Fixing hairline cracks in new plaster….

Gah! I’ve always hated decorating, but I hate it even more at the moment!

We are redecorating one of the bedrooms in our house and the plaster was obviously a bit rubbish and we wanted to get the artex ceiling skimmed over, so got a plasterer in.
I removed all the loose stuff beforehand and he came round before starting to check it was taken back far enough. Around the cracks I went back to the bare brick/lintels underneath.

There was a large crack from the top corner of the window frame that went at an angle to the corner at the ceiling. There was a similar, but smaller crack that ran from the opposide top corner of the window to the opposite ceiling corner.
These appeared to be sorted by the skim, but 3 weeks later they have come back. The plasterer did warn us this might happen and he said there’s not a lot that can be done about it, so I don’t think it’s the work he has done, as such. He did another room in our house and that looks great still, 18 months on.

The weird/annoying thing is that the cracks were very noticeable when I got home from work yesterday, but by about 11pm they had closed up completely; you would not know there are cracks there. I guess this is temperature related.
I am not sure how to sort this, or if it is even possible. Given that the crack doesn’t seem stable, I would imagine that any filler I use will simply crack with the movement?
Is it possible to use something a bit more flexible like decorators caulk to fill the gap?

I don’t want to leave the cracks as they are quite obvious, but I don’t want to cover the wall in lining paper as I don’t think this will look very neat around the window.

Any ideas to repair/fill in the cracks that will be permanent? Ta.

caulk

Cracks at edges of the window? Hmm. What’s the pointing on the brickwork like outside? If there’s cracks there its wall that’s moving and not the plasterers fault.

My plasterer suggested filling them with the thicker paint from the lid of the paint tub as you paint the walls, which has worked really well and saved my buggering about with caulk.

If it’s a very old house, they tend to “breathe” with the seasons due to temperature, damp and humidity. You’re never going to stop it but lime mortar is very flexible and there tends not to be a problem. We sold our 175 yr old house recently and there were cracks and bulges all over the place and the structural engineer and surveyor didn’t bat an eyelid.

If it’s a new property, find out if it’s a problem that needs fixing.

Either way, a vinyl wallpaper is the best solution.

Hate to say it but the polycell stretchy stuff works really well. Not normally an advocate of “out the tub” stuff, but it works!

However, as you said there is something a little more sinister going on, so it’s worth looking into it.

eddie11 – Member
Cracks at edges of the window? Hmm. What’s the pointing on the brickwork like outside? If there’s cracks there its wall that’s moving and not the plasterers fault.

Think it’s fine….I haven’t noticed anything, but will look again this evening.
As I said in my OP, the plasterer did say the new plaster might crack in the same place, so I have no issue with his work.
The whole room needed doing, so I’m pleased with it overall.

I can see me slapping some caulk/flexible decorators filler stuff and seeing what happens. The cracks will be mostly hidden by the curtains/a fitted wardrobe, but I would rather sort the cracks out than just rely on covering them with curtains and furniture.

sobriety – Member
My plasterer suggested filling them with the thicker paint from the lid of the paint tub as you paint the walls, which has worked really well and saved my buggering about with caulk.

Hmmmm. Something to consider.

BigJohn – Member
If it’s a very old house, they tend to “breathe” with the seasons due to temperature, damp and humidity. You’re never going to stop it but lime mortar is very flexible and there tends not to be a problem. We sold our 175 yr old house recently and there were cracks and bulges all over the place and the structural engineer and surveyor didn’t bat an eyelid.

If it’s a new property, find out if it’s a problem that needs fixing.

Either way, a vinyl wallpaper is the best solution.

The house was made in 1967 – so not old but not new either, I guess.
I think I would rather try to fill the cracks before resorting to lining paper.

Sui – Member
Hate to say it but the polycell stretchy stuff works really well. Not normally an advocate of “out the tub” stuff, but it works!

However, as you said there is something a little more sinister going on, so it’s worth looking into it.

This is what I am hoping – that this flexi filler magic stuff will do the job.

I don’t think the walls are moving.
We’ve been there 3 years and I’ve not noticed any changes in the exterior. But will have a closer look this evening.

Ta for the suggestions.

not vinyl wallpaper, it’s horrid to remove and if a damp problem occurs (not that I think it would in this case tho) the plastic element hides the damp underneath

and…. this isn’t the 70s

Artex the whole room, it’s the in thing now.

Was it over skimmed or taken back to bare brickwork? Can’t workout which from your post. Over skimming does result in hairline cracking as it shrinks away from the backing.

dobbo – given my luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case!

wrightyson – some of it I took back to bare brick, other bits were sound so we’re just skimmed.
This particular bit was taken back to brick. I used the original crack as the start point for knocking the plaster off and took it back until I got to some solid stuff on either side.

The problem with using caulk is, if it is closing up it will push the caulk out and looks worse imo

Yeah, seanodav that is my concern.

If I fill it when the crack is open, it will probably just be pushed out when it closes back up.
It might not even show that much once the actual paint colour is on. But with the watered down emulsion that is on it now, the crack is really obvious against the white.

I have exactly the same problem in my flat (built around 1970). I’ve tried similar fixes, taking the plaster back to the brick work around the worst crack and filling with various different plasters or polyfillers and skimming but they always come back. I put it down to the cheap double glazed windows the previous owner installed, i think the frames expand and contract with the changing temperature and put pressure on the wall. It’s always more noticable in the summer or after a particularly hot day. Not noticed any problems with the external pointing. Will be keeping an eye on this thead for any magic solutions!

you could put a patch of lining paper over the crack, tear it around the edge instead of cutting. then fill the edge of the paper away with fine filler until you cant see it

Dobbo – Member
Artex the whole room, it’s the in thing now.
POSTED 17 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

Including the floor…

schnullelieber, funny you say about the windows as we have just had ours done.
But, the cracks were there long before that and i would be surprised if the plastic/glass in the windows has a high enough coefficient of thermal expansion to grow by much in hot weather.

seanodav, i like that idea. I imagine the outcome might look slightly less “blended in” than the mental image in my head due to my lack of skill! Although could always scrape it off if it looks rubbish.

Speaking with the neighbor yesterday and she said they have a similar problem (although cracks in old plaster).