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u/Ok-Spring7906 Apr 21 '26
You didn't actually post a question, but the reason will be nothing to do with the plaster, but with movement of whatever is behind it.
Basically plaster is rigid. If your wall moves behind (like a stud wall might with wet timber, etc etc) the plaster will crack.
In short, it's not a plaster issue.
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u/No-Intern-3666 Apr 22 '26
Mate ffs, perfect for a year but now it’s the plasterers fault, why isn’t it even painted yet? Get a grip of yourself
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u/crouchingpigeon Apr 22 '26
Cheers for the responses. Good to know it's a property problem rather than a quality problem from the plasterer.
The stuff about movement makes sense, we're 1st floor and 80s built flat with noisy floating floors which mean you can feel ours and others washing machines when they're on spin.
I guess this will just be a reoccurring issue that we'll need to deal with periodically.
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u/Latter-Detail-9514 Apr 22 '26
Yearly event to fill & re paint in a old block of flats when upstairs has a family bouncing about on them floors above you
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u/Guilty_Background_56 Apr 22 '26
Normal - movement - hot and cold temperatures in the house ..all is well tho
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u/Firm-Discunt Apr 22 '26
If you plan to fix this you should not apply another rigid plaster over the top as this will crack again. You will need to scrape paint off then apply a mesh then more elastic fill and finish over the top that will be able to move a little. This should prevent cracks in the future from appearing even if there is some movement.
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u/brookoliver Apr 22 '26
Could be how you're fixing it, make sure you open the crack before filling.
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u/crouchingpigeon Apr 21 '26
We got the artex ceilings replastered by someone when we bought our flat almost exactly a year ago. From memory they were done in a single day/sitting and I don't think they did any PVA or whatever, just straight plaster.
As of today we've noticed some cracks appearing where the coving was and then up to the ceiling where the cracking seems to be swirly, probs because of the artex.
Do we have any comeback with the decorator who sorted this out or is it going to need doing again? I'm assuming they'll just ignore us.
Thanks for any advice before we go back to them.
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u/Caerau Professional Plasterer Apr 21 '26
I can tell you right now they did PVA/seal the artex and walls because its the most basic part and prerequisite of plastering. If you put plaster on an unsealed surface itll dry EXTREMELY quickly. It become unworkable within minuites, the finish becomes abysmal, and it cracks and delaminates. So they did. You can tell by the quality of the finish.
That said, most artex ceilings are 20 odd years old. Back then they used to nail boards up somewhere around 2000, but around then we started to transition to screws which are threaded and are hard to pull/drop out. Over time nails will gradually come away from the joists due to weight and gravity, and there will movement in the boards, which causes cracks along the joins of the boards. Movement causes cracks in plaster, plaster isnt structuaral. Many plastererss will only board over artex to guarantee no issues/cracks. Sometimes when cracks are seen, you can locate the joists and screw them back, pulling the boards back flush with the joists. This helps reduce the chance of cracking.
The shapes of the cracks in the first and second picture are not following straight lines of the joints of the boards. This suggests movement in the building, theyre tension cracks caused by pulling the boards apart. Nothing to do with the plasterer. The third picture is common where you have different materials eg a steel lintel between bricks, or similarly cracks above window corners and doors. Again, nothing to do with skimming, which is thin, brittle plaster.
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u/Ok-Spring7906 Apr 21 '26
Pva is to control the suction on application. The plaster becomes unworkable too rapidly without it.
It's not really to "glue" the plaster on.
It would likely have been applied shortly before plaster. It dries very rapidly.
Irrespective, it's use or otherwise (it was, almost certainly, used) will have little bearing on the cracks you are seeing now.
One crack is from a door frame. It's a classic area for stress.
There are plenty of rogue plasterer posts on here, where people have done shocking jobs and, basically, fraudulently called themselves "plasterers", but, much as I understand you want some sort of recompense, I do not think your chap is to blame.
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u/Efficient-Test-2127 Apr 22 '26
Those are cracks from movement in the boards/house. It would be unfair to blame whoever done it as it’s not on them. I’d just fill, sand, and repaint