I have a late 60's bungalow and in a couple of rooms the ceilings had noticeable lines in the lining paper, so I removed it to reveal cracks between plasterboards. The boards are butted together with as far as I can see no scrim tape, just a thin layer of hard plaster over the joins. The boards are not beveled at the edges, so the plaster lies slightly proud. Anyway, how can I fix this such that it looks 'okay' and will last years? I am happy to put up lining paper.
Not all the joins have cracks, just some, and the ceiling does not move noticeably when pushed with a broom handle, so the cracking has occurred over the course of 40 years. There does not look to be a lot of movement, but just enough to crack plaster over joints. (Hardly surprising really. I think taping joints appeared a few years later.) The ceilings seem to be slightly bowed. Mind you, the walls are hardly flat, with slight but noticeable undulations in the surface plaster!!!! I wonder if this is normal.
Options:
1) Fill with a flexible filler, sand, and then possibly line. Time consuming, but that is okay with me. But will the filler stay in place? The original plaster was brittle which is why it fell out. Decorators caulk could be used, but it cannot be sanded, and it shrinks so I doubt it is suitable. Evo stik do a supposedly flexible sandable filler for plaster
2) Apply tape, and then use a plaster substance to smooth the tape edges. Perhaps I can do this myself. I can happily patch 6" holes in plaster with Gyproc Easifill, but I'm no plasterer.
3) Apply tape and skim. Needs to be done by a pro as I cannot skim.
4) Overboard and skim. Clearly a professional job. About £400 including VAT for a 3.5m x 3.5m room. So at least £1200 for the two rooms.
Lastly, there are some cracks along the edges of the ceiling where it meets the wall. This is where the plaster boards meet the solid walls. As I am going to install coving, do I need to worry about the cracks? If so, what do I do about them? I could just fill with Easifill and not worry about a perfect finish since it will be hidden.
Not all the joins have cracks, just some, and the ceiling does not move noticeably when pushed with a broom handle, so the cracking has occurred over the course of 40 years. There does not look to be a lot of movement, but just enough to crack plaster over joints. (Hardly surprising really. I think taping joints appeared a few years later.) The ceilings seem to be slightly bowed. Mind you, the walls are hardly flat, with slight but noticeable undulations in the surface plaster!!!! I wonder if this is normal.
Options:
1) Fill with a flexible filler, sand, and then possibly line. Time consuming, but that is okay with me. But will the filler stay in place? The original plaster was brittle which is why it fell out. Decorators caulk could be used, but it cannot be sanded, and it shrinks so I doubt it is suitable. Evo stik do a supposedly flexible sandable filler for plaster
2) Apply tape, and then use a plaster substance to smooth the tape edges. Perhaps I can do this myself. I can happily patch 6" holes in plaster with Gyproc Easifill, but I'm no plasterer.
3) Apply tape and skim. Needs to be done by a pro as I cannot skim.
4) Overboard and skim. Clearly a professional job. About £400 including VAT for a 3.5m x 3.5m room. So at least £1200 for the two rooms.
Lastly, there are some cracks along the edges of the ceiling where it meets the wall. This is where the plaster boards meet the solid walls. As I am going to install coving, do I need to worry about the cracks? If so, what do I do about them? I could just fill with Easifill and not worry about a perfect finish since it will be hidden.
