Replies

1. 
   katie_hill/sands-hill_restoratio | Jul 20, 1999 07:12am | #1

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   John -- Is the plaster wet because you just applied it and it's drying with cracks? If so, what process and materials did you use? Or is it old plaster that's now wet? And why is it wet?

2. 
   Guest_ | Jul 20, 1999 07:40am | #2

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   the house was built in 1956 and the cracks appear to be stress related, there is no water damage.

3. 
   katie_hill/sands-hill_restoratio | Jul 20, 1999 08:27pm | #3

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   John -- I'd recommend that you clean out the cracks with a putty knife or 5-in-1, then apply Plaster Weld and fiberglass mesh tape (cover the tape with Plaster Weld, too), and then fill in with joint compound with a little plaster of paris mixed in. Good luck!

1. 
   Steve_Woods | Jul 20, 1999 09:03pm | #4

   *It's often hard to tell how deep a crack goes, but it should be repaired at least to its depth. If it's just a hairline crack in the plaster's skim coat, then you need only open that much up. A shallow crack like that can be filled with a setting compound (like Easy Sand 90), without all of the tape and stuff. It'll have sufficient adhesion without applying a bonding agent like Plaster Weld. A crack all the way through the plaster layers will need to be opened more, as Katie has described, and probably reinforced with the fiberglass tape if it's sufficiently large. Back-cutting the crack will also help keep the repair intact. There are other bonding agents if Plaster Weld isn't specifically available where you are. Ask a masonry products supplier for such.

4. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 1999 04:00am | #5

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   John

   Mutiple layers of paint can/will also crack, be sure its the plaster, especially if one or more coats are enamel . . . there's no accounting for what some folks paint walls with !!

   And by
   i wet plaster
   do you mean plaster over lath as opposed to
   i dry wall??
   If so
   i real
   plaster will also "craze" and can be fixed for a time with Steve's suggestion above.
   -pm

5. 
   Guest_ | Jul 21, 1999 04:23am | #6

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   What is the best way to repair hairline cracks in wet plaster walls?