I know from my own experience that ceiling collapses are relatively common in residential properties. There is an investigation underway so we will find out the cause in due course. It is unlikely that water ingress on the evening would have been enough to bring the ceiling down but if water had been dripping undetected over a long period on to a ceiling that had already been weakened by vibration the combination could have caused the collapse. Some onlookers at the Apollo Theatre were quoted as saying water dripped through the ceiling just before the collapse on what was a very wet evening in London. Similarly, water from above soaks into the porous plaster and weakens the nibs. If enough of them snap off the weight cannot be supported and the ceiling collapses. ![]() In practice that means the nibs that wrap around the laths and keep the ceiling in place snap off. Plaster is brittle by nature and will crack at its weakest point under vibration. ![]() Lath and plaster ceilings do not react well to vibration or water ingress. The ceilings of modern properties tend to be plasterboarded and skimmed and are considerably more stable. 32mm wide by 6mm thick) are securely nailed to the timber joists above but the lime based plaster, which can be up to an inch thick, is held in place by being forced through the gaps and hooking over the tops of the laths where it sets. Looking at the pictures of the Apollo’s interior there is much ornate plasterwork but being built in 1901 the base of the ceiling will undoubtedly be of lath and plaster type. Thursday evening’s collapse of a section of the ceiling at the Apollo Theatre in London brought in to sharp focus the need to maintain ceilings in period properties.
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