Ceiling crack repair spray

Subsidence means uneven support of the rest of the house and is a severe problem that needs a structural engineer and a suitably qualified professional builder to sort out. Different load. Over the years, your house has aged gracefully, most of the settlement cracks have happened and been repaired, and there has been no movement for years.

Then your roof fails, your slates or tiles start to crack, and you decide to have a new roof installed. The top is stripped back to the bare rafters, and you find that some of the wooden rafters are rotten too. There is nothing else for it but to replace the rotten rafters and replace the roofing tiles with new ones. The job is done, and all is once again watertight. However, you forgot that you relieved the walls and foundations of considerable weight when removing the roof.

The house expanded upwards because of the reduced load and then contracted again when the new roof tiles were installed. The roof tiles were modern ones, and each one was a tiny bit heavier than the old tiles. The slight weight increases have added up to a considerable extra load.

Your foundations were designed for a particular load, and now you have increased the weight considerably. Most times, your foundations have been designed with a Factor of Safety big enough to accommodate the extra weight, and you will just have a few months of settlement cracks again. Only a job for the decorator, so no need to worry. Sometimes, however, the extra weight will cause damage to not only the foundations but parts of the building on all floors as the size of rafters, ceiling joists, and load-bearing walls will also have been calculated to accommodate the weight of the roof as well.

This will often occur if you have done significant construction like building the first-floor addition to your house. In this case, your foundations have not been designed for this much extra weight, and you will find that they crack and severe subsidence occurs. Once again, this is a job for the structural engineer and the experienced builder. Additional weight upstairs. You live in an apartment with people living above and below you on different floors.

The single person above you has moved out, and a family of four has moved in. They have far more furniture and use all the rooms far more than the previous single person ever did. The result is that their floor joists your ceiling joists are being subjected to an increased load, increasing the bend and deformation of the wood. Because wood is flexible and plaster is not, you will have cracks form in the ceiling following the join lines of the plasterboard sheets.

Age of the house. As a building becomes older, the tiny cracks caused by the continual onslaught of different forces on the house combine, magnify, and eventually become visible.

We found in the previous section that different types of load variation can cause various movements, deformations, and failures within the house. These movements are usually made visible as cracks in the brittle plaster surface. However, there are different types of cracks depending on the cause, and we will talk about those now. Very fine cracks. These are usually caused by the natural aging of the structure.

Usually caused as a combination of humidity changes and varying load. Nothing to worry about; these are just cosmetic. This type of crack is sometimes caused by applying a thick layer of drywall jointing compound to add texture to the ceiling. As the mixture dries unevenly, so the cracks run randomly across the top. Fine, straight cracks. If you find one of these, it is probably caused by a poorly taped joint between the plasterboard sheets.

When plasterboard sheets are fixed to ceiling joists, they are butted up to their neighbors. There is always a tiny gap between the sheets to allow for natural movement, and this is filled by a plaster jointing compound followed by a fine mesh tape or sometimes a special gummed paper tape to strengthen the joint. The tape is pushed into the jointing compound and smoothed over. Sometimes the tape does not adhere properly, and the joint is not reinforced. This eventually causes a crack to develop along the line of the joint.

This is not a structural or a safety hazard, so it can be safely ignored or repaired with a thinly mixed jointing compound or PVA adhesive. Vertical cracks. These cracks run across the ceiling and vertically down the wall from the same point. You need a structural engineer or a very experienced builder to determine what is going on here.

Discolored cracks. Sometimes the indoor plumbing or the roof might develop a slight leak and cause water to trickle down between the joints in the plasterboard. The joint tape may subsequently become loose, causing what appears to be a crack along with ugly brown or yellow stains. You must first find the leak and fix it; otherwise, the stain will reappear.

Then remove the loose tape and replace it with new tape and jointing compound. You can buy ceiling repair kits from home improvement centers if you want to take the easy way out. Be aware that although plasterboard drywall will resist a tiny bit of moisture, for long-term exposure or in the case of a significant leak, you may have to remove and replace either a whole sheet or cut out a section and replace it with a patch.

Remember to replace the tape on the patch joints and cover it with the jointing compound before decorating the patch to match the rest of the ceiling. Cracks with a bowed ceiling. These cracks are often caused by a weakness in the ceiling joists or sometimes a failure in the joist support. The damage can be either along the joist or to one side of the joist. These cracks are always caused by a severe overload above the crack. They can either be caused by a far heavier roof than was designed for or by adding extra stories onto a building intended to be one story.

Either scenario produces the same effect. Both of which are very serious and need to be sorted as soon as possible. Crack between the ceiling and wall. Ceiling joists and roof trusses have been designed to expand and contract with changes in humidity and temperature.

As the wood moves, the drywall, fixed to the wood, moves with it. If the drywall is nailed to the joists near the wall, the movement will cause a gap to open up. You must stop fixing the board to the ceiling when near the wall. Instead, nail the boards to blocks or battens set to the top of the stud walls.

This is not a structural problem, but it can look unsightly. The crack can be left alone or covered with a decorative coving.

The coving should only be fixed to the stud wall to allow movement between the ceiling and the wall. Vibration cracks. Live on an estate that is still being built, live near a busy road or airport, or live above an underground railway. You will experience vibration from the continual movement of heavy traffic and large vehicles.

This vibration will cause your house to move slightly or vibrate in sympathy with the outside traffic. The vibration can cause cracks to appear. The type of crack may be a simple cosmetic type, or it may be caused by interference with your foundations. This type is definitely worth contacting a professional to give an opinion. If the cracks occur near the edges of the ceiling, then they will most likely be caused by aging and settlement. If they are in the middle of the ceiling and consist of multiple, wide, and long cracks, then they are of more concern and should be looked at by a structural engineer or experienced house builder.

It is also worth monitoring the crack to see if the layout changes, by how much and how fast. If the cracks seem to be randomly distributed, then it is likely that the cause is a minor one.

All this information will be helpful to the professional so keep notes on how and when they change. When you have identified a crack in a ceiling that you think might be caused by something serious, you will need to see if the gap widens, lengthens, changes direction, or generally moves. Sometimes the surfaces on either side of the crack can move out of line too. The length of the crack is simplest to note; simply mark on the ceiling the start and end using a pencil.

Also, draw several lines across the crack at various positions; these are called alignment marks and show if the changes are regular or uneven. Keep a notebook of dates when measurements are taken and the dimensions of the crack on these dates. If you find that the crack is growing wider, longer, or if another crack has appeared, it will be worth contacting a professional to assess any damage and determine the most probable cause.

However, if the damage is caused by a structural problem, you will have to get your household insurance company involved. Depending on the terms of your contract, you may be able to have all work done to repair the fault paid for by the insurance company minus any excess payment, of course.

It is always worth contacting them anyway because if you have a mortgage, you will probably have to get your mortgage lender to inform them of the problem and the steps you will take to provide a solution. These cracks are easily repaired with a few simple tools and materials. Thanks so much for watching my How to repair holes around electrical box video!

How you can get the smoothest walls with these skim coating tips and tricks. Easiest way to repair knockdown texture on a wall patch ever! Skim coating is a great way to make all the walls new again. Skim coat is a thin coat of joint compound also known as mud. You can do a skim coat to smooth out damaged walls with. What is Skim Coating?

Can I skim coat over my painted popcorn ceiling? No sanding! How to repair water damaged drywall in one day!! However, 5-minute mud will set more firmly than joint compound, and bolster the structural integrity of ceiling drywall. Five-minute mud will be available for purchase at your local hardware or home-supply store.

You should only need a 3-lb 1. You can also use mud with a longer drying time, like minute mud. Using mud with a longer drying time will give you more time to do the repair. As long as you do not mix the mud too watery, it will not fall on you, but you will need more time at the beginning to get the hang of plastering a ceiling.

Spray the ceiling with a spray water bottle to help the mud adhere to the existing plaster. Mud does not stick to dust, oil, mold, too flat or loose surfaces. Apply a layer of the mud to your ceiling crack. Using the broad edge of your putty knife, apply a single, smooth layer of mud. Make sure to completely cover the mesh tape with mud. If you can, apply the mud in a single direction, parallel with the crack. Work quickly, since the mud will be dry in 5 minutes. If the layer of mud looks uneven, use a wet sponge to smooth it out before it dries.

Add texture to the mud if your ceiling is texturized. Texturizing the mud will help it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. The best way to add texture to the mud depends on what kind of ceiling you have. If your ceiling has a swirl texture, use a soft paintbrush to recreate the pattern in the mud. If your ceiling has a knock-down texture, press a firm, wet piece of paper into the mud to replicate the texture. If your ceiling has a popcorn texture, spray over the mud with a popcorn ceiling patch spray.

Sand the first layer of mud once it's dried. Sanding the mud in between layers will help make the final result look smoother and more professional. Use a sanding sponge to gently sand any rough patches on the mud, working in a back-and-forth motion. Mix a second batch of 5-minute mud. The second coat should be thinner than the first, so be sure to add more water from your kitchen tap to the same amount of sand. The thinner coat will cover any cracks or lumps present in the first coat of mud.

Apply a second coat of the mud. Use the same technique that you used for the first coat. Fully cover the mesh tape with the mud. Part 3. Sand the layers of mud with a sanding sponge. Sand using a back-and-forth motion until the dried mud covering the former cracked area is smooth and flush with the rest of your ceiling.

If they come in a range of grits, opt for a fine-grit sanding sponge. Depending on how much dried mud you sand off, it may make quite a mess. If you still have fabric-covered furniture in the room, consider putting drop cloths over them to avoid permanent damage. If you are trying to match a very flat surface, mix the last coat of mud a little more watery than the first 2 coats and apply it to the ceiling with a 14 or 18 inch trowel. The longer trowel will fill in the low spots making a flatter surface.

Find a paint color that matches your ceiling. If you have some paint leftover from when you or contractors painted your ceiling initially, you can use this to paint over the repaired crack. Larger hardware stores may stock and mix paint, also. Pick up several paint-color strips, and compare each color against your ceiling to find the closest match. Roll your roller brush up and down through the paint until the entire surface of the brush is coated with paint. Then, working from one end of the patched crack to the other, use the brush to apply paint a layer of paint to your ceiling.

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