Decorator's Caulk

Is there a brand which shrinks less? Or preferably one which doesn't shrink at all? I've got some Dow Corning stuff and that shrinks so perhaps I'm reaching to the moon...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)
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Wherever possible I now use the clear version (64538) of this in preference even to clear silicone:

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Unfortunately Screwfix only seem to have the white version in stock at present.

Its great virtue is that unlike silicone it is overpaintable.

I used to use B&Q translucent acrylic sealant - the only other such I could find - but the Evo Stik stuff is better: less shrinkage.

Reply to
rrh

I think it's pretty inherent in the way it works. The trick is not to use it where shrinkage is going to be an issue, or allow for applying more when it's set.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

It works very well for cracks between sheets of plasterboard in ceilings which have been skimmed - far more so than conventional fillers due to being flexible. Those always seem to open up again quite quickly. But to get a near invisible repair requires perhaps four or five goes. I was hoping there was something which took less time.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Should the seams not have been taped and skimmed? How are you getting cracks where the seams on the boards are?

Either the seams have not been fixed properly, or the seams were not taped before the skim coat was applied.

It might save you money to crack the skim off the seams and tape them with a new coat of finish. They'll only keep on opening if they haven't been done properly from the start.

Or am I missing something again? :-) I know I do that a lot. LOL

Reply to
BigWallop

Tape only stops the plaster falling out it doesn't prevent cracks between sheets.

Especially if your joists are long and made of something flexible like... wood and you have people walking (or small children jumping) around up there. :¬)

Reply to
www.GymRatZ.co.uk

LOL I get your point. :-)

But, have a read through this page

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was the way I was taught to make a good, long lasting, skimmed finish, using Scrim Tape. The tape is called Scrim Tape and is an open web hessian tape that allows the joints to move without loosening the plaster. You can now get a ready pasted tape that you cut to length and stick with a wet paint brush. Then plaster over as normal to finish. Anything I've done using the tape has not shown any signs of cracks or separation, and some of the jobs have been next to doors that slam shut in the wind.

Reply to
BigWallop

Oh yes it does.

Well nothing bar structural modification will help in that instance. Or infanticide.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

They are.

Show me any old house where you don't get cracks between plasterboard at least somewhere. This one originally had lime plaster on laths.

Wood has a habit of moving slightly with the seasons. Plaster not. ;-)

Shudder. The mess involved in any form of plastering means I'd rather put up with the odd crack - unless the plaster is 'live' and needs replacing.

Well, caulk does do the job. It's just the shrinking bit I don't like.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Are you saying you have plasterboard ceilings in your old house with no cracks anywhere?

Wood moves with the seasons. Plasterboard not.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Not heard of any ready pasted tape but you can certainly get sticky fibre-glass tape for that purpose .

Reply to
NOSPAMnet

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>>> This was the way I was taught to make a good, long lasting, skimmed finish,

I don't have a reference, but I did read somewhere that old-fashioned scrim is better in the crack prevention department. (Yes - I do have a reel of sticky fibre-glass tape.)

Reply to
Rod

Wicks sell some form of non sticky scrim made from fibreglass or whatever. Beauty is it's thinner than hessian.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Can't say I've ever had a problem with shrinkage with any decorators caulk I've used but then I don't use it for any form of gap filling. Anything wider than about 1mm will be filled first with a normal filler and on the next decorate cycle will have caulk used on the inevitable crack that has formed in the meantime.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

If I were you in this situation. I'd move house. Just don't take the kids with you. :-)

Reply to
BigWallop

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" writes

I tried caulk on ceiling cracks recently (Vallance and Everflex 125). Both presented major shrinkage problems - the Everflex was the better of the two but after 5 applications I still have very noticeable indentations along the length of the cracks. I tried priming the cracks with let down emulsion and part filling with gripfill but neither seemed to make any discernable improvement. I am sorely tempted to finish the cracks with a hard filler and resign myself to refilling and painting every couple of years (moving is not an option - the rest of the property is fine :) )

Reply to
robert

Well its new.

But there are no plasterboard to plasterboard cracks except where I know the wood frame is still shrinking massively. That's torn out a ceiling to wall joint in one place.

Not enough that the nails underneath cant cope. After a season or two when the plaster has all popped of the heads, you fill, and the boards stay where they are as the wod moves ;-)

Its only about 1% summer to winter along the grain, if that.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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