I have a large drywall ceiling which was originally covered by the prior
owner with a thin layer of plaster or drywall paste and then swirled to make
it look more attractive.

Many years later, when I purchased the house, I had a sprayed ceiling
applied to cover the swirls, and this replacement ceiling has been installed
for over 20 years.

Now the ceiling has begun to show some serious cracks. They do not appear to
run in any specific path, or suggest settling or structural loading.
Instead, they appear to run in a somewhat random fashion in an area which is
maybe 8 foot by 10 foot in size.

I am looking for advice as to how this should be properly prepared. I could
spray another layer onto this existing damaged area, but am afraid the
damage will come though in a few short years or sooner. I could replace the
entire ceiling for the entire room (32 foot by 16 feet) but this would be
extremely expensive and messy. I could plaster the damaged area and then
spray a new layer onto the repaired as well as the undamaged areas, and
assume that the damaged area, since it has been repaired by replastering,
will not create future issues. Or perhaps there is some better way to tackle
this job?????

Your expert thoughts are much appreciated.

Smarty




It's hard to tell much about this without being able to see it or some
photos. It would seem to me that if the layers of material are
seperating, you would have more serious cracking and it would be less
likely to be small random cracks. It also lasted 20 years. So, it's
quite possible that applying another layer over it will work. I would
get an estimate to redo it and ask the companies that give quotes what
they think. They should have experience and be able to give an
opinion based on inspection. I would also check what kind of guarantee
they offer.

Also, since you are going to do something anyway, you could try
scraping/removing some of the material in the cracked area. If it is
really seperating enough to cause cracking, it should be evident in the
way it comes off.

Then you can evaluate cost/mess of redoing vs new drywall and decide.