Cracking plaster walls?
I finished a renovation last year (new electrical, plumbing, new plaster walls where needed, some demo) of a brownstone but I am noticing cracks showing up in the walls and original plaster trim, which I spent much time restoring. The moldings appear to be separating from the walls in places. Also, the paint around door…
I finished a renovation last year (new electrical, plumbing, new plaster walls where needed, some demo) of a brownstone but I am noticing cracks showing up in the walls and original plaster trim, which I spent much time restoring. The moldings appear to be separating from the walls in places. Also, the paint around door frames and new moldings seem to be cracking at the connections. I was told that it is just an old house “settlingâ€. Is this correct? I have always lived in newer apartments, so I don’t know what to expect. Should I be worried…did the builder do a slack job, or is this typical old house behavior? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Look for “plaster washers” or ‘plaster buttons” – slip a screw through them and drive them into the lathe along the places where the plaster looks liuke it is pulling away from the walls until they countersink. paint the wall with a primer like “plaster Weld” or a one to three part white glue to water solution. After it dries, cover it with fiberglass mesh ( available at Dykes Lumber- like an enormous roll of fiberglass mesh tape) themn skim with a 4 to one Joint Compound / Plaster Of Paris mixture and a stiff putty knife. After the plaster sets ( overnight at least) apply a thin bead of paintable acrylic caul where the plaster meets the moldings and spread it with a wet finger. That’s it – but bear in mind that it IS plaster and and old building- a little cracking is to be expected over time. Small cracks can be filled with latex caulk and repainted.
Once the old plaster cracks it will always be cracked. The fiberglass mesh and skim coat just float over the cracks so you don’t see them. Aesthetically it works fine. It’s not unusual for moldings to shrink over time and separate from the walls, ceiling, and other mouldings, especially if they are two different materials. Call your painter back and have him take a look at it. Active cracks due to structural settling are a whole different problem, An engineer once told me that due to the fact that there was a huge building boom back in the 1890’s they used alot of green lumber that shrank within the first few years and caused all those uneven floors you see in brownstone Brooklyn.
We replasterred our parlor floor walls/ceiling last year — they were badly cracked and had missing sections of molding. We did a lot of research and found that it’s imperitive that the old plaster is fixed with special screws and washers and that a mesh is used in the new layers of plaster that are applied. We’ve had no problems with cracks even though we’ve been through one summer winter cycle.
If you took out any supporting walls during your renovation, your house is probably settling. We removed a wall and — even though we replaced it with a steel beam and lally post and everything is structurally sound — cracks appeared in the wall above.
definitely related to the heating season. indoor winters in nyc are DRY. moisture gets sucked out of the walls, materials shrink, then crack. my wife thinks our house is falling down. i think i can’t wait for spring summer and a bit more humidity.
they forgot to put fiber glass tape before to aply plaster and de skimcoating was supouse level to de moulding call mr luis a this cell 646 703 1025
Cracks usually form at the beginning and end of the heating season. Are you talking about the mitered corners opening up on the door mouldings? It happens. Thats one reason they used those corner blocks in old houses, to hide the cracks. Good trim carpenters use wood bisquits and glue all the miters so they don’t open up. Caulk, caulk, and more caulk.
Cracks usually form at the beginning and end of the heating season. Are you talking about the mitered corners opening up on the door mouldings? It happens. Thats one reason they used those corner blocks in old houses, to hide the cracks. Good trim carpenters use wood bisquits and glue all the miters so they don’t open up. Caulk, caulk, and more caulk.
As long as you have two dissimilar materials, they will move differently and contract or expand differently, so that may be a reason for the cracks. Caulk (white or clear) is very good for this purpose as it is flexible and holds the two different materials together.