Posted by Millie I. on April 21, 1999 at 21:50:16:
Very interesting Jen, good tip, maybe I can use it one of these days. Haven’t heard from you for a while, email me and let me know what you are up to.
I am on my third aquisition this year,
Millie I.
Old Plaster Walls that Crack - Posted by Jennifer(NH)
Posted by Jennifer(NH) on April 21, 1999 at 08:09:27:
I came across this tip and thought it might be useful to rehabbers…
WALL MESH AND SKIM COAT
Tired of patching the cracks in your plaster walls?
If you live in a home with plaster walls and ceilings, you know that over time, plaster inevitably develops small cracks. And as often as those cracks are patched, they always seem to reappear. This doesn?t mean that you have to live with cracks. One solution is to cover the walls or ceiling entirely with Sheetrock. However, this is a huge job and it?s difficult fitting Sheetrock perfectly around windows, doors, and moldings. A better and less-expensive solution is to cover the surface with a very fine fiberglass mesh that comes in three-foot-wide rolls. First, a special primer is rolled onto the walls, and then the mesh, which is hung in a similar fashion to wallpaper, is affixed to the primer.
Once the walls are covered, it?s possible to paint right over the mesh, but on very close inspection, you?ll see the ever-so-slight texture of the fiberglass. If this isn?t to your liking, the mesh can be skim-coated with a joint compound. Joint compound is a patching substance with the consistency of mud. It?s spread thinly over the mesh to fill in the tiny irregularities, and it can be painted when dry and smooth. For more information, ask your painter or your paint store.
BTW: I got this from - Martha Stewart Living
Re: Old Plaster Walls that Crack - Posted by Bob-MD
Posted by Bob-MD on April 22, 1999 at 22:00:07:
Ever try to skim coat a whole wall? It’s not very easy unless you have a lot of experience with a trowel. It’s hard to get it even without a bunch of raised lines and dips. I think that stuff is really expensive as I remember it when I saw it being applied on one of those home improvement shows.
I found a neat tool at the national hardware show last year that makes spreading drywall compound relatively easy and smooth. It looks like a window washing squegee but it is specially made for compound smoothing. It is called a MAGIC TROWEL and is made by TexMaster Tools. They have a webb site: www.texmaster.com. If you do a little repair work and are not an expert at applying the mud, it is a slick tool to have.
Bob
Re: Old Plaster Walls that Crack - Posted by Daryl-WI
Posted by Daryl-WI on April 22, 1999 at 13:25:04:
If you just want to keep the crack from “opening up” try using paintable caulk.