Plaster Wall corner repair and prep for painting

[600rob]

ive just removed some old fitted wardrobes and shelf's from 3 rooms in a recently purchased property.
Filling and sanding the remaining holes down is not an issue but I have 2 problems after removing the old units:

1. There are some fairly large cracks running vertically in the corners of the now exposed walls. They run from 75% to the full height of the rooms and vary from less than a millimeter to about 10mm in places depending on the room

2.The second issue is that where the units have now been removed there is a paint lip between the areas where several coats of paint have been applied over the years and the areas of the wall previously covered by the units.

I want to sort the walls out an prep them for paining and am after the best way so sort out these issues to get a decent finish.
Has anyone got any advice on how best I can fix this myself, to get a decent uniform surface for painting?

Ive looked at using easi fill and corner joint tape to fix.
Im a very competent DIY’er but I understand plastering is quite a skill.
Ive not done any plastering before so im unsure of whether im better off leaving it to a professional or having a go myself

can anyone advise me on how easy (no pun intended) this easi fill is to use and what tools I need?
Also does anyone have a suggestion for smoothing out the paint lines?

Oh by the way it’s an old house, (around 1930’s) so I think its solid (old) plaster. All the corners are internals

Many thanks
Rob

 

[notfilc]

I've recently been using easi fill and have good success with it. I'm not sure about using it for the deeper stuff - I'm sure it's possible but best to build it up in layers if trying that.

I've found it useful for getting rid of paint edges too, I just run a filling knife along the old paint line and feather it to the wall, then give it a final sand with some fine sand paper. It's possible that the paint itself might sand down with some fine sand paper but in the past for me it's made it worse by starting to peel up.

I'm just a DIYer though so I'm sure there will be more expert views. For easi fill all the equipment you need is just an old spoon and tub to mix it in, a filling knife to apply and then some fine sand paper to finish.

 

[NickB_99]

Hi Rob.

For the paint edges, as notfilc says will be fine. Easi fill is straight forward to work with.
Personally, I find a small trowel easier with it, rather than a filling knife, but you'll be ok with the latter if it's what you have.

1. There are some fairly large cracks running vertically in the corners of the now exposed walls. They run from 75% to the full height of the rooms and vary from less than a millimeter to about 10mm in places depending on the room

This concerns me a bit more. A pic may be useful.

75% height and up to 10mm wide sounds quite significant. These are too big for easi fill in my opinion - at least if you want to reduce the chance of cracks coming back.
May need cutting back to brick around them and checking what's happening.

 

[600rob]

Hi, thanks for that reply,

On a more thorough inspection the cracks are not as wide as 10mm probably around 1-5 at the most.
I found out the entire rear of the house needed repointing about a year ago so this could have been the cause of the internal cracks. Ive had a few builders around to look at it and they have said its just the plaster that has cracked
Ive added a couple of pictures showing the cracks in two of the rooms

The worst crack is the room at the rear of the house where the repointing work was done. This is shown in the last two images

View media item 72768 View media item 72769 View media item 72770 View media item 72771 [/img]

 

[600rob]

Okay so for the rooms where the cracks aren't too wide I'm going to rub own the old paint, ans fill the small cracks with caulk. Hopefully this should allow for some flexibility I the future.

Can anyone advise on my best option for the larger cracks shown in the pictures?
Im still not got sure on how best to fix these.

 

[stevethespreader]

on the lips of paint where your units used to be use this to cut back the worst of the lip this will help make sure the paint is as flat as can be then use easifil to cover the area needed , as for the corners I would rake them back and out out and redo http://tooltray.com/Window-&-Glass-...0-28-590.htm?gclid=CIPM1be0vLwCFbLJtAodQV8AJA

"edit" if u don't want to get that a scraper should get the edge of the lip off

 

[roughcaster]

I'm assuming that these are movement/settlement cracks that appeared maybe years ago and have got no worse.
For these types of cracks, forget fillers of any kind, they are ok, but are only cosmetic. For a
repair that stands the best chance of being permanent, you will need to carefuly cut away/remove 2 or 3 inches of plaster up the side of each wall in the corner. Cut through the plaster with a Stanley knife first, then using a "small hammer" and bolster/chisel, gently tap and break away the strip of plaster on each wall as far up as you need to go, either side of the crack. Give the brickwork a good brush down, then fix a long strip of galvanised wire lath (eml) to the wall using galvanised nails. Fix/bend the strip of wire lath to 90 degrees down the cracked corner and fix to the exposed brickwork on each wall with the nails, making sure the wire mesh is below the flush. You have now tied the 2 walls together with the wire lath, and are ready to plaster. Give the brickwork a good damp down, pva, then while the pva is wet/tacky, plaster out flush with bonding coat plaster, maybe bring it out flush in one coat or two. When the bonding coat has set, finish it off with multi finish plaster. This is a "very simple" job for a plasterer or a competent diyer to do, but to others, it might seem daunting and a lot of hassle,,,,, but it'll work,, give it a try.

 

[600rob]

Hi roughcaster,

I reckon I can do this! I've just got a couple of questions so that I'm clear on what I need to do during the prep. See the bits I've added in red to your original post.

I'm assuming that these are movement/settlement cracks that appeared maybe years ago and have got no worse.

correct

you will need to carefuly cut away/remove 2 or 3 inches of plaster up the side of each wall in the corner. Cut through the plaster with a Stanley knife first, then using a "small hammer" and bolster/chisel, gently tap and break away the strip of plaster on each wall as far up as you need to go, either side of the crack. Give the brickwork a good brush down,

So are you saying remove the old plaster to a depth that reaches the brickwork either side of the corner?



then fix a long strip of galvanised wire lath (eml) to the wall using galvanised nails. Fix/bend the strip of wire lath to 90 degrees down the cracked corner and fix to the exposed brickwork on each wall with the nails, making sure the wire mesh is below the flush. You have now tied the 2 walls together with the wire lath, and are ready to plaster. Give the brickwork a good damp down, pva, then while the pva is wet/tacky, plaster out flush with bonding coat plaster, maybe bring it out flush in one coat or two. When the bonding coat has set, finish it off with multi finish plaster. This is a "very simple" job for a plasterer or a competent diyer to do, but to others, it might seem daunting and a lot of hassle,,,,, but it'll work,, give it a try.

Regarding the steel lath, is this stuff available in strips as opposed to sheets so I can minimise any cutting?
Also is this stuff useable as an alternative
http://www.diy.com/nav/build/buildi...ner-Tape-Kraft-30m-50mm-9273281?skuId=9282981
or am I best sticking to the steel as per you recommendation
Lath

@ Steve, I've been using a scraper today but ill pop out and get one of those tools tomorrow and see if I can get the paint lip even flatter

Thanks again all
Rob

 

[NickB_99]

Regarding the steel lath, is this stuff available in strips as opposed to sheets so I can minimise any cutting?
Also is this stuff useable as an alternative
http://www.diy.com/nav/build/buildi...ner-Tape-Kraft-30m-50mm-9273281?skuId=9282981
or am I best sticking to the steel as per you recommendation
Lath

Rob

Go as RC advised - For example http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/240331
It's easy enough to cut with some snips.

I don't think the tape you posted is strong enough, it's more intended for the edge of plasterboard.

 

[stevethespreader]

http://tooltray.com/Window-&-Glass-...0-28-590.htm?gclid=CIPM1be0vLwCFbLJtAodQV8AJA

just a little note on this scraper ive come across a couple of spreads who use them to clean their trowels, after borrowing another spreads for a few weeks I had to get my own run it along your trowel and it cleans all the film and cr*p off

 

[roughcaster]

Hi again Rob,,,, yes, remove all the plaster mentioned back to brickwork. Here's another way you can tie in the corner using a big "Wet Coat Corner/Angle Bead". They're galvanised, and are readily available in B&Q, Wickes, builders merchants etc. I've used these very often, rather than buy a whole sheet of wire lath. Cut away the plaster etc as mentioned on my original reply, then fit/nail the large wire mesh corner bead, into the "internal corner", so fit the bead into the corner, "internally".These metal beads come in 2.4mtr and 3mtr lengths. Just cut the bead to the appropriate length, fit it into the cracked internal corner and nail/fix it to the brickwork, then damp down, pva and plaster as said before. It'll cost 3 quid or so for the bead, rather than buy a whole sheet of wire lath. Have a look at the website address below and you will see a picture of the bead i'm on about. There are only 2 beads on the page, you'll need the large mesh one, half way down the page on the right hand side of the page. It'll be simple to fit, just fit it snugly into the internal corner. You're using it the wrong way round really, but it'll do the same job as the wire lath.
Here's the web address. For some reason, the link itself wont open but if you go to Google and type the address below in, it'll come up on the the first page as "Plastering Corners. How to plaster-DIY Plastering". You'll see the large corner bead you need half way down the page. I'm sure you know the type of "Expamet large mesh thick coat bead" i'm on about, but seeing a picture of it is even better.

www.diyplastering.co.uk/plasteringcorners.hmtl
This link wont open, so type it into Google to see this particular page.

 

[600rob]

Hi guys,

firstly thanks for the advice. Completed the corner of one room an it looks good! just needs priming and painting.

Ive uncovered another problem in the third room. The cracking has occurred horizontally along the corner where the wall an ceiling meet, also diagonally across thew wall to a lesser extent (see the attached image) The diagonal crack should be okay to fix but what about the horizontal crack?

[View media item 73200]





@ roughcaster: Can i use a similar method to what you described to fix the vertical corners. (bearing in mind there is no brick work for me to cut back to on the ceiling, also there is another flat directly above)

How best can i remedy this type or damage?
Thanks

 

[roughcaster]

Well done you for fixing the wall corner crack/s. That type of repair using the angle bead wont work on the horizontal ceiling crack Rob because you wont be able to "bury it" the same with the ceiling being plasterboard, and to be honest, that kind of job can be done with fibre tape, paper tape or hessian scrim, the latter being great if the ceiling is to be skimmed.
The best way to go with that crack would be to firstly, make sure the plasterboard is not loose along that edge,, if it is, put in a few screws to tighten it up. After that, brush out, damp down the horizontal crack, then fill up the deep areas with some Easifill or similar, then once it's set, put a tape along the ceiling line, again, bed it on with Easifill. You might need to give the wall a little rough up or brush on some pva before you put on the Easifill for the tape to bed in, especially onto paint. Let it set and dry, give it another thin skin, then let dry again, then sand it down ready to paint. Another way would be to put up coving, not everyone's choice, but great for tidying up uneven/cracked ceiling lines.