I have a floor-to-ceiling settlement crack in an internal wall, at a
point where a newer extension joins the older building. The gap has
been there for years, opens a small amount (perhaps 2mm) in winter and
closes again in the summer - we live with it. I suspect that, in the
newer extension, the foundations are deeper than they are for the
original building, hence the seasonal movement.

I would very much like to wallpaper over the crack and at the same
time avoid the inevitable tear in the paper along the "fault line"
which always results. Would anyone know, please, if there is any way I
can treat or repair the crack in such a way as to render the area
stable enough for papering over? A builder friend has suggested deeply
hacking out the crack and plug-fixing wire mesh into the brickwork to
bridge the gap, then making good the plaster, but I feel that,
somewhere, movement would still occur. Is there perhaps a type of
wall-paper which would tolerate this kind of small movement?

I'd be greatful for any thoughts, please.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Gordon wrote:

I have a floor-to-ceiling settlement crack in an internal wall, at a
point where a newer extension joins the older building. The gap has
been there for years, opens a small amount (perhaps 2mm) in winter and
closes again in the summer - we live with it. I suspect that, in the
newer extension, the foundations are deeper than they are for the
original building, hence the seasonal movement.

I would very much like to wallpaper over the crack and at the same
time avoid the inevitable tear in the paper along the "fault line"
which always results. Would anyone know, please, if there is any way I
can treat or repair the crack in such a way as to render the area
stable enough for papering over? A builder friend has suggested deeply
hacking out the crack and plug-fixing wire mesh into the brickwork to
bridge the gap, then making good the plaster, but I feel that,
somewhere, movement would still occur. Is there perhaps a type of
wall-paper which would tolerate this kind of small movement?

I'd be greatful for any thoughts, please.


You could try papering it when the crack is at its widest. That way, when
the crack closes, the paper will wrinkle a bit rather than tear - and then
straighten out again when the crack opens again.

Alternatively, could you design a wall to ceiling "feature" which covers the
gap, and allows the wall move a bit behind it?
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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