Cracks in plaster ceiling

[Flaxet]

Hi!

Moved into a 60s villa 1.5 years ago. The previous owner had done a lot of work such as putting plasterboard on the ceilings and walls in the upstairs. Now this has started to crack in all the joints. Suspect that the preparation work was not done properly and that no paper strips were used between the joints. It's starting to show in the ceiling in the laundry room and kitchen where the same owner did this work (thankfully he didn't touch the rest of the house ceiling). Now that the damage is done - is it just a matter of tearing it all down and redoing it properly, or can it be “saved”? I've read about microlit (any use when the cracks are already present?) and people describing "picking up" between the joints and applying paper strips. We are both DIY enthusiasts, so all help and tips are greatly appreciated - it looks so incredibly dull with all these cracks.

 

[Kurtivan]

Welcome to the forum! Can you upload an image showing what it looks like?

 

[datja]

Hi!

Moved into a 1960s villa 1.5 years ago. The previous owner had renovated quite a bit, such as installing gypsum boards on the ceilings and walls on the upper floor. Now these have started to crack at all the seams. Suspect the preliminary work wasn't done properly and that there are no paper tapes between seams. It's starting to show even in the ceiling of the laundry room and kitchen where the same owner did this work (fortunately, he left the rest of the house's ceiling alone). Now that the damage is already done – is it just a matter of tearing everything down and doing it properly, or can it be "saved"? I've read about microlit (any point when the cracks are already a fact?) and people describing "prying open" between the seams and adding paper strips. We are both hobbyists so all help and tips are greatly appreciated – it looks incredibly dull with all these cracks.

Is it in a wooden house?

 

[Flaxet]

Welcome to the forum! Can you upload a picture that shows what it looks like?

Hi, thank you!

Apologies for the late response; I missed that you had replied. I'm a bit unsure about the quality of these images, but I hope you can see what it looks like.

The house has a concrete frame, but the upper floor, where the problem is most significant, is a wood construction. However, the problem is also beginning to show downstairs where a gypsum ceiling has been installed below the original ceiling.

 

[datja]

Hi, thanks!

Sorry for the late reply, I missed that you had responded.
I'm a bit unsure about the quality with these pictures, but I hope you can see how it looks.

The house has a concrete frame but the upper floor where the problem is the greatest is a wooden structure. But the problem is also starting to appear downstairs where gypsum ceilings have been installed below the original ceiling.

Try scraping up some more hidden seam. If there's no reinforcement, reinforce and fill, sand and paint. I'm not sure if you should use industry standard with paper strips or self-adhesive fiberglass mesh which is easier to get up on the ceiling.

I can only speak from my own experience, but we extended our house 5x11m in 2 stories with lecablock but with wooden intermediate floors and trusses 10 years ago. I put plasterboards in the ceiling and reinforced with fiberglass mesh (which only reinforces in four directions) instead of paper strips (which I hate working with, especially on ceilings) and it was good enough for us. We have a tendency for a crack in just one spot.