DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi all,

New to the forum so hope this is the right place to ask this question..
We had our 1930s house skimmed 2 years ago. Since this we have had hairline cracks appearing in all rooms. It is particularly bad in the hall area where artex has been skimmed over. The quality of some of the plastering was also poor so won't be using again.

The challenge is that I have filled and the cracks simply appear again. Another plasterer looked at the hall and said the plaster hadn't bonded to the artex properly. Thing is this is happening in all rooms now.

I have stopped filling for now and we fear we will have to chip the plaster off in multiple rooms and start again which will cost a lot (last guys weren't even cheap!). I wish I had got chipped back to brick now rather than skimmed.

Any thoughts very appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hi pfeatherstone,
Crazing of a skim plaster can occur when the background surface is high suction. A skim coat is generally applied over artex because of the possibility of asbestos fibres in the artex.
You could try a good quality emulsion to see if this will cover the cracks.
Regards S

Hi thanks for your response.

Sorry when you say high suction can I check what you mean?

I've tried filler and decent paint but the cracks just reappear in the filler..

Hi pfeatherstone,
Whatever surface plaster is being applied to account must be taken as to how much the water in the plaster will be sucked out by the background. High suction would be where the water is quickly drawn out of the plaster giving poor bonding and cracking.
Tap the plaster with the handle of a screwdriver - if you get a hollow sound removal of the skim coat and replastering may be the only solution for you.
Regards S

Hi

Thanks again yes I've been told that before when you tap it is hollow thus as you say hasn't bonded.

As this skimming hasn't bonded on a variety of materials (stripped plaster; artex; plasterboard) would you say the issue is with the plaster used, the bonding process/material or something else?

Hi pfeatherstone,
Most likely to be inadequate pre-treatment of the surfaces to be plastered, to ensure there is a consistent absorbency of the different backgrounds.
Regards S