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Plaster repair - Crack in ceiling

sawtooth

sawtooth

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I turn my hand at most DIY jobs but plastering scares the life out of me. Can anybody offer any tips/advice or even recommend a plasterer in the Camberley area?

Theres a crack in the ceiling plaster caused by settlement I think, house is about 10 yrs old. I can cope with a hole or two but a crack that goes across the hall way ceiling about a metre is something different.

All I have done so far is to cover the crack with fibreglass mesh tape which I was told I needed to do. I need help with knowing what plaster mix to use, how to mix it and tips for applying it.

Can anyone help?
 
Sawtooth, I had a crack in plaster in my living room and i used Fine Polyfilla to fill the gaps,fill it well then rub it down with sandpaper and emulsion over it,job done
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We had similar in dining room, before i could get round to filling, the whole ceiling collapsed. Old lathe and plaster one which are very heavy. My daughter had just been doing her homework on dining room table, and not worth thinking about the injuries she would have had. It was like solid lumps of concrete landing on your head from six feet

If its an old house beware, if its a new one you may get away with filling.
 
If you just fill the damaged area and sand it down it will crack again.There is a paper tape about 2in wide that you bed in using fillers then sand down. I am sure most DIY stores will sell this. It is a bit more work BUT it will save time in the long run. ( Goggle AMES TAPE )
 
Cheers, I knew I had to tape it because it will probably just crack again with filler. The bit I am worried about is making it level and seamless to the rest of the ceiling I dont want a dirty great ridge in the ceiling.

What mix do you recommend I should use and how do I get the consistency right? I tried googling and the vids I found make it look so easy but I know that plastering is never easy - for me anyway.
 
lots of sensible advice, but probably worth just having a quick think why has it cracked now and why has it cracked there.
Settlement cracks in the first year, or less often in teh next few years at most.

Shrnikage of plasterboard etc, again usually manifests itself in teh first year or 2.

Just have a check you havent got a water pipe running above, or the U bend under your bath leaking or similar
 
scrape along all the crack to make it bigger then dust all crap out of it get a bag of easyfill then 2 or 3 fills later sand it down with a sanding pad and paint simple, if you stick tape over it then fill over that you'll always see where it is.
 
if your going to do this yourself go to a builders merchant a buy a bag of jointing tape finish, then apply one coat over mesh scrim let it set & dry (doesn't take long)then apply another coat enough so you cannot see mesh leave to set & dry. then the beauty of this stuff you can sand it down to a feather edge. mixing instructions on bag
 
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