Numerous cracks in new plaster.
Discussion
My sister had several of her rooms re-plastered a couple of months ago, and apparently there are loads of cracks appearing in it. The guys who did it seem to be fobbing her off with all sorts of excuses and have told her they will hang lining paper if she wants. That's not really the answer though.
I have no direct involvement, haven't seen it, and know very little about it all, but are there any obvious reasons why the plaster would crack so much, all over the house? Is it common, or an obvious sign of mistakes or shoddy workmanship, poor preparation, wrong mix etc?
I have no direct involvement, haven't seen it, and know very little about it all, but are there any obvious reasons why the plaster would crack so much, all over the house? Is it common, or an obvious sign of mistakes or shoddy workmanship, poor preparation, wrong mix etc?
Some cracking can occur but as there's no real information in the OP then no one can comment.
It should be perfectly possible to plaster a room and it be painted without the need for lining with paper. Unless there's something wrong with the building.
I would suggest she get another plasterer around to comment on the work. All she should tell the plasterer is how she wants the room to be finished and let the plasterer tell her what needs to be done.
Any skilled plasterer will be able to assess the room and the type of plastering (ie skim, jointing type etc...) that is needed.
It should be perfectly possible to plaster a room and it be painted without the need for lining with paper. Unless there's something wrong with the building.
I would suggest she get another plasterer around to comment on the work. All she should tell the plasterer is how she wants the room to be finished and let the plasterer tell her what needs to be done.
Any skilled plasterer will be able to assess the room and the type of plastering (ie skim, jointing type etc...) that is needed.
As mentioned a little more detail would be handy but having my own place plastered at the moment and the chap who is doing the works mentioned that if the property had working heating and this was not switched to very low / off then it is very likely newly plastered walls will become cracked. Just a possibility of course.
rich_vw said:
As mentioned a little more detail would be handy but having my own place plastered at the moment and the chap who is doing the works mentioned that if the property had working heating and this was not switched to very low / off then it is very likely newly plastered walls will become cracked. Just a possibility of course.
I think this is why my new bathroom ceiling skim coat has detached in places leaving large craters...bugger
It was plastered in sept ish - we then moved out over the very, very cold spell for the extension and there was no heating in the house. We moved back in a month or so ago and went to paint - cue large chunks of the skim coming off.
It could be that the cracking was a direct result of the plaster drying out to quickly after being applied, this mainly manifests itself as a square patten cracking of differing sizes. The way of stopping this is to apply a water & PVA mix to the wall to kill the suction and allow the plaster to dry at it's own pace.
Other than that it's major movement in the walls and can't really be the plasterers problem.
Other than that it's major movement in the walls and can't really be the plasterers problem.
Sorry for the lack of info guys, but the house is on the other side of the planet and I'm hearing all the drama through my mother. They do have central heating in the house, and the plastering was done in the depths of winter, so it may have been just too hot.
Our house is two doors away, though we don't live there, but I do know our plaster was really awful,and crumbly, so maybe they just scraped a thin layer over it all.
I'll send the recommendation that she ask another plasterer round to give advice, as the first guy is just not playing ball.
Our house is two doors away, though we don't live there, but I do know our plaster was really awful,and crumbly, so maybe they just scraped a thin layer over it all.
I'll send the recommendation that she ask another plasterer round to give advice, as the first guy is just not playing ball.
A mate of mine is a supurb plasterer (no he actually is, not a 'yeh my mates the b
ks line') and done some round here, he prepped with pva mix, cleaned everything and taped all joins etc.
Guess what there was some very very minor cracking, i,m talking hairline fractures which the paint fills. I nearly cried.
This is quite common i believe and is down to the plaster drying to quick, which if you have ch on or its just hot then theres not a lot you can do.
If on the other hand the cracks really are cracks then thats obviously not good at all.
See if you can get some pics as that will im sure help when a pro comes along (which i am sure there are on this forum).
ks line') and done some round here, he prepped with pva mix, cleaned everything and taped all joins etc.Guess what there was some very very minor cracking, i,m talking hairline fractures which the paint fills. I nearly cried.
This is quite common i believe and is down to the plaster drying to quick, which if you have ch on or its just hot then theres not a lot you can do.
If on the other hand the cracks really are cracks then thats obviously not good at all.
See if you can get some pics as that will im sure help when a pro comes along (which i am sure there are on this forum).
Can be alsorts of things, be far most likely to have dried out to quickly as said. Either the wall wasn't sealed properly (typically a very thin 1:5 PVA:water mix the night before, then 3:1 PVA:water just before the job) or heating was on or a dehumidifier. Could be the plaster wasn't mixed correctly, was out of date etc as well, but most likely dried too quick.
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