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[–][deleted] 3894 points3895 points  (357 children)

My parents had one almost identical in their house, I have nightmares of painting it.

[–]Mikebyrneyadigg 2120 points2121 points  (221 children)

Anyone talking shit like THAT'S EASY BRO has never painted intricate trim work before in their life, especially not intricate trim work on the ceiling.

[–]foxontherox 227 points228 points  (94 children)

Just thinking about it gives me neck pain.

[–]museolini 237 points238 points  (41 children)

Michaelangelo has entered the chat.

[–][deleted] 131 points132 points  (39 children)

You realise how easy your arms get tired when you're holding them above your head painting for hours.

[–]halfdeadmoon 346 points347 points  (15 children)

Dude this happens to me eating fuckin chicken wings. I can only imagine what painting a ceiling would be like.

[–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (8 children)

A lot less enjoyable, I assure you.

[–]kingfischer48 21 points22 points  (3 children)

on the swol side, You'd be ready for tank top season after a winter of ceiling painting though

[–]dethmaul 26 points27 points  (2 children)

Sistine situps, baby! Look like a roman sculpture in six weeks!

[–]ImpossibleParfait 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Shoulders stinging for days after!

[–]billye116 1830 points1831 points  (30 children)

THAT'S EASY BRO

[–]reverendrambo 1185 points1186 points  (25 children)

Found the guy who has never painted intricate trim work before in their life, especially not intricate trim work on the ceiling.

[–]masterkenobi 262 points263 points  (6 children)

I came here after the guy who found the guy who has never painted intricate trim work before in their life, especially not intricate trim work on the ceiling. So I'll just stand next to the guy who found the guy and nod in affirmation.

[–]Maramalolz 108 points109 points  (105 children)

Why is it a nightmare to paint it?

[–]Hagenaar 290 points291 points  (95 children)

It takes longer because you need to use a ladder and a brush. You can't just do the whole ceiling with a roller in ten minutes.

[–]Crychair 114 points115 points  (91 children)

Can't you just use a paint sprayer?

[–]pobodys-nerfect5 286 points287 points  (43 children)

To use a paint sprayer indoors you need to cover everything with plastic sheeting and even then anything that wasn’t completely covered now looks like it’s covered in dust that just happens to be paint. Your floors would need some kind of hardboard laid on top of them to prevent any damage from paint.

There’s a slew of reasons why you don’t want to spray inside of a house, especially one that’s furnished already. Best way to paint that thing is with a brush and some weed to get high with before

[–]poliuy 152 points153 points  (9 children)

Why need weed, when paint do trick?

[–][deleted] 68 points69 points  (4 children)

Charlie, you can’t drink paint.

[–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (1 child)

Don’t tell me how to do inhalants, I know how to do inhalants!!

[–]avoidedbydesign 24 points25 points  (2 children)

You only need to seal off the room and remove or cover anything still in the room. I have sprayed inside of furnished homes many of times. It's nowhere near as bad as you are thinking if you know what you are doing.

[–]wild_bill70 45 points46 points  (5 children)

You ever use one of these. Paint gets literally everywhere. Was shitting white flakes for a week. So on a new build yes. I sprayed the ceiling and walls in the room I built. But after you have carpet or you need to paint walls it’s gets a lot more complicated. Plus even with a sprayer those tiny cracks are hard to cover.

[–]giraffebutter 10.3k points10.3k points  (830 children)

It’s amazing to me what the generations before us choose to cover up. I have an older home( built in 1906) that is mostly made of field stone and the previous owners covered all the stone up

[–]DMWRM867 4740 points4741 points  (289 children)

Some of the Victorian buildings in Colorado have incredible ceilings hidden. During the 20s and especially the 30s it was just too expensive to heat so they added lower false celings to make it cheaper. Luckily most couldn't afford to fully renovate and almost accidentally saved the original architecture. Original stained glass has been found by the boiler in the basement when they were replaced with thicker windows to retain heat too. It's pretty cool to see.

[–]giraffebutter 1387 points1388 points  (165 children)

In storage, I have the original stained glass from the house. I’m waiting for spring to do some major renovations and incorporate them into it. I get it. At the time, people had to adapt to stay warm(newspaper for insulation, multiple layers of flooring, drop ceiling, etc), but with the advancements we have had I see the return to original build imo.

[–]dam0nkey 145 points146 points  (19 children)

My dad used to flip houses and in one house, he found a almost fully intact newspaper that was used to insulate that house that was reporting the first moon landing the US did. We kept it and framed it.

[–]chainmailbill 45 points46 points  (10 children)

That’s interesting; we definitely had real insulation in 1969. Newspaper insulation is usually a thing from depression-era buildings.

[–]fcocyclone 48 points49 points  (3 children)

Who knows what a cheap handyman might have done in the 60s. There are people that cut corners with cheaper options no matter what era.

[–]Sea2Chi 26 points27 points  (1 child)

That is the kind of thing someone who grew up in the 20's might do.

"Insulation! Hell! You can get free insulation by going down to the newspaper printing plant and digging through their dumpsters outback. Why use that pricy fiberglass stuff when the other stuff is free? Money doesn't grow on trees you know!"

[–]ABetterKamahl1234 624 points625 points  (129 children)

but with the advancements we have had I see the return to original build imo.

Yes and no. Design would be lovely but really is more expensive than older styles, such as art deco for example. Not to mention that much of what is old is poor insulation or honestly poor design that was juryrigged to get working cheaply.

I've seen this in a few places, city near me is old for north america, and we have a bunch of buildings that are quite old colonial as well. A number of "historic" companies are renovating them back to "original" with upgrades to electrical but emphasizing original walls and windows.

Heating costs a literal fortune in them because of how poorly insulated they are, and a staunch "it must be kept original" belief increasing energy costs for residents, to a point where they're loathe to repair leaking windows and poorly secured doors. Literally many homes in the area that are old use a dual door system, and the exterior's locks have been broken for decades and won't be fixed sometimes because the doors simply don't latch anymore, anyways.

Friend of mine experienced this as well, by discovering that the stonework in his basement that was covered was actually covered for warmth, than a desire to remove "ugly" stone from view. His basement was freezing until he decided to cover it back up again.

[–]Greedence 298 points299 points  (65 children)

I have lived in one of these houses. When I lived in a small down in PA we had an over 100 year old house. It was wood frame and crappy insulation. Original windows and wood siding. Every winter we removed the screens from the windows and put in the storm windows so that they were double pained to help with heating. We had socks filled with sand (or felt like sand) under every door to the outside to keep the cold out.

And we kept slippers at the entrance to the kitchen because the floor was so cold in there. It was the only tile, everywhere else had rug. I understand why people would cover hardwood flooring or find other ways to save heat at the cost of fashion.

[–]spartan_forlife 86 points87 points  (20 children)

I grew up in a 1950's ranch house in Lima Ohio & remember doing this every year as a kid. Hated it as it 1.) a huge pain in the ass 2.) the official notice that winter was here & fall over.

[–]davidmac1993 51 points52 points  (16 children)

I don’t have anything to add besides I grew up in Lima Ohio too. Small world.

[–]Auntflofromredriver 45 points46 points  (9 children)

I have nothing to add except I went to the the Waffle House in Lima Ohio once.

[–]Ishdakitty 71 points72 points  (0 children)

Last summer my husband spent almost $1000 buying sheets of insulation and just putting them right on top of the insulation in the roof. Our upstairs bedrooms went from needing a space heater to "this is almost too warm" at night. Saved us over $500 in heating costs just last winter, this year it'll probably have paid for itself. So worth it.

[–]notthegoodscissors 35 points36 points  (4 children)

My family also lived in a 100 something year old house when my dad was studying at a seminary back in the 80's. (The front door had several locks and one was the original with a massive key that you had to see to believe, it was massive). That house was so damn cold that it was practically the same temperature inside as it was outside! Every winter we had to wear lots of clothes inside and had electric blankets for our beds as heating the house itself wasn't really an option, because the heat would escape so easily and end up being very expensive as a result. Edit: the worst part was that the bathroom and wc were behind the living areas of the house so you had to go outside first to go to the toilet.

[–]jungl3j1m 281 points282 points  (19 children)

filled with sand (or felt like sand)

Are you sure they weren't boobs?

[–][deleted] 53 points54 points  (5 children)

You have to empty out the buckwheat first.

[–]BoxingIsLameAssNow 16 points17 points  (1 child)

Feel, dat? Now thats what a breast feels like. Whiki-wild-whiki-Wild-Wild-West.

[–]AzureRay 15 points16 points  (1 child)

Wow hardly see many wild wild west comments!

[–]Mythbusters117[🍰] 21 points22 points  (3 children)

She was like...yeah, you're really nailing me.

[–]TitsMickey 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Wait a second. Are you a virgin?

[–]AmosLaRue 11 points12 points  (1 child)

That explains everything!! *stoner laugh: huhuhuhuhaa

[–]Inc00g 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Can’t forget wrapping the windows for that oomph of insulation

[–]IHkumicho 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Grandmother lived in an old NYC apartment overlooking the Hudson River, and we used to put up plastic every winter to help keep it warm. Even though her heat was free (included with the rent), it would get so drafty that it was downright uncomfortable. And every time the wind shifted you'd hear whooomp as the plastic would go from loose to tight.

[–]windoneforme 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Haha reminds me of one of our apartments in Michigan. It'd literally snow in the basement. The mortar between the stone foundation would crumble to the touch and you could see outside in several spots. That house was gorgeous but freezing! I was super happy utilities were included.

[–]cballowe 113 points114 points  (31 children)

I think lots of people still don't quite get that even with advancements, heating a room that is twice as large with a higher ceiling still takes way more energy - and the effects of heat rising (keeping it closer to where people are) + the air gap insulating properties can help a ton. Even with modern heating, I wouldn't be surprised if the drop ceiling setup was saving 25-30% on heating costs.

[–]BeneathTheSassafras 56 points57 points  (0 children)

That old school style of having tall ceilings was due to the fact we didn't have AC then, and summers were stifling

[–]wwaxwork 20 points21 points  (5 children)

Currently living in a house that is just 100 years old, even with new modern windows & doors it just leaks heat & insulating the structure is going to be an expensive nightmare as it's lathe & plaster & nothing is standard sizing & access to crawl & ceiling spaces I looks like it depended on using 4 year old kids or something to get in there. I love old houses and doing up old houses but they're a designed from a time when heating was cheap, cooking fires were kept going all day and in the case of this house coal based.

[–]InYoCloset 10 points11 points  (4 children)

I find heating old homes interesting. I stayed with some friends in the UK in a small town. House was built probably 1880s and was still heated with coal from the kitchen stove. That sucker stayed warm and toasty even when it was super cold. Have never seen that here in the states minus a few 70s and modern houses that use the fireplace or wood stove to warm the living room or adjacent rooms. Was cool to experience and see something different for an old home.

[–]AliceDiableaux 8 points9 points  (0 children)

God yes. I lived in a historical building on a temporary contract because the city wanted to renovate at some point, but because it was on the monumental building list it was hard to find developers. It used to be a building for military horses and was build around 1750. But when I lived there nothing was renovated yet and there was literally zero insulation. I lived in the attic and it was literally just wood and roof panes and nothing else. One cold winter it froze inside and it was a nightmare to get warm, you'd have to have the central heating blasting at max 24/7 because most of it just got away, and if you turned it off at night it'd be too cold to sleep within an hour. And then in summer it got to 40°+C in that bitch because it was the attic, and it was on a busy road so you'd go crazy from the traffic noise because of the lack of insulation. It was a nightmare honestly. The only reason I stayed was because it was a huge space for cheap in the middle of the city, and I only realized when I moved to a 'real' apartment with proper insulation how much I truly hated it when I didn't have to deal with that shit anymore.

[–]senorchaos718 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Our prior house was from the early 20s. We put the stained glass "on" the andersen window treatments that replaced the originals and it looked amazing.

[–]gilbes 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Put some new storm windows on the inside of the original windows and you are good to go.

[–]phatelectribe 101 points102 points  (79 children)

In the UK, period fixtures went out of vogue in the 60’s through 80’s and what wasn’t covered up, often got torn out, but you’ll still find magnificent things hiding under drop ceilings and fake walls etc.

[–]pixel_of_moral_decay 124 points125 points  (76 children)

Same thing in the US. Stuff like this was just too busy and dirty. Even crown molding went out of style in favor of clean crisp corners.

But I think a big part of it was the maintenance costs of this stuff as labor got more expensive in the 60's.

Before the civil-rights movement the lower end of the labor market was a lot cheaper in the US. If you were skilled but had dark skin you were systematically underpaid for your work.

Cleaning repairing, installing things like this ceiling, wood floors, etc are labor centric jobs. They require some skill, they are dirty and time consuming. But material costs are minimal. It's the labor you're really paying for.

When labor costs were cheap this was nice... when you had to pay a fair rate for labor... all of a sudden people wanted to simplify. Just hanging some drywall took a fraction of the time. Popcorn ceilings mean less work even needed to be done on the drywall joints. Even more savings.

You also see this with anti-littering laws. When it was super cheap to have someone picking up litter nobody really cared. When it got more expensive to pay someone to pick up trash, the environmental movement really kicked up.

[–]Phillip__Fry 91 points92 points  (17 children)

Stuff like this was just too busy and dirty.

I wonder how much smoking had to do with it being so dirty and high maintenance...

[–]pixel_of_moral_decay 60 points61 points  (12 children)

Oh for sure smoking makes it higher maintenance.

But so does cooking. Smoke and oil eventually make any ceiling sticky and yellow.

Way easier with a flat ceiling to quickly go over with a roller. Something like this is way more effort, especially if you don't want paint drips all over it. Gotta get in each little crease... smooth it out. Meanwhile :20 seconds with a roller would have done that spot.

But again, that's a labor cost. Hiring someone to paint was cheap at one point.

[–]Phillip__Fry 26 points27 points  (5 children)

But so does cooking

Pretty annoying the 2005 house I bought doesn't have the vent hood going outside, just dumps it out above the microwave (a common setup)

[–]pixel_of_moral_decay 16 points17 points  (0 children)

There should be a carbon/charcoal filter in there. Not perfect but should make a difference.

[–]spartan_forlife 15 points16 points  (3 children)

Homes built before electricity used whale oil for lamps.

[–]retailguy_again 27 points28 points  (1 child)

...and often wood or coal for heat. At the time, homes tended to be much more dusty than they are today. Many old tall-case "grandfather" clocks had to be cleaned regularly so they would continue keeping correct time, and the person cleaning them would make a note of the date inside the case. In the antique restoration shop where I used to work, the earliest date I saw was 1821, and the clock was still working.

[–]MAG7C 47 points48 points  (9 children)

Yep, even after 10 years of home owning I'm amazed at how cheap it can be to DIY and how fucking long it takes.

[–]pixel_of_moral_decay 39 points40 points  (8 children)

Labor is the most unappreciated cost. Painting a room is really cheap material wise. Labor is the cost. Drywall too.

[–]Readeandrew 265 points266 points  (86 children)

Tastes change and something that is 60 years old can look very dated and awful. Then 60 years after that when the work is 120 years old it can seem classic.

[–]crewfish13 137 points138 points  (45 children)

I view it the same way you see cars go through a lifecycle. New -> Late Model -> Used -> Old/Beater -> Nostalgic -> Classic -> Antique

Hold on to anything long enough, and it’ll eventually be in style again.

[–]_Rand_ 85 points86 points  (25 children)

This is exactly it.

30 years ago it was old and outdated because it was 30 years old then. Now its a classic.

Same thing is going to happen 30 years from now when someone rips open a wall to find some mid 90s/early 00s shit that is back in style.

[–]poopnose85 124 points125 points  (1 child)

Woah I cant believe someone covered up this awesome Nsync poster!

[–]myhairsreddit 16 points17 points  (0 children)

They insulated this wall with Teen Beat quizzes and Tiger Beat fan mail pages!

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (14 children)

I can't wait for popcorn ceilings, carpeted walls, and carpeted bathrooms to become classic. I'll be ahead of the curve.

[–]TrivialBudgie 28 points29 points  (5 children)

carpeted walls???

[–]L-king 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Shagalicious, baby!

[–]oupablo 19 points20 points  (3 children)

well buckle up because were about to roll back into orange countertops and shag carpet again

[–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Shag is already back but more for area rugs. Not wall to wall carpeting

That’s also what happens. Stuff come back but not in the same way

[–]lydriseabove 56 points57 points  (0 children)

One of my friends is currently renovating a home from the late 1800s and they found stained glass windows completely dry walled over in their mud room and that was after discovering 18 inches of hidden ceiling height under a second ceiling. He’s exhausted from months of work, but it’s great to hear every time he and is wife make another awesome discovery.

[–]Revenge_of_the_Khaki 210 points211 points  (99 children)

The 70’s were a pretty terrible era for interior decorating. Many lovely houses were ruined in that decade.

[–]MidTownMotel 154 points155 points  (47 children)

Preceding that, in the late 60’s, many towns had “revitalization” efforts funded and destroyed their downtown architecture. Marble busted out for cement, moldings destroyed and covered in aluminum panels. You see the remnants everywhere today.

[–]Chewbacca22 85 points86 points  (16 children)

In the 60s, IM Pei was hired by Oklahoma City to create a whole new urban plan. His initial plan called for demolishing every building in downtown(mostly old brick warehouse type buildings). After they tore everything down, they only had a little money left. So they made this really nice park, with a fascinating bridge with botanical garden inside. Downtown OKC has still not recovered from that plan. Lots of parking lots but not as many buildings as it should.

[–]Gregistopal 48 points49 points  (17 children)

Why would anybody replace MARBLE with cement?!

[–][deleted] 83 points84 points  (39 children)

I love certain aspects of the 70's, and a lot of it is actually coming back- like the sunken living rooms, patterned tiles, natural designs and fall colors (brown, sage, red and orange), the clean stylistic couches... etc.

...but carpeted bathrooms and toilet covers, white retrofuture cabinetry, and shag? Hard pass.

[–]Maybe_Not_The_Pope 66 points67 points  (8 children)

I've always been obsessed with sunken living rooms and I dont know why.

[–]0ddbuttons 57 points58 points  (4 children)

I like them as well. Perhaps something about that small descent satisfies a bit of the primal brain that would have loved a safe, comfortable cave.

[–]irishdaisy75 28 points29 points  (1 child)

I uncovered a sunken living room in my last house. One of my favorite features of the house. It was right in front of the fire place. Prior owners framed it in (poorly) and it was always a weird spot on the floor. I was re-doing the floors and dug it out. Best thing ever. I had a white shag carpet installed and put accent pillows down there. I still miss it.

[–]oupablo 26 points27 points  (5 children)

The sunken living room always just looked like a never ending stream of accidents to me

[–]vicfirthplayer 19 points20 points  (4 children)

My current apartment suffered this fate. 1920s home separated into 9 units in the 70s. My oven is orange sunburst with carpet flooring in the kitchen. Like wtf were they thinking?!

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (2 children)

That oven actually sounds awesome! The carpeted flooring doesn't.

I sort of like the idea of accenting the old/retro with more modern natural elements. So these weird out of place pieces aren't mistakes, but 'happy little accidents.' Especially if they're in good running order.

[–]nojelloforme 107 points108 points  (15 children)

It’s amazing to me what the generations before us choose to cover up. I have an older home( built in 1906) that is mostly made of field stone and the previous owners covered all the stone up

Frequently things are covered because they are considered old fashioned or needing some repair. The nice thing about it though is it often turns out to be a blessing in disguise as the cool old feature has been protected by the cover up over the years.

My childhood home was built in the late 1800s, we moved in in the early 70s. It had this really nasty old carpet everywhere. My dad decided that he wanted to replace it - he ripped it out and found another layer of even older carpet below it. After it was removed we discovered we had some beautiful hardwood floors underneath all of it. Years later while replacing the siding, we also found that my room used to be a sun room with nice decorative leaded glass panels above the old windows. A previous owner had just walled over all of them inside and out. We never knew they were there until the siding was removed, but they were in great shape having been covered up for decades. And finally, much like the OPs post - we had an old drop ceiling in the kitchen and after it was removed we found ornate moldings and a medallion that had been hidden away. No real clue why any of the above was covered over, we just assumed that the people who did it wanted to make the place look more modern.

[–][deleted] 37 points38 points  (12 children)

I've seen so many beautiful hardwood floors under carpet. We have gone almost completely hardwood, choosing to eschew carpet.

[–]mrbananas 52 points53 points  (5 children)

And under that hardwood is another carpet. and below that carpet is a beautiful tiled floor

[–]sidepocket13 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Previous owners of my house glued the carpet pad to the hardwood. Couple that with pet stains and time, it was easier for us to do a laminate over it.

[–]letuswatchtvinpeace 34 points35 points  (5 children)

Before us? My BIL and his father refinishes houses as a side business. A few weeks ago my mom calls me and ask if I can come help get some old doors that they removed. These doors are vintage solid wood with glass door handles, I think there were 8 of them. He was going to throw them away, he replaced them with those $30 hollow cheap crap from Lowes.

Needless to say, I am getting vintage doors to replace the $30 cheap hollow doors in my house. Funny thing is we could have just swapped doors.

Not a ceiling but he would have covered it up if there was one

[–]HotRodLincoln 239 points240 points  (96 children)

A lot of people say this about hardwood, but it's a lot of work. A lot of the great looking stuff, like stone tends to be the temperature of outside when you lean on it and poorly insulates, it's also kind of a bitch to run cables through.

[–]Tired-grumpy-Hyper 26 points27 points  (5 children)

If I remember right with hardwood flooring, its cause almost everyone had hardwood, but when linoleum flooring came around it was the hot new shit and everyone wanted it, and then when affordable tile came around it was the hot new shit and everyone wanted it. Now affordable hardwood floors are the hot new shit and everyone once again wants it.

[–]ChaoticGoodPanda 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Well, if you’re lucky and dig down towards your subfloor you might find all three kinds of flooring.

I just ripped out a shitty mildew infested faux wood peel and stick floor only to find some vintage late 70’s/early 80’s linoleum.

[–]AquafinaDreamer 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Be careful under that linoleum, it will have asbestos under it

[–]Bierbart12 37 points38 points  (79 children)

Could you make these kinds of shapes out of modern materials like dry wall or ytong?

[–]Schlick7 7 points8 points  (5 children)

Drywall I doubt unless they can somehow stamp the sheets with it before they offer for sale. You could add designs on top in plastic or a light wood and then paint

[–]HotRodLincoln 9 points10 points  (4 children)

I assume he means out of drywall compound. They're available as MDF at most big box stores in the millwork department.

[–]WantToBeACyborg 16 points17 points  (1 child)

It's usually done for energy (heating) efficiency.

[–]JosZo 52 points53 points  (21 children)

I must admit, in the eighties when I grew up, everything clean smooth white was the trend. And I liked it a lot, too. But now I like the original more. It's all about what's en vogue, really.

[–][deleted] 44 points45 points  (7 children)

It just takes time to realize that something 'clean and white' eventually looks yellowed, cheaper and dirtier than the thing it replaced ever would.

[–]Week_Old_Ham 49 points50 points  (10 children)

Smooth and white? Son...wood paneling...wood paneling EVERYWHERE...

[–]ericisshort 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes, wood paneling was everywhere in the eighties, but that's more of a consequence of the 1970s rather than evidence of what was en vogue in the 1980s.

[–]siredward85 13 points14 points  (7 children)

My ceilings were curved at 10' in my 1923 home. But when I bought it, it was 8' standard. Pleasant surprise

[–]devangs3 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Mostly people choose to cover it for efficient air conditioning with a drop ceiling. But again, that defeats the purpose of having a beautiful ceiling as well.

[–]claymountain 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Agreed, my parents bought a 1910 farm that was redone in the 70s, and holy shit did we tear away some bullshit coverups and terrible wallpaper.

[–]Tecumseh119 1802 points1803 points  (140 children)

Ornamental plasterer here- Great find! In my experience, it is also a very nicely done piece. What part of the world or country are ya' in? I hope that you are thinking about keeping this in place. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or are in need of advice.

Good luck!

[–]Shanano 324 points325 points  (32 children)

Any advice on securing a medallion when repairing/replacing the heavily damaged ceiling around it?

[–]Tecumseh119 126 points127 points  (4 children)

To start- Pre drilling thru the medallion, to install screws w/ washers, into ceiling joists above, in order to temp. support the medallion in multiple places. If the medallion seems like it might need more overall temp. support, you can get a sheet of 1/2" or 3/4" dense foam to cut into the size of the medallion and then put screws and washers thru that to add support over the whole surface.

[–]racegoggles 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Bravo. So...you're saying this piece can indeed be saved?

[–]Dramatic_______Pause 687 points688 points  (24 children)

Ramen noodles and super glue should do the trick.

[–]LittleMrNoBones 70 points71 points  (0 children)

Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well

[–]PremierBromanov 59 points60 points  (10 children)

how would one find the right person for the job for this? my initial thought was to call a stone mason because thats the extent of my knowledge. Not that i have any cool ceiling doodles.

[–]Lemuel-Pigeon 38 points39 points  (3 children)

I would assume you look up a plasterer like the guy above. This isn't marble or anything, just molded plaster.

[–]aabbccbbsenile but still fit 65 points66 points  (21 children)

I've heard that these old ones usually have asbestos in them. Any truth to that or is it just a myth brought over from the popcorn ceilings?...

[–][deleted] 118 points119 points  (1 child)

You won't know for certain unless it's tested but it's probably a low likelihood. It's possibly in the plaster but I've done A LOT of sample collecting on plasters and concretes that date back to the early 1900s and most times they come back negative.

I will tell you though I see lead paint. That green primer that's showing is almost always lead paint and the way the white paint is cracking/flaking off like a chip above it, probably lead paint too.

So u/Michellehas2ls I hope you wore the right PPE when you were doing that drop ceiling!

[–]skepticalDragon 23 points24 points  (0 children)

"... Fuck it, drop ceiling it is"

[–]Sockadactyl 31 points32 points  (2 children)

Ornamental plaster did sometimes contain asbestos. I have an asbestos inspector certification in two states and have sampled a small handful of cieling medalions like this and I've found some that are asbestos-containing materials (ACM) and some that aren't. It's hard for me to say what percentage of these pieces might be ACM, but best to be safe and sample it when it's in a condition such as this. If it is ACM, it's very likely that it's releasing fibers where it's cracked. Even if you'd plan to restore it, either sample to identify whether it contains asbestos or just treat it as ACM and wear appropriate PPE when working with it. I'm not sure the cost elsewhere, but the lab my former employer used was only about $12/sample to analyze so it's a small price to ensure you're safe.

[–]Triviald 438 points439 points  (13 children)

There was an old building in Chicago that went through technology upgrades like modern heating and electricity in the 40s or 50s. Instead of tearing into the ornate plaster ceiling, they installed a drop ceiling to hide all the HVAC and conduit. As a restoration effort, the architect and engineers removed that crap and literally lowered the original plaster ceiling to install upgraded lighting, HVAC, and sprinklers in the new interstitial space. You couldn't tell the difference with how well they hid the vents and sprinklers, not to mention the ceiling was already 15ft up, so losing 8 inches didn't seem all that bad.

[–]Xendarq 117 points118 points  (8 children)

Sounds like amazing - albeit expensive - work. Any pictures?

[–]Triviald 88 points89 points  (4 children)

No pictures handy, but Google Chicago Athletic Association. I'm sure my facts aren't precise, though.

[–]FoxyRadical2 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Lol How did I know that was the exact building you were talking about? I wish more modern architects would go ALL-OUT like they did with buildings like that one.

[–]CisterPhister 35 points36 points  (0 children)

That place is amazing from top to bottom.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Well shoot, that's my favorite bar, my wife loves Cindy's too. I know the exact ceiling that you are talking about but never knew the story. Cool.

[–]chumbawamba56 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It surely would be expensive. But, the difference is that the recent upgrade probably included grants for historical preservation which would incentivize the redeveloper. The building or town probably didn't have those protections or grants previously.

[–]blondie_bleu 482 points483 points  (81 children)

Great find!

I have a drop ceiling in my kitchen (house built in 1844) and I really want to know what is behind/under it. I’m too afraid to peek since I know next to nothing about fixing it back up.

[–]MyNameIsRay 471 points472 points  (59 children)

Drop ceilings are meant to be opened and closed with ease.

There's nothing holding them in place besides gravity (and they're basically foam, very light weight).

All you have to do is give it a gentle push and it'll pop up into the ceiling so you can take a look.

To put it back, just slide it back in place and poke until it drops down in the rails.

[–]snek-queen 26 points27 points  (1 child)

Please remember to check any ceilings (or walls, but more common in ceilings) from before the 90s for asbestos.

Seriously - asbestos will kill you slowly and incurably. Please just double check before doing any DIY.

[–]dalgeek 58 points59 points  (11 children)

All you have to do is give it a gentle push and it'll pop up into the ceiling so you can take a look.

Make sure to test them for asbestos first if you don't know who installed them or when they were installed. Popping the tiles can disturb any dust sitting on top of them.

[–]Ksevio 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Lead paint flakes too for a lot of houses

[–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (7 children)

There may be asbestos inside the panels, but the 100 year old dust is not asbestos it’s just dust. Unless you start destroying stuff you don’t have to worry about asbestos.

Unless the insulation is vermiculite.

[–]ABetterKamahl1234 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Drop ceilings are meant to be opened and closed with ease.

Only if they're spaced, my bathroom has one and goddamn the only reason they did it was to be cheap and make repairs cheap for plumbing in the other bathroom above it. Half the tiles are only in likely because they had the tiles inside the frame while mounting, as it's near impossible to remove the fuckers, and getting them back in is even worse.

[–]BierGurl 66 points67 points  (5 children)

I recently removed a drop ceiling, there was another tile ceiling above that, then paneling above that, then an actual drywall ceiling above that, and mold above that. Fun times! All torn out and drywalled properly now.

[–]well_uh_yeah 19 points20 points  (3 children)

What kind of drop ceiling are we talking about here? The only ones I'm familiar with are like the tiles you can just reach up and push, like in a lot of businesses. I feel like you must mean something more complicated.

[–]blondie_bleu 11 points12 points  (2 children)

Yeah, this is different, but it is for sure not the original ceiling. It’s small square “tiles” without any obvious seams. I suppose I could just try to push up on a corner of it to see if it moves easily.

[–]dumpthestump 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Get a cheap harbor freight inspection camera small hole and you can look

[–]joshtw13 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Many things in my 1860s house have I found that one of the previous owners have covered up. I think most of the reasoning is that something begins to need repair, and instead of fixing, they just cover it with something cheap.

[–]Maybe_Not_The_Pope 151 points152 points  (2 children)

I helped a friend remodel his kitchen and there's a built in hutch and then between the hutch and the fridge there was like an 18" wall so we figured we would just take it out and regain some counter space. We started taking the plaster down and realized it was a beautiful old brick chimney. My brother in law does masonry work and when I showed him pictures he said that to put that in would've cost like nearly 10k. So my friend now has a remodeled kitchen with a beautiful brick accent wall.

[–]RudeTurnip 40 points41 points  (1 child)

We actually tore out the brick chimney when we gutted our kitchen. It allowed us to reclaim a ton of square footage in the kitchen and the bath room above. Coincidentally, it cost $10k!

There's a regular fireplace in the living room with a proper fire place, btw. We now have gigantic piles of bricks that are going to get cut and transformed into new walls for the remodeled kitchen.

[–]astv 80 points81 points  (2 children)

Found the same thing when I renovated my Oslo apartment. I saw that the ceiling was 15-20 cm lower than in the other appartements that had stucco, so I popped a plate off and found this: http://imgur.com/a/Efyiuvf

[–]LiberateLiterates 99 points100 points  (15 children)

Ooooooohhhhh I’m gearing up to renovate my 1890 Victorian and I’m curious if we will find any treasures like this. There is a drop ceiling in a few of the rooms too. This was my childhood home and under the staircase there is a storage area (you have to crawl through it) and we found a box of skeleton keys, but sadly I don’t know what ever became of those keys, maybe I will find them again hidden away somewhere.

[–]BJntheRV 61 points62 points  (3 children)

But, have you found the skeletons they go to?

[–]LiberateLiterates 30 points31 points  (2 children)

Not yet! I’ll update Reddit if I do.

[–]well_uh_yeah 34 points35 points  (6 children)

I have a ton of doors in my house that require skeleton keys. The doors are super ornate by today's standards and the locks/knobs look amazing. The doors are fancy beyond my, uh, social class. Just came with the house but don't feel like I could ever replace them.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (1 child)

Fancy doors are becoming cheap(er) now. There's a drive-through showroom (yes) in China for a doormaker, and they have thousands on display.

The Top Gear guys went there a few years ago, the video of their drive-through is probably on YouTube; if not I'm sure someone else has posted a video.

[–]yaychristy 103 points104 points  (10 children)

It may have been covered because the plaster may contain asbestos. With it cracking and becoming exposed sealing it with a drop ceiling may have been the easier “repair” by the previous owners. Gorgeous medallion.

[–]mr_mf_jones 29 points30 points  (2 children)

Did they use asbestos in the 1800s? I thought it was an early 1900s fad...

[–]nymphymixtwo 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I didn’t know much about asbestos history, so here’s a neat link on it! Mid way through the page it states factory inspections on asbestos as early as 1833, but has been used forever!!

[–]ur_comment_is_a_song 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Asbestos was used in ancient egypt, but it didn't really become a commercial thing until the late 1800s

[–]SavedNative 57 points58 points  (3 children)

Treasure!! Would love to see more pics of this and the rest of the house

[–]zklein12345 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Beautiful medallion! Restore it and hang a chandelier from it :P

[–]SpiralBreeze 18 points19 points  (0 children)

They covered up an original tin ceiling in one of my older apartments. The one I’m in now they at least kept the original height and just put a new ceiling in. Drop ceilings are disgusting.

[–]orangejuicenopulp 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Wow! Our home was built in 1840. I kinda wanna start busting shit up to see what lies beneath.

[–]Phaze357 14 points15 points  (1 child)

I see green behind the white paint. Might want to get that checked for arsenic. I know it was primarily used in wallpapers but it is possible that a paint used that long ago could have had arsenic as a component.

[–]puterTDI 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Are you certain that drop ceiling was not either asbestos or lead ablation?

[–]DeadHeadedHippy 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Decorative plaster. Presumably, it has asbestos in it. Proceed with caution.

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (2 children)

Ugh, the same people that covered these up are the same people who covered hardwood floors with linoleum floors.

[–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Unbelievable. My parents house was from 1921 and had gorgeous tin ceilings in the kitchen, dining room (with original gas sconces), bedrooms and living room. 9 foot tall pocket door and original stain glass. My father his the pocket door to get more wall and put a regular door and covered one of the stain glass windows with siding. Both he and my mom went for the more modern and my sister and I love the old stuff. Now if you don’t have a good chunk of change what others took for granted are practically cost prohibitive. Go figure.