by debra
(london united kingdom)
Hello.
Tried to repair cracks on a 1968 ceiling myself; fail.
Brought in a professional and he feathered both sides of the cracks with filler and made good. 6 months later; another fail!!!
What else can I do?
My idea .... see if there's a joist around the area, screw the existing plasterboard into the joists and then have another go on the assumption that the cracks are occurring because the original plasterboard has dropped.
Better options or just try and ignore it.
Thank you for any advice.
Answer
Hi Debra,
Plaster being rigid and inflexible will never cope with movement. So here's the solution...
Use plastering techniques - don't use plaster - use decorators caulk.
Here's a quick guide:
1. wet or seal any porous surfaces
2. apply decorators caulk as deep into the crack as possible.
3. with a wet trowel - at that all important flat(ish) angle - just as you would for skimming, push the caulk into the crack
4. clean the trowel and smooth in a similar fashion to stage 4 of the skimming process.
5. if shrinkage occurs after drying out repeat the process.
This really does work - providing a flexible finish. However it can take a little skill to smooth decorators caulk - but it's definitely worth a try to see if you have the knack.
good luck
Paul