Plaster disaster. Help Please!
 

Hello all
Has anyone seen plaster do this???

Our internal walls show some cracking 2 years after replastering. The
worst has three long cracks up to five foot long, which gives and
bends in on pressing.

Here's the good bit. I removed a small piece of plaster at the centre
of the cracking, and could poke my finger in about 2 inches to the
plasterboard underneath. A 6 foot square area of plaster has come
right away from the plasterboard underneath!!! No wonder it's
cracking, it's supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at
the edge of the area. Presumably it's still coming away and will fall
off.

Can it be PVA'd back? Some other adhesive? Was there some cheap crap
substitute used in the plaster? Should we just have it redone (by
someone without a wide hat and stirrups)?

Any advice from you experts appreciated!
Adam

Can it be PVA'd back? Some other adhesive? Was there some cheap crap
substitute used in the plaster? Should we just have it redone (by
someone without a wide hat and stirrups)?

Pull it all down and redo it.

Christian.

A wrote:
Hello all
Has anyone seen plaster do this???

Our internal walls show some cracking 2 years after replastering. The
worst has three long cracks up to five foot long, which gives and
bends in on pressing.


You *could* carefully drill holes throught it in several places and pump
slightly watered-down PVA through them, then fix a large board over the
whole lot until it goes off, then fill the holes. I've seen this done on a
ceiling and it was successful (unlikely, I know, but it worked), but it
would probably be easier to get the whole lot re-plastered - you could then
have a look to see if there's any reason it came loose in the first place.

Si.

A wrote in message
om...
Hello all
Has anyone seen plaster do this???

Our internal walls show some cracking 2 years after replastering. The
worst has three long cracks up to five foot long, which gives and
bends in on pressing.

Here's the good bit. I removed a small piece of plaster at the centre
of the cracking, and could poke my finger in about 2 inches to the
plasterboard underneath. A 6 foot square area of plaster has come
right away from the plasterboard underneath!!! No wonder it's
cracking, it's supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at
the edge of the area. Presumably it's still coming away and will fall
off.

Can it be PVA'd back? Some other adhesive? Was there some cheap crap
substitute used in the plaster? Should we just have it redone (by
someone without a wide hat and stirrups)?

Any advice from you experts appreciated!
Adam

It begs a couple of questions. Why have you got plaster on top of
plasterboard and why is there two inches of it? Unless the walls are
desperately out of true plaster should only be about 3/4" thick. If the
walls are plasterboarded anyway that should be the top surface with no need
for plaster on top of that. It sounds like a bodge to cover up something
nasty underneath.

As for sticking it back it can sometimes be done with PVA injected into
holes but 2 inches thickness is a hell of a weight and I can't see it
working. Probably easiest to strip it all off, find out what is wrong with
the walls underneath, fix that and then decide whether to plasterboard or
re-plaster direct onto the walls.

"Dave Baker" wrote in message
...
It begs a couple of questions. Why have you got plaster on top of
plasterboard and why is there two inches of it?

I think he means it is coming away from the plasterboard and there is a 2"
gap between the board and the underside of the plaster skim!

HTH

John

"John" wrote in message
...

"Dave Baker" wrote in message
...
It begs a couple of questions. Why have you got plaster on top of
plasterboard and why is there two inches of it?

I think he means it is coming away from the plasterboard and there is a 2"
gap between the board and the underside of the plaster skim!

That's how I read it too.

Mary

HTH

John

Dave Baker (NoEmails) wrote:
It begs a couple of questions. Why have you got plaster on top of
plasterboard and why is there two inches of it?
snipped follow ons from this

Just to confirm Dave, there is a 2" gap between the wall and the
plaster. The plaster skim itself is less than 1/2" thick. The plaster
has bowed out from the wall into a shape like a big dish or plate
placed against the wall. The plaster is only in contact with the wall
at the edge of the plate. It is cracking no doubt because it is
supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at the plate edge.

Again, why should that happen? Why did the plaster lose its grip on the
wall? If the problem was with the plaster mix just having it redone
should do the trick...??...

Thanks to all for earlier replies and any more,
Adam

wrote in message
oups.com...
Dave Baker (NoEmails) wrote:
It begs a couple of questions. Why have you got plaster on top of
plasterboard and why is there two inches of it?
snipped follow ons from this

Just to confirm Dave, there is a 2" gap between the wall and the
plaster. The plaster skim itself is less than 1/2" thick. The plaster
has bowed out from the wall into a shape like a big dish or plate
placed against the wall. The plaster is only in contact with the wall
at the edge of the plate. It is cracking no doubt because it is
supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at the plate edge.

Again, why should that happen? Why did the plaster lose its grip on the
wall? If the problem was with the plaster mix just having it redone
should do the trick...??...

Seen this before with a "bodge" of plaster over old wallpaper and the
wallpaper coming away from the wall. Solution was more bodge with PVA and
plaster mix in holes, forced behind the lifted plaster and wooden boards
propped against the wall hoping the PVA would stick and finally a year or
two later pulling the whole lot off, steaming off the wall paper and
skimming over properly.

On 15 Feb 2005 02:51:59 -0800, wrote:


Just to confirm Dave, there is a 2" gap between the wall and the
plaster. The plaster skim itself is less than 1/2" thick. The plaster
has bowed out from the wall into a shape like a big dish or plate
placed against the wall. The plaster is only in contact with the wall
at the edge of the plate. It is cracking no doubt because it is
supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at the plate edge.

Again, why should that happen? Why did the plaster lose its grip on the
wall? If the problem was with the plaster mix just having it redone
should do the trick...??...

Yes, use multi finish plaster or if you need to put it on as thick as
it was before use bonding coat to float it as most other plaster wont
stick straight to plasterboard. Normaly the plaster would be just a
few mm over plaster board but maybe there is a good reason (bodge?)
why its so thick.

Basil

On 14 Feb 2005 03:13:49 -0800, (A) wrote:

Hello all
Has anyone seen plaster do this???

Our internal walls show some cracking 2 years after replastering. The
worst has three long cracks up to five foot long, which gives and
bends in on pressing.

Here's the good bit. I removed a small piece of plaster at the centre
of the cracking, and could poke my finger in about 2 inches to the
plasterboard underneath. A 6 foot square area of plaster has come
right away from the plasterboard underneath!!! No wonder it's
cracking, it's supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at
the edge of the area. Presumably it's still coming away and will fall
off.

Can it be PVA'd back? Some other adhesive? Was there some cheap crap
substitute used in the plaster? Should we just have it redone (by
someone without a wide hat and stirrups)?

Any advice from you experts appreciated!
Adam

Hi,

Might be possible to hold it in place with a load of 'drywall' screws.

If so working a row at a time from the bottom and in from the edges,
plus injecting PVA through the new holes would help.

cheers,
Pete.

Just rip it off, scratch up the undersurface and re-plaster - could all be done
in a couple of hours, then after a thorough dry out, paint it or whatever the
finish is....
Should be good for a few more years assuming there's not an underlying
problem...

Nick


"Pete C" wrote in message
...
On 14 Feb 2005 03:13:49 -0800, (A) wrote:

Hello all
Has anyone seen plaster do this???

Our internal walls show some cracking 2 years after replastering. The
worst has three long cracks up to five foot long, which gives and
bends in on pressing.

Here's the good bit. I removed a small piece of plaster at the centre
of the cracking, and could poke my finger in about 2 inches to the
plasterboard underneath. A 6 foot square area of plaster has come
right away from the plasterboard underneath!!! No wonder it's
cracking, it's supporting its own weight and only gripping the wall at
the edge of the area. Presumably it's still coming away and will fall
off.

Can it be PVA'd back? Some other adhesive? Was there some cheap crap
substitute used in the plaster? Should we just have it redone (by
someone without a wide hat and stirrups)?

Any advice from you experts appreciated!
Adam

Hi,

Might be possible to hold it in place with a load of 'drywall' screws.

If so working a row at a time from the bottom and in from the edges,
plus injecting PVA through the new holes would help.

cheers,
Pete.