Another Plaster Crack Question

12 years ago

My house is from the 1880s. I'm in Dutchess County, NY. I have no idea when the walls were last plastered. I bought the place about ten years ago. Over the past few years, I've noticed a few issues that concern me.

The biggest problem are cracks/lifting of plaster from certain walls. It seems to be about a 1/8" or 1/4" skim coat over the plaster that is cracking and lifting up. There's a photo below. Is it possible to post more than one photo? (I don't know anything about plaster.) It happens on some walls -- generally interior, not exterior. Adjacent walls seem fine. The worst is inside an interior stair well.

Any thoughts on why this is happening? I can't tell if it's a seasonal issue. Perhaps it's due to temps swings -- in the winter, I leave the heat down to 50* or 55* during the week.

What is the best way to fix this? I've seen some products for injecting an adhesive behind the lifting portion and then screwing it down. But I would have to do a lot of this. Would I do better pulling off the lifting portions and re-plastering? Any thoughts for avoiding this?

Second, I'm noticing a lot of pencil line cracks. They don't even feel like cracks -- it looks like someone has drawn some fine pencil lines on the walls. Fo some, I can see that someone in the past taped over a crack there. I think others have actually become cracks. Any thoughts?

Third, on one wall, I've noticed a long bulge. It looks like there is a snake under the plaster. It's not cracking. If I press it, it doesn't move -- it's not as if it's come loose from the lathing and can be pushed back. Again -- any thoughts?

Thanks in advance. I'd like to get a handle on this before it gets worse. I'm hoping its something that I can deal with myself.

Stone

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Comments (5)

PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
12 years ago
Sure does not look like any plaster I have ever seen
akamainegrower
12 years ago
First thing to do is determine if you're actually dealing with a plaster skim coat. It's entirely possible that joint compound was used to cover up the cracks in the old plaster surface at some time in the past.

The glue and screw method certainly works for reattaching plaster to the lathing, but it definitely is a long and tedious process. Once completed, you also have to put on a new surface. Fiberglass mesh followed by joint compound is a good way to do this, but does require a fairly high degree of skill. The mesh should eliminate future cracking problems and the lack of something like mesh may be why you're seeing cracking now. The fact that it's worse in a high traffic area like the stair well suggests subtle movement is causing the cracks. If it really is a plaster skim coat, it can be repaired in the same way as above.
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moosbrugger
Original Author
12 years ago
Here's another picture from a different area: (How do I get more than one image in a post?)
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
12 years ago
Stone:

Google plaster washers and get used to the idea that plaster has cracks. It's part of old house charm. It isn't drywall.
Saypoint zone 6 CT
12 years ago
I had this problem in a second floor bedroom, in a house built in 1837. I used plaster washers to pull the plaster tight to the lath wherever it was loose, and used the mesh tape and joint compound to smooth over the whole thing. I'm not a pro, but have done a fair amount of taping and repairs over the years. It took me about 5-6 coats to get it all smooth, sanding in between where necessary.
I used a sanding block that goes on the end of a vacuum cleaner hose to cut down on dust, but this is a messy job. Once it was painted, you can't even tell a repair was made. I have several other areas in the house to do, and have been procrastinating something terrible.
If you don't have the skills and don't have the patience to learn on the job, a drywall/taping contractor or plasterer could do it.
Just a thought, I have some bad spots in a stairwell wall that backs up to a tiled shower on the other side. I know the previous tile had bad grout, and suspect that some of the skim coat is letting go because of the moisture.