Can I Tape Hairline Cracks Before Skimming Ceiling?

[Whitespirit66]

I have a couple of hairline cracks in a ceiling, that go from one side to another. In the past when I have filled and emulsioned them, they come back some time later.

I want to have the ceiling skimmed. Would it be an idea to put plaster board joint tape on these cracks to stop them coming through again?

If not, is there another way I should tackle them?

Thanks

 

[roy c]

Yes carry on. If I am over-skimming walls or ceilings and there are cracks I always put some skim on the cracks then fibre tape them and then another skim over the tape .Then let them set then roller pva over the area to be skimmed then leave for 24 hours then go back and pva again and then skim over the lot whilst pva is "tacky"...Hope this answers your question..

 

[Richard C]

Roy's post is spot on but just to add a little if I may ; check the whole ceiling before skimming, particularly either side of the cracks, by pushing the boards upwards. Original, nailed ceilings tend to shrink back & “relax” leaving a very small gap between the ceiling boards & the joists so it’s no longer rigid, if there is any sign of movement (or even if their isn’t!) drive additional screws into the joist over the whole ceiling, particularly either side of the crack if it is along the joist. If your spread is any good, he will do all this anyway & if I think the cracks are bad, I will use 3 overlapping strips of fibre tape.

 

[roughcaster]

Another way that i do it, is to put fibre tape over the crack, lengthways, and then stich across it with pieces of tape, around 6 or 7 inches long,, about every 8 to 10 inches apart.

Roughcaster.

 

[tommyl18]

9 times out of 10 if you screw the boards to the joists along where the cracks are and skrim the cracks it will solve the problem just skrimming the cracks alone wouldnt be sufficient as skrim tape is good stuff but even with minor movement in the ceiling skrim taped joints can still crack

 

[roughcaster]

Roy's post is spot on but just to add a little if I may ; check the whole ceiling before skimming, particularly either side of the cracks, by pushing the boards upwards. Original, nailed ceilings tend to shrink back & “relax” leaving a very small gap between the ceiling boards & the joists so it’s no longer rigid, if there is any sign of movement (or even if their isn’t!) drive additional screws into the joist over the whole ceiling, particularly either side of the crack if it is along the joist. If your spread is any good, he will do all this anyway & if I think the cracks are bad, I will use 3 overlapping strips of fibre tape.

Just what Richard said a little earlier Tom.

Roughcaster.

 

[roy c]

9 times out of 10 if you screw the boards to the joists along where the cracks are and skrim the cracks it will solve the problem just skrimming the cracks alone wouldnt be sufficient as skrim tape is good stuff but even with minor movement in the ceiling skrim taped joints can still crack

I have never seen a properly scrimmed joint crack, am I missing something?

 

[tommyl18]

lol just meaning that there is some slight movement there to cause the crack so skrimming the crack alone may not solve the issue

 

[tommyl18]

roughcaster what can i say im stuck in on a friday night bored ****less gives me something to do

 

[roughcaster]

I know what ya mean mucker,,, we can play eye- spy or somethin'.

Roughcaster.

 

[tommyl18]

id rather find a bird with a webcam lmao!

 

[Whitespirit66]

Thanks for the advice chaps. I'm sure that it will help me eliminate the cracks.

P.S. I'm up for eye-spy too!

 

[roy c]

Something beginning with P B...

An easy one to start...

 

[roughcaster]

It's amazing really, but up until a few years ago, ceiling and walls in a lot of houses were constructed of plasterboard lath. These were small sheets of p/board, 48" x 16". They were put (nailed) on the battened wall lengthways, in staggered brickwork fashion, starting from the bottom of the wall. The ceiling was boarded in the same staggered jointed way. The only joints that were scrimmed with this method, (bandage scrim or hessian scrim), were the vertical internal corner joints, and the joint around the ceiling lines. All the other joints on the walls and ceilings, were left open (spaced) by around 1/4 inch or so, to allow the plaster to go up and through the joints in the plasterboard lath, similar to the way plaster goes up through wooden laths. Cracks were very few and far between. Do you remember that type of sheets Roy?

Roughcaster.

 

[roy c]

Yes RC we used to use them in Guernsey. They were really handy and easy to carry and load in the van. I didn't believe that you didn't need to scrim them, but if you remember they had bevelled edges and the bigger gap allowed more muck to sit in it.