Author Topic: old plaster cracks?  (Read 6643 times)

Offline nabira

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old plaster cracks?
« on: April 08, 2006, 08:43:50 PM »
Hi guys,
What do you say to a customer who says some of the cracks on the walls and ceilings are coming back after a few months?
Can you guarantee no cracks will appear after you fixed them?
I normally, scrape open the cracks, prime them with cover stain, and use mesh or sheet-rock tape to fix them. I do a good job with taping. Is that my fault that cracks come back again?
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the PAINTSMITH

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #1 on: April 09, 2006, 06:41:32 AM »
Howdy nabira

I just dealt with this situation last Friday. I had repaired a ceiling that had a nasty crack going across a hallway, popcorn ceiling too... >:( It had turned out really nice until this Spring, I get a call to do more work there, and while checking my work from last year I notice that the crack had reappeared, not even as bad as before, but it was there...I spent a lot of time fixing it in the first place, so I was ticked...

...Then I saw what more the homeowner wanted done; It seems the panels on his 4-panel pine doors had all shrunk and split and exposed a quarter-inch of raw wood, and his jambs and baseboard caulkjoints had failed. There is a common culprit to both the crack on the ceiling and the doors; This guy had left for the winter to a sunnier clime, leaving the furnace on but neglecting the inevitable change in humidity...As seasons change so does the moisture content in the air, and if it goes down far enough for long enough wood will leach it's moisture content, causing shrinkage...This also applies to the studwork in the walls, causing the attached drywall or plaster-and-lathe to move with the shrinkage...

...Up here in Minnesnowta we have a normal range of 50-70% humidity in the summer (and higher  :o) to almost zero in the dead of winter. There are some regions where the humidity is more stable, but when you have any significant variation for prolonged periods of time it will show up in the woodwork...Including cracks in the walls....Though, if the house is newer, foundation settling can also be a cause...

So if you're in an area prone to climate changes like that, you may want to stress to your customers that they first of all get a barometer to read the moisture content in the air, then invest in a humidifier for winter and a dehumidifier for the summer---They need to try and maintain as constant humidity in their home as possible...30-40% is optimal...

Oh, so to answer your second question, no....Because it's not my fault either... ;)

Good luck

Offline nabira

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2006, 10:21:12 AM »
Thanks for your respond,
There are certainly the lots of moisture in the east coast in particular around New York. However, how would that affect an old house? She expects me to take responsibility for the cracks that I have fixed six months ago. I don't see what I could've done differently to prevent the cracks from appearing again. BTW, some walls are plaster and some are sheet-rock.
I paint sparrows yellow! I also sell canaries to pet stores!

the PAINTSMITH

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #3 on: April 09, 2006, 10:45:37 AM »
Unfortunately, old houses will settle and move as well as newer houses, due to the unchangeable and constant movement of the earth...Some places more than others. Do you know anything of the state of homes in the surrounding neighborhood?

...And BTW, old wood will swell and shrink too, though perhaps not as much...Changes in temperature, wind buffeting the house, all kinds of factors enter in...

Offline CarlThePainter

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #4 on: April 09, 2006, 10:59:18 AM »
I pretty much tell the people that the cracks will likely come back while I am doing the estimate.  There really is only so much a painter or drywaller can do.  This is also why I hate working in old plaster/lathe houses....I feel sorry for those people on the east coast.  At least here in the midwest there are plenty of drywalled houses I can focus on.  What you can do and what I should do if I ever get a contract together, is put a clause in there saying that you will only fix cracks the best way that you know how according to industry standards or something like that.  You are fixing the crack...you are not fixing the underlying condition causing the crack.  You can't be responsible for truss lifting/movement, shrinking and expanding, settling of the houses and movement of the earth for gods sake.

the PAINTSMITH

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #5 on: April 09, 2006, 11:37:02 AM »
Reminds me of an old saying; "A patch is a patch..." :-\

Offline nabira

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #6 on: April 09, 2006, 11:44:19 AM »
Reminds me of an old saying; "A patch is a patch..." :-\
Loool, it’s all about building confidence. I'm meeting with her tomorrow to look at the cracks and I guess I'll be able to defend my position better.

Thanks guys
I paint sparrows yellow! I also sell canaries to pet stores!

Offline rmichael

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Re:old plaster cracks?
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2006, 12:59:33 PM »
Great reply by Carl... You fixed the crack not the underlying cause. Summer or winter Homes exaggerate movement by not having a consistent ( controlled ) interior air environment.

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