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

Reply to
A
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Pull it all down and redo it.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

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.

Reply to
Mungo "two sheds" Toadfoot

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.

Reply to
Dave Baker

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

Reply to
John

That's how I read it too.

Mary

Reply to
Mary Fisher

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

Reply to
mygoplus

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.

Reply to
Ian Middleton

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

Reply to
basil

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.

Reply to
Pete C

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

Reply to
nick smith

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