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Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
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General: Filling cracks

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    • CommentAuthorRex
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2023
     
    What ho one and all,

    Over the past 12 years, my t/f house has developed some settlement cracks at the Fermacel wall / plasterboard ceiling corner. There is no plaster on the walls or ceiling, but probably some 'filler' was used where necessary.

    On a few of the previous vertical corner settlement cracks, I glued paper tape with PVA and painted / smoothed until no longer visible.

    It is quite a lot of work and am wondering if decorators caulk, squeezed into the crack (that will be challenging as they are pretty small) will be an easier, and long term solution. If necessary, I am sorta happy to do the tape again, but as I say, quite a lot of work is involved,

    Thoughts gratefully received.

    Thanks and toodle pip
    • CommentAuthorRobL
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2023
     
    I’ve had some success by first making the crack bigger, more of a wedge shape, just using a knife or whatever. Then paint on a bit of dilute pva as it’s bound to be dusty. Then flexible paintable caulk - it might be ‘modified silicone’, I’m not sure. The wedge shape means the caulking is thicker, so can cope with a bit of movement in future.
    • CommentAuthorRex
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2023
     
    Thanks, will take it on board. Certainly easier than pasting on paper tape. At the end of the day, it is cosmetic, the tape does not add any necessary strength.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 14th 2023
     
    What Rob said +1.
  5.  
    • CommentAuthorrevor
    • CommentTimeMar 15th 2023
     
    Posted By: RexThanks, will take it on board. Certainly easier than pasting on paper tape. At the end of the day, it is cosmetic, the tape does not add any necessary strength.


    Probably not relevant for this job but paper tape is much stronger than scrim which is generally used by plasterers over joints and is the recommended method according to the British Gypsum installation manual. However scrim is preferred by the trade because it is easier and quicker to use, but gives an inferior job to paper. My plasterers had me provide all the materials and one of them was contact adhesive to stick the scrim on to hold it in place whilst they got the plaster on. An expensive solution. I have a faint crack in one joint on my lounge ceiling which would not have happened if they used tape.
    • CommentAuthorRex
    • CommentTimeMar 15th 2023
     
    I have no plaster on the walls, just Fermacel and the Fine Surface filler. I also radiused all external and internal corners; external with a 15mm router (lots and lots of dust!); internal with Fermacel filler and a 15mm length of copper pipe.

    Owing to settlement, a couple of the internal corners have cracked so I have covered with paper tape / PVA, smoothed the edges, primer, paint and it looks good. Would like to do that to the ceiling cracks but long lengths of wet paper tape applied horizontally are not as easy as vertical drops. Hence looking for an easier cosmetic solution.

    As it happens, all my Fermacel is butt jointed with the glue stick, no tape and no cracks in the last 12 years. Just a few corners.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 15th 2023
     
    FWIW, I used AC50 in a lot of places and it seems to have worked and is lasting well.

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