above the plaster. Or whatever it is. That's the worrying thing. And that is what is sagging.

[marbro8]

Correct the plaster has separated. .but you can dig your finger into the cement. Above the plaster. Or whatever it is. That's the worrying thing. And that is what is sagging.so could it be what i first suggested chipboard:dontknow: mind you saying that the chipboard was in the apartment above and underneath that was the joists, and the plaster boards where nailed to those:dontknow:

[delderek]

so could it be what i first suggested chipboard:dontknow: mind you saying that the chipboard was in the apartment above and underneath that was the joists, and the plaster boards where nailed to those:dontknow:

No definitely no timber or plasterboard. To be honest never seen that in Tenerife.its all concrete rebars and block work. And now possibly a very sandy mix between floors.

[marbro8]

No definitely no timber or plasterboard. To be honest never seen that in Tenerife.its all concrete rebars and block work. And now possibly a very sandy mix between floors.oh sorry mate i thought that your friend had just got back to the uk and found the problem, not in tenerife;)

[TenerifeTeddy]

I can tell you from experience of 8 years here. With rain breaking though our local 3 times and 2 floodings from upstairs apartments with idiots leaving taps on, that the ceilings are rebarred concrete with a layer of plaster on top. The plaster does bulge before it finally caves in as the water saturates it and it sags and splits under the weight. Last time 3 days ago and a €400 printer ruined.

[Angusjim]

Make holes in the bulges and drain off the water and get dehumidifiers in ASAP. It is a bit unusual for plaster to bulge when applied directly on to concrete normally bulging is on plasterboard or on lathe and plaster constructed ceilings.

[delderek]

oh sorry mate i thought that your friend had just got back to the uk and found the problem, not in tenerife;)

My fault I didn't explain properly.:scared:

[essexeddie]

I think you will find it was what I said, you don't nail (or screw now) plasterboard to a concrete ceiling, you plaster it. Water has got between the two and separated them, it will eventually collapse.
It all has to come down (plaster) and plastered.

[bulldog]

My fault I didn't explain properly.:scared:

depends on the age of the apartment if build after 2008,floors can be under hung with a
soundproof/ insulation board these can come in grey you might be mistaking it for concrete
its plastered after fixing,to be taking in rain is it an atico appt.?if so you,ll need to cure the
roof terrace to stop future probs.

[delderek]

depends on the age of the apartment if build after 2008,floors can be under hung with a
soundproof/ insulation board these can come in grey you might be mistaking it for concrete
its plastered after fixing,to be taking in rain is it an atico appt.?if so you,ll need to cure the
roof terrace to stop future probs.

Apartment is 20 years old and definitely concrete ceiling. I now assume that the plaster coating is very thick explaining why you can dig your finger in it. The cause was a flooded terrace of the apartment above.

[bulldog]

the older places were plastered with a soft plaster which went off quick lots were sprayed over with colamina
which has that woodchip finish that made the finish harder and covered the rough finish.either way its easy to
fix,they chop out the failed plaster and repair .

[kingbaker]

Go away!.......