Heating pipes - plaster cracking

[UnionJack]

hi all

I recently had my room skimmed, and the guy did a great job, howver their is one problem of my own making

There are heating pipes buried in the wall, I removed all the blown plaster around the pipes prior to having it skimmed, and wrapped the pipe in denzo to give it protection fromthe plaster and to prevent the heat from damaging the it.

Problem is I didnt denzo the whole pipe, the top third of the wall seemed fine, plaster had not blown and its been their for years so I left it.

Its been 2 months since it was done and now the skim on the top third of the wall has began to crack, ive filled the cracks with polyfilla but its done no good and the cracks have appeared again. The cracks arnot huge and are rstructed to the area of the wall where the pipe is.

What would be my best bet?
Is their a certain type of filler which is more heat resistant or should i chop out the cracked plaster, denzo the pipes and re-skim. If so would the newly skimmed area stand out once painted?

cheers for any help,

 

[JerryM]

i would try using decorators caulk as filler. it remains flexible (i use it normally where plaster meets wood which is prone to cracking).

i use diluted washing up liquid 1:5 of water to smooth out the caulk.

if it's no good then i think re skim is only answer and if feathered in will not stand out once painted. i'am hopeful of the caulk though.

 

[JohnD]

if you're repairing plaster in a chase, you can scrape it flush with a broad metal scraper while still "cheesy" and polish it with your float.

the repair can be flat and may be invisible when painted.