Strammit board / straw walls and plaster cracks

ashe

We have quite a few hairline cracks upstairs along where the walls meet the ceiling, and above door frames & windows.

it came out when we got our bathrooms done that our internal walls upstairs are made out of straw of all things - a material known as strammit board which is large panels of compressed straw, dropped in from the loft (you can see the tops of the panels when you're up there)

these are given a thin layer of skin plaster I guess. We'd take them out but would mean basically rebuilding upstairs & we'd lose space in every room as this stuff is a lot thinner than stud walls. 

I'm looking to resolve the cracks before we redecorate, and have bought something similar to this;

I watched a video that said to scrape out the cracks and make a little larger, put a layer of easy fill over it and scrape into cracks, the man apply the tape, then give a coat and feather it and suggested 3 thin coats to smooth it over. 

Just checking if there is anything else to be aware of? Do I need to sand between coats?

is this likely to help? 

I'll pop up and take a few picks of the cracks for reference 

ashe

Photos showing what cracks are like around ceiling and around the window 

stuart45

You don't want corner tape.

FreeBear

ashe said: it came out when we got our bathrooms done that our internal walls upstairs are made out of straw of all things - a material known as strammit board which is large panels of compressed straw, dropped in from the loft (you can see the tops of the panels when you're up there)

these are given a thin layer of skin plaster I guess. We'd take them out but would mean basically rebuilding upstairs & we'd lose space in every room as this stuff is a lot thinner than stud walls.

Have a look at Europanels - They are a plasterboard & honeycomb system just under 50mm thick. Very robust and ideal for building partition walls quickly. Not particularly cheap, but may be a cost effective solution if you need to replace the Strammit boards.

ashe

stuart45 said:

You don't want corner tape.

What do I want then? Just standard tape? I presumed the metal may give it a bit more structure but happy to be advised 

ashe

FreeBear said:

ashe said: it came out when we got our bathrooms done that our internal walls upstairs are made out of straw of all things - a material known as strammit board which is large panels of compressed straw, dropped in from the loft (you can see the tops of the panels when you're up there)

these are given a thin layer of skin plaster I guess. We'd take them out but would mean basically rebuilding upstairs & we'd lose space in every room as this stuff is a lot thinner than stud walls.

Have a look at Europanels - They are a plasterboard & honeycomb system just under 50mm thick. Very robust and ideal for building partition walls quickly. Not particularly cheap, but may be a cost effective solution if you need to replace the Strammit boards.

Thanks - good to know!

never seen anything like this stuff, if you want to annoy an electrician get them to Chase a socket out in one 😂 fills about 3 big black bin bags full it's that compressed. 

stuart45

ashe said:

stuart45 said:

You don't want corner tape.

What do I want then? Just standard tape? I presumed the metal may give it a bit more structure but happy to be advised 

Standard paper tape. There's a crease in the centre for you to bend for the wall/ceiling junction. 

justwhat

You said it was fine before renovation upstairs...Can you not just rake and fill the cracks same method as lathe and plaster.

ashe

justwhat said:

You said it was fine before renovation upstairs...Can you not just rake and fill the cracks same method as lathe and plaster.

Sorry what I mean is it transpired when we did the renovation that the walls are made of straw. I think a lot of the advice on crack filling is generally aimed at dot and dab walls but think these are a bit different so just wanted to check if there is anything else in need to be aware or before cracking on. 

I've filled and faked plenty of cracks in my time in previous house but they generally just come back between seasons so have read that filling and taping works better 

ashe

stuart45 said:

ashe said:

stuart45 said:

You don't want corner tape.

What do I want then? Just standard tape? I presumed the metal may give it a bit more structure but happy to be advised 

Standard paper tape. There's a crease in the centre for you to bend for the wall/ceiling junction. 

Thanks, I'll pick some up!

jacko220

Can I suggest some coving, can be plasterboard or cheap EPS, the later has the benefit of being insulation,