Hairline cracks in fresh painted plaster?

Kelman_s

I've got hairline cracks all over the fresh plaster in my bathroom. I think this is either because of structural movement/vibration in the building or the fact that I've used Crown Matt paint that's not been watered down enough (I don't think it's suitable for the bathroom either).

So…

Any suggestions for fixing this in the most aesthetically pleasing way? I want to avoid lining paper if possible.

Many thanks

S

liam8282

Has the plaster actually cracked or is it just the paint that looks as though it has cracked on top of the plaster?

It could be the finish coat that has been applied when plastering, it may have pva or something similar in it and is causing the paint to crack as it dries.

Give it all a good sand down and paint it again.

Kelman_s

liam8282 wrote: »

Has the plaster actually cracked or is it just the paint that looks as though it has cracked on top of the plaster?

It could be the finish coat that has been applied when plastering, it may have pva or something similar in it and is causing the paint to crack as it dries.

Give it all a good sand down and paint it again.

The plaster itself has cracked.

Plasterer

How olds the house? Is the skim over stud wall? Old Lath? Solid wall? Which way do the cracks run? How far apart? Etc Are the cracks uniform? Sporadic? Did you have it reskimmed because of cracking previously? If so have these cracks apperared roughy in the same place? Do you have a loft conversion above the bathroom? Is your house a semi or terraced? - If so has next door been drilling? Do your bathroom windows "vibrate" when heavy traffic goes past?

Sorry for all the Q's? But on what you have told us it could really be anything.
Last of all do you have any pictures?
I'm not taking the mick, but the more info you give the more likely you'll get the right analysis as to why this has happened
Regards
P

Kelman_s

Plasterer wrote: »

How olds the house? 130 Years old flat Is the skim over stud wall? Old Lath? Solid wall? It's over old lath or a solid brick wall Which way do the cracks run? How far apart? Etc Are the cracks uniform? Sporadic? Sporadic cracks in all directions Did you have it reskimmed because of cracking previously? Nope it was artex previously If so have these cracks apperared roughy in the same place? Do you have a loft conversion above the bathroom? Is your house a semi or terraced? - If so has next door been drilling? Do your bathroom windows "vibrate" when heavy traffic goes past? It's in an area of considerable structural movement and there's a subway underneath however we've had other walls skimmed and there's been much less cracking

Sorry for all the Q's? But on what you have told us it could really be anything.
Last of all do you have any pictures?
I'm not taking the mick, but the more info you give the more likely you'll get the right analysis as to why this has happened
Regards
P

Thanks –!I'm more looking for solutions at this stage, be it polycell base coat or something?

Plasterer

Kelman_s wrote: »

Thanks –!I'm more looking for solutions at this stage, be it polycell base coat or something?

I understand what your saying, however whatever you try (sorry a pro dec might be better armed to help you here I am a plasterer) I'm just thinking that whatever you put on to resolve may only resolve the probs for a few weeks - costing you more to correct again. Paint onto freshly painted walls would'nt in my 15 years experience cause fresh plaster to crack. Are you sure the cracks werent there before you started painting? (Trust me they can be very hard to see sometimes until the paint shows them up) Just trying to help

PS You don't water the first coat down to avoid cracking, you water it down to "soak" into fresh plaster so it doesnt "sit on top" and stops it coming off in "sheets" like s "film" on top of the plaster

Kelman_s

Plasterer wrote: »

I understand what your saying, however whatever you try (sorry a pro dec might be better armed to help you here I am a plasterer) I'm just thinking that whatever you put on to resolve may only resolve the probs for a few weeks - costing you more to correct again. Paint onto freshly painted (plastered?) walls would'nt in my 15 years experience cause fresh plaster to crack. Are you sure the cracks werent there before you started painting? (Trust me they can be very hard to see sometimes until the paint shows them up) Just trying to help

The cracks defo weren't there before painting. I left the fresh plaster to dry for around a week before painting. It's in the bathroom and we were showering etc hours after the fresh plaster was finished, could that have had an effect?

Kelman_s

Plasterer wrote: »

PS You don't water the first coat down to avoid cracking, you water it down to "soak" into fresh plaster so it doesnt "sit on top" and stops it coming off in "sheets" like s "film" on top of the plaster

Good tip, thanks

Plasterer

Kelman_s wrote: »

The cracks defo weren't there before painting. I left the fresh plaster to dry for around a week before painting. It's in the bathroom and we were showering etc hours after the fresh plaster was finished, could that have had an effect?

The only thing I can think of (from what you have told me so far) is that the plaster has dried out too quickly because of high suction ( wall sucking the water out of the new plaster) - Again another reason for all of the Qs above) When I plaster a clients house I tell them to keep the room well ventelated and not to warm - your central heating (coming on and going off) could be it, Any towel rails in there that have been on!?! could have contributed to it dry unaturally.
How many cracks and how large are we talking here?

Really sorry to go on, but it really is one of those questions that without a platerer seeing it will find hard to answer.

Ignore my responces if you like ( I appreciate I am asking LOADS of questions - just tell me and i'll walk away from the thread and see if anyone else can help this being the case )

Honestly i'm only trying to help - not trying to bug you with all the Q?s
Regards
P

Plasterer

Sorry, just noted in post 5 you acually edited my post with some answers (apologies for this i didn't spot it) You live above a subway!?! you'll quite simply never stop the plaster cracking then. I'll leave it down to the decs now to take over with any paints etc on the market to try and "reduce" the cracking. But I guarantee - you won't stop it.
All the best with it
P

liam8282

If the cracks are down to movement there is very little you can do to stop them coming back. As long as their is movement, there will always be cracks.

Even if the walls are lined, depending on the size of the cracks, they will in time just crack through the lining paper too. The walls being lined may result in the cracks not being visible for longer, but they will come back eventually. Same goes for all paints and coverings available. They may slow down the rate at which the cracks appear, but they will always come back eventually.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money trying to sort it out, you could get a flexible filler such as decorators caulk, fill all the cracks and paint again.

As it is your bathroom, you could possibly have had it tiled instead of getting it plastered, but you probably discounted this before you choose to get the bathroom plastered.