Cracking (caulk?) how to fix without ....

ninjaef

...without : repainting the wood !!

I think this is caulk , and I can remove it with a scraper BUT I had the same thing down the stair stringer and I don't want to "go there" with that solution.
That solution was ... my pal came and hacked it all away, left gaps between the plaster board and the wood stringer, he filled with expanding foam, he sanded, he applied flexi filler using a gun, sanded, primed, painted and looks well but it took 3 weeks he came and went at will and left my house a mess for ages. 
Is there a more "simpler" less exacting solution for the DIYer - doesn't need to be top dollar or like a new never used home, but something just to tidy it up ? 

If I sand it I'm going to have to paint the wood door frames and they are actually quite in excellent condition and do not need painting. I'm painting the walls you see so that's why I'm wondering how to get a "clean line" here for cutting in 

All ideas considered - please. And, if you do reply, would you be so good as to provide a laymen's explanation because my trade is computers and I use my brain not my hands ! , I'm ok with my hands but I would say I'm a DIYer not a tradesperson and I need a little hand holding and instructions if you don't mind please.

Ideally I'd like to just "Peel away" the caulking, but when my pal did the stair stringer, and peeled the caulk, strips of wood came of the stringer - which he had to fill etc.etc. So it's not as easy as "cutting it away" , well , unless you can provide the guide and what equipment/materials I need  I did try a blade under the caulk but I could feel it trying to pull "shards" of wood up from the casing .... arggggh

williamgriffin

Why not ask your brother or hasn't he finished the last caulking job?

ninjaef

williamgriffin said:

Why not ask your brother or hasn't he finished the last caulking job?

That is why I am here ... as per OP which you will have read :-) and determined that he likes to go OTT and then more , at my cost , and with the house in a mess for 3 weeks and a dog walking around + grandkids.

Did you have any solutions or constructive suggestions , or  .... ?

MovingForwards

Scrape it off, watch a few you tube videos and learn how to do things yourself as your sibling is just doing codge jobs from what I've seen of your other posts.

Trigger, caulk and a damp sponge is under £5, sense of achievement is priceless!

I mastered caulking in about 5 minutes and never once thought about expanding foam for my skirting board gaps. From there I moved on to sealing gaps in a chimney breast shelving / cupboard, now I'm working my way round the wooden window surrounds and looking for other things to fill, when that's done I'm replacing the window frame sealent.

fenwick458

honestly that looks fine to me.
theres no easy fix, but if you really want to try using a shave hook, and just scrape all the side of the casing down that has the crack, then repaint it
doesn't look like a standard construction door casing to me, maybe it's cracking like that because it's not fixed in securely enough? 

FreeBear

MovingForwards said: never once thought about expanding foam for my skirting board gaps.

There is a reason expanding foam is often referred to as "Bodger's Foam".. For filling the gap between floorboards & wall/skirting, it is fine (same for any other source of draught). As a backing for filler...

ninjaef

fenwick458 said:

honestly that looks fine to me.
theres no easy fix, but if you really want to try using a shave hook, and just scrape all the side of the casing down that has the crack, then repaint it
doesn't look like a standard construction door casing to me, maybe it's cracking like that because it's not fixed in securely enough? 

That's a good thought , although it is actually the caulk that has cracked not the frame. When I last tried this sort of job on the stair stringer I ended up stripping fine slivers of wood from the top of the stringer where it meets the plasterboard and this created large gaps which filler could not fill. I called my brother round who made it even worse (or so I thought) as he stripped the lot out, used foam as a backer - indeed exactly as @FreeBear states and for that purpose it is widely used apparently (contrary to other derogatory comments I was not going to reply to).
Back to the history...my Bro then filled the (by now much smaller) gaps down the stringer and wood filled the top of the stringer. It looks great - like new - but as per the OP my house was a mess , it took him a while, and it was unnecessary. He did say I shouldn't have used just a raw scraper on old caulk because it will pull the wood away. No kidding. He charges me  - yeah family too - so I'm keen to learn to do it myself.
So that is why I came to ask good folk if there might be a more prudent way of doing this and a better tool than just a plain wallpaper scraper which didn't really do me any good.
I have tried a craft knife, trying to cut downwards along the caulk as close to the wall as I can, and then  inserting the blade between the caulk and wood and trying to pry it off the wood , but it's still taking slivers of wood from the frame and pulling plaster off the wall so it's making - or starting to make - another mess and a bigger job than it needs to be.
Sigh.

rob7475

What caulk are you using. A lot of the cheaper stuff isn't very flexible and hardens over time causing it to crack. Try something like painters mate https://www.screwfix.com/p/geocel-painters-mate-flexible-acrylic-filler-white-310ml/35403?cm_sp=managedredirect-_-sealantsadhesives-_-paintersmate&_requestid=157052

It's a bit dearer but I've never had an issue with it cracking.

bob_a_builder

All this sort of thing is covered on YouTube - - a moving picture is worth many words 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvQcXnrWAY&t=514s

ninjaef

rob7475 said:

What caulk are you using. A lot of the cheaper stuff isn't very flexible and hardens over time causing it to crack. Try something like painters mate https://www.screwfix.com/p/geocel-painters-mate-flexible-acrylic-filler-white-310ml/35403?cm_sp=managedredirect-_-sealantsadhesives-_-paintersmate&_requestid=157052

It's a bit dearer but I've never had an issue with it cracking.

Hi thanks for the reply and advice. I don't know is the simple answer.  It is my daughter's new house (well new to her). Quite a few jobs to be done . No idea what caulk it is and if I did I'd probably not need to come here for help I guess ; as it is I am a dumb not so good DIYer but have some great backup on here with kind forumites providing help and tips.

ninjaef

bob_a_builder said:

All this sort of thing is covered on YouTube - - a moving picture is worth many words ...

Yes thanks, not quite the same, that is wood to wood. Yes I do look at YouTube  - of course - but there seems to be quite a variation on tips and advice, do's and don'ts. That's why I come here. Just one example - just one - I watch a good set of vids from this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DI4hfHM_Hg .

His tips do seem logical and I have used the odd vid which worked for me. However, he counters other advice such as spraying silicone with washing up water spray - which many vids promote. The point I make, is that videos can be contradictory, everyone is an expert, and all of this just adds confusion to the DIYer.  I find this MSE forum is rather good and some great DIYers here , so YouTube is okay to a degree but I prefer MSE. Personal choice.