Ceiling crack one week after new skim

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smp123

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Hello
Please can you give any advice on what I should be expecting from my plasterer?
The kitchen ceiling was reboarded and skimmed last week, however 3 days later we noticed a crack across the middle of the ceiling. It is straight, and so looks like it is the edge of the plasterboard.

The plasterer has agreed to fix it, but what approach should we expect him to take?
1. Should he re-skim the whole ceiling?
Or
2. Should he cut back some of the skim, re-scrim the plasterboard and then reskim that section?
Or
3. Should he just use filler?

Appreciate your views.
Thanks
 
Depends how big the crack is ? If the ceiling had dried out to quick then there is always a chance of it cracking so just have a chat with the plasterer
 
1) No.
2) No, because he should have already scrimmed the joint. In addition, you cannot join plaster seamlessly.
3) Yes, cut back slightly and fill.

You may find that there is an underlying problem and even after filling the ceiling and it may still crack. It depends on how well the boards were fixed to the ceiling and the condition of the joists. They should also have been staggered.
 
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Can you see the scrim where it has cracked? Maybe he didn't scrim that joint for some mad reason! is the celing bouncin as in not fixed very well? Either way he's made an arse of it! I would be lookin for a reskim and hopefully he gets it right second time round.what has you plasterer said?
 
who boarded the ceiling?

was it nailed or screwed?

if the plasterer has either nailed or/and not stagerred joints he has dropped a bollock, i see this day in day out where customers try and save themselves £100 by boarding themselves and use nails and dont stagger the joints. Then look at you gone out when you tell them you arent guaranteeing their ceiling against cracks and popped nails.

personally if it was my job, and i'd boarded and skimmed, i'd scrim, pva & re-skim free of charge

if customer has boarded it and i just skimmed, then they are liable.
 
Hi everyone
Thanks very much.
The plasterer did all the boarding himself, so that's a bit simpler.
There wasn't a crack there before, and it is such a straight line it looks like it must be the overboarding. Can't see any scrim tape there, it is a thin crack but visible all the same.
I'll have a chat to him and check what he's planning - he'd asked to borrow some filler, so I was a bit concerned and wanted to check before getting into discussion, on what would normally be expected.
There are lots of downlights in the ceiling so I guess it would be quite fiddly to reskim the whole thing - just wasn't sure that using a filler would get a good finish....or how long that would last?
Thanks
 
Filler will leave a seamless finish when it has been gently sanded. However, it may still crack :-)
 
smp123 said:
Hi everyone
Thanks very much.
The plasterer did all the boarding himself, so that's a bit simpler.
There wasn't a crack there before, and it is such a straight line it looks like it must be the overboarding. Can't see any scrim tape there, it is a thin crack but visible all the same.
I'll have a chat to him and check what he's planning - he'd asked to borrow some filler, so I was a bit concerned and wanted to check before getting into discussion, on what would normally be expected.
There are lots of downlights in the ceiling so I guess it would be quite fiddly to reskim the whole thing - just wasn't sure that using a filler would get a good finish....or how long that would last?
Thanks
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borrow some filler!!! He may well leave you some sandpaper. for you to sand it.:rolleyes)
 
smp123, I assume you are having other works done on your home and therefore have some filler lying around? Apart from the crack, is the rest of the ceiling finished to a high standard?
 
if you want a ceiling that will not crack. the best method that we use is to cover the ceiling in 12mm ply, fixed with screws every 100mm or 4 inches. then over board, scrim and skim. i have not seen a ceiling done this way fail.
i suspect the reason that your ceiling has cracked is to fast drying out. ie central heating
 
it sounds like the lights wernt in when he skimmed it first time round, so mabey when he over boarded it he diddnt quite reach the joist with the end of the board, thought sod it pinked it out then when the sparks was playing about either drilling or fishing his wires out its been forced enough to crack.
no one likes electricians so blame him haha
 
All the lights going in may have something to do with it, spark could have been a bit ruff but again it's all ifs and buts. He is coming back to fix so seems like a decent enough bloke and as long as you are happy with rest of ceiling i would leave him to do what he has to to fix it. Cracks can be caused by a number of reasons and once a ceiling is plastered it is very hard to work out what caused it.
 
How much did you pay the guy, anyone who is in the game always scrimms joints and boards out properly.

If he was the cheapest quote you can now see why.
 
o yes and it could have been a one coat merchant, see that all the time.

i actually seen one not long ago where you could see the plasprime through it lol.
 
smp123 said:
Hello
Please can you give any advice on what I should be expecting from my plasterer?
The kitchen ceiling was reboarded and skimmed last week, however 3 days later we noticed a crack across the middle of the ceiling. It is straight, and so looks like it is the edge of the plasterboard.

The plasterer has agreed to fix it, but what approach should we expect him to take?
1. Should he re-skim the whole ceiling?
Or
2. Should he cut back some of the skim, re-scrim the plasterboard and then reskim that section?
Or
3. Should he just use filler?

Appreciate your views.
Thanks
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1. Yes absolutely thats what you paid him to do in the first place.

2. No absolutely not itl look ****.

3. No theres a chance that there is no scrim tape there, so if he just fills it will re-crack.

He needs to screw either side of the crack to ensure minimal movement, tape the joint up, PVA the ceiling, and over-skim the ceiling again. The down lighters that are there now are no problem, they disconnect easy enough and the wires will go in the ceiling.
 
A lot of nonsense spoken here, assumptions made etc, some common sense too if you weed it out, a newly boarded ceiling can crack if it dries too quickly,if there is movement above the ceiling , ie if the joist above is weak and people are walking on it this can cause a tiny crack to open, if everyone above who wrote never had a crack in a ceiling in their careers they are deluded,putting ply up before the plasterboard would double the cost of the job or at least add a large percentage to the overall costs. I think the best thing to do for now is to widen the crack and fill with flexible filler and see how it is in a couple of weeks, re skimming is extreme I think, post a picture may help educate us too. Best of luck with it
 
johniosaif said:
A lot of nonsense spoken here, assumptions made etc, some common sense too if you weed it out, a newly boarded ceiling can crack if it dries too quickly,if there is movement above the ceiling , ie if the joist above is weak and people are walking on it this can cause a tiny crack to open, if everyone above who wrote never had a crack in a ceiling in their careers they are deluded,putting ply up before the plasterboard would double the cost of the job or at least add a large percentage to the overall costs. I think the best thing to do for now is to widen the crack and fill with flexible filler and see how it is in a couple of weeks, re skimming is extreme I think, post a picture may help educate us too. Best of luck with it
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Mate your the only one talking nonsense, its been freshly boarded and already has a straight line crack in it. Hes clearly not tapped the joint, filling it will do nothing but have it crack again.

Re-skimming is not extreme its what he was paid to do in the first place.
 
You do not know the cause of the crack, it may be as I said movement in the joists above, you would have to be physically there to check it to say anything for certainty . I will borrow your all seeing crystal ball, where you can tell what the plasterer did in preparation of and plastering of the ceiling, some here "know " it was one coat, some know he did not scrim the joint. Borrowing the filler bit did raise alarm bells to be honest but I know no more than that as the only info I have is what is written ,luckily for some they have visions of the job..
 
johniosaif said:
You do not know the cause of the crack, it may be as I said movement in the joists above, you would have to be physically there to check it to say anything for certainty . I will borrow your all seeing crystal ball, where you can tell what the plasterer did in preparation of and plastering of the ceiling, some here "know " it was one coat, some know he did not scrim the joint. Borrowing the filler bit did raise alarm bells to be honest but I know no more than that as the only info I have is what is written ,luckily for some they have visions of the job..
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John has made a perfectly valid point. Without further information from the client, it is pointless making wild assumptions.
 
Sarcasm is the lowest form of whit mate, i think its pretty fair, without pics to assume that the boards are not staggered and hes forgot to tape the joint.

Weather hes in the right or in the wrong, its his duty to retain his good name and honor the job. If a customer pays to have a re-board and skim they don't then want it filled and sanded, they want it skimmed with no cracks.
 
Airborne said:
Sarcasm is the lowest form of whit mate, i think its pretty fair, without pics to assume that the boards are not staggered and hes forgot to tape the joint.

Weather hes in the right or in the wrong, its his duty to retain his good name and honor the job. If a customer pays to have a re-board and skim they don't then want it filled and sanded, they want it skimmed with no cracks.
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Sarcasm is fine,also not safe to assume anything, I was not saying that what you suggested as a solution was wrong, I think it was extreme without having the relevant knowledge , a picture would help here and also knowing if there were rooms above this ceiling and if the joists were substantial or not. There can be lots of causes for the crack and some of your theories are possibilities too , another one is 9.5mm board been used as it is very weak,
 
If its straight defo not scrimmed up first, scrimm and easy fill or skim the affected area.

common sense this men!

Wtf ply's before overboarding ???

if the original ceiling was that bad rip it down and reboard. Really can not believe there is so many comments for a crack lol
 
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Fatarm said:
Can you see the scrim where it has cracked? Maybe he didn't scrim that joint for some mad reason! is the celing bouncin as in not fixed very well? Either way he's made an arse of it! I would be lookin for a reskim and hopefully he gets it right second time round.what has you plasterer said?
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Not nice that mate could b movement in the joist people moving around up stairs may have nothing to do with the spread at all.
 
wiganlad said:
Not nice that mate could b movement in the joist people moving around up stairs may have nothing to do with the spread at all.
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So the op says he can't see any scrim in the crack? That tells me it's not been scrimmed? And he says the ceiling wasn't cracked before it was overboarded and skimmed? So did the movement from above just start after it was overboarded?:rolleyes)
 
just put a little hair either side , ( i like a landing strip myself ,call me old fashion ) ,stroke it gently till moist,,then ram that filler in there thick and fast,,taking care not to over do it ...usually takes me only a min or two max
 
johniosaif said:
A lot of nonsense spoken here, assumptions made etc, some common sense too if you weed it out, a newly boarded ceiling can crack if it dries too quickly,if there is movement above the ceiling , ie if the joist above is weak and people are walking on it this can cause a tiny crack to open, if everyone above who wrote never had a crack in a ceiling in their careers they are deluded,putting ply up before the plasterboard would double the cost of the job or at least add a large percentage to the overall costs. I think the best thing to do for now is to widen the crack and fill with flexible filler and see how it is in a couple of weeks, re skimming is extreme I think, post a picture may help educate us too. Best of luck with it
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nonsense? No, assumptions yes, that's what we deal with in posts like this, take what info you can. Yeh your right we can't physically see it so have to go with the info provided.your assumption is the plasterer has been unlucky, heating been put on, there's movement above. The op hasn't gave info on either!! My assumption is the plasterer has cunted it, based on the op sayin he can't see scrim in the crack and he says the ceiling wasn't cracked before it was overboarded? So where did the movement from above come from??? Mabye the customer ain't to fussy how it's fixed and I dont know how much he paid? As for the plasterer it's his rep on the line!! Yeh we've all had cracks to deal but I find prevention is better than cure:rolleyes)..... Can I borrow some filler!!! Pmsl.. Says it all.
 
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