Repairing hairline cracks in the ceiling.

psd99

psd99

psd99

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I was thinking of getting a knife making them a bit deeper then filling that line up with decorators caulk before applying poly filler

What is your method to repair these annoying cracks?
 
I drilled a series of small holes along the Crack ( 6mm something like that ) then filled with wickes all purpose filler, I wouldn't bother with caulk. I done that a few years ago and they haven't came back
 
Filler on top of caulk isnt the best idea, the other way around maybe.

Are the cracks following the lines of plasterboard joins?
 
Lumeycom said:
Filler on top of caulk isnt the best idea, the other way around maybe.

Are the cracks following the lines of plasterboard joins?
Click to expand...

these cracks are on the old lath ceilings
i.e wood and a combination of concrete and probably horse hair lol

basically I got a hole drilled to make the light be in the centre
from that point there are very long but hairline cracks from the centre of the room to the end point

why is caulk better to put on afterwards?
 
Because caulk is flexible, you don't put something flexible under somethng that isn't (filler)

I just used easyfill then paint the ceiling with flexible paint.
 
psd99 said:
these cracks are on the old lath ceilings
i.e wood and a combination of concrete and probably horse hair lol

basically I got a hole drilled to make the light be in the centre
from that point there are very long but hairline cracks from the centre of the room to the end point

why is caulk better to put on afterwards?
Click to expand...

Lath and plaster is wooden laths and lime mortar, and it sounds like it has blown (the lime has come away from the wood in places).

Your best bet would be to overboard or replace it but if you want a quick fix, don't waste your money on consumer stuff buy Gyproc Easi Fill - a far superior product, I've used it to finish off the coving, skirting and plaster repairs.
 
Brozart said:
Lath and plaster is wooden laths and lime mortar, and it sounds like it has blown (the lime has come away from the wood in places).

Your best bet would be to overboard or replace it but if you want a quick fix, don't waste your money on consumer stuff buy Gyproc Easi Fill - a far superior product, I've used it to finish off the coving, skirting and plaster repairs.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say blown away it is more like a very thin line across the ceiling where the holes were made for the new lights

I was thinking of boarding it up but that's gonna cost more and plus the whole room has been painted. I will buy the stuff you mentioned, is it better than polyfiller then?
 
Had to do a ton of thin cracks a couple of years ago.

Used filler, think it might have been a flexible variety. Squeezed a line along the crack and scraped it in using a paint stripping knife.

We were doing painting too and everything had at least 2 coats on top.
 
old thread but different cracks in a different room. the new cracks are on a wall and are horizontal like hairline cracks.

one suggestion on here was to use scrim tape but how do you get a really good finish? I tried it on the first celing and despite whatever I did you could still see the tape above the easi fill.

what kind of experiences have you all had with repairing cracks successfully?
 
Scrim tape is for plastering over really.
I had a number of cracks in one of my bedrooms so i put some noggins up in the ceiling above some of the cracks then used plasterboard screws to screw into the ceiling either side of the wood, then put scrim tape over the cracks and skimmed the whole ceiling, it was probably overkill but no cracks have re appeared since and that was in 2015
. Is the ceiling on the ground floor or upstairs ?
 
It depends what the cause is, which is really what you need to diagnose

If its the initial movement after construction, anything will do really, or likewise if its a known event on an old property, such as bashing something by mistake

If its movement however, either an old property taking on losing water with seasons, or an old/new property that has a moving joist or something thats far harder to fix. Typically fixing the issue first then fixing the crack is far better.

I tend to use the screwfix fine surface filler for most repairs and then the pre mixed plaster for large ones, such as the holes from removing tiles.

Caulk is ok if there is a very small amount of movement but you will tend to notice the paint cant cling on forever if there is repeated movement
 
so its a new extension actually - just built 3-4 years back
this is on the ground floor.

i dont think it is anything sinister probably just settlement of the foundations and or possibly how hot the room gets (open plan kitchen diner and its got a massive radiator underneath the cracks like 1600mm one.

someone came over and suggested to use a mesh like one from selco (pink mesh) and then replaster the whole wall
 
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