Advice on filling/joining 2 freshly plastered areas

[8ball]

Hi guys and girls hope you had a good weekend :-)

 

As some of you know I am in the process of plastering over Artex and have come to a point where I need to fill/ join two freshly plastered areas on my ceiling.

The gap is about an inch wide and about 4 - 5 mm deep and runs for about 3 metres (see pic below) so was wondering wither to mix up a small batch of plaster or to use the ready mixed joint filler I purchased from Wickes.

 

I would like to use the joint filler otherwise it will go to waste soon but if it is the wrong choice then I would love to know so if anyone has any advice then please say

 

Thanks people

[Nickfromwales]

Hi 8

First job is to assess the repair. Don't just go whacking filler in straight away as you don't want to make any high points any higher.

Get a good straight edge, a 600mm spirit level / similar, and put it centrally across the crack. One end on one ceiling and t'other on........t'other. Drag the level from one end of the crack to the other and see what the height differences are, where they're worst and identify any plaster that is creating high points. Mark them with pencil as you go along. 

Remove any high points by scraping or sanding with 40 grit paper until you get to a point where the level shows you a reasonably even transition from left to right. 

Get a brush and some PVA ( 50% PVA - 50 % water ) and thoroughly coat the crack and about an inch of the plaster each side. Wait until that dries almost completely and then coat just the crack with neat PVA. Allow to go tacky and then load up with filler. I'd use Gyproc Easyfill tbh as it doesn't shrink or crack as it dries, and is really easy to sand back. It's my preferred bulk filler, with Toupret as the smaller application / finisher filler. Use one of these filler applicator 'knifes' and it'll be easier to get a smooth coat in one go. 

Get a decent quality sanding paddle like this and go against the crack, not in line with it. Don't try to get this right first coat, but build in layers. Make the first just shy of the plastered surface and leave to dry. Give a quick rough sand to get rid of trowel /knife  marks and then prime with the diluted PVA mix and load up with filler again, this time slightly proud. Leave to dry fully and then sand as stated above. Be gentle as this stuff sands back quickly. 

If your arms start to hurt a little from all these processes then your doing it right

 

[Nickfromwales]

Oh, and for the record......why wasn't this plastered all in one go? Why the damn crack? 

[8ball]

Nickfromwales thanks so much for your advice on how to filler "The Crack" I'm going to get straight on with it today, been holding off on tackling it for a couple of days now.

 

 

  On 09/08/2016 at 00:11, Nickfromwales said:

Oh, and for the record......why wasn't this plastered all in one go? Why the damn crack? 

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Well you see I'm a very keen DIYer and also very tight so I attempt most things myself including plastering over an Artex ceiling. Its the 1st time I have ever plastered anything apart from a practice run in the garage so I decided to plaster the bedroom ceiling in 3 sections to allow me extra time for correcting any mistakes I make.

 

Next time I will use Tri Sodium Citrate Plaster Retarder and try to get it done all in one go.

Again thanks Nick

[8ball]

Oh no had a disaster with filling

 

Everything was going fine and dandy until the final rubbing down, the thin layer of PVA that was put down before the filler has started to peel away in patches all over the place resulting in a total mess.

 

Looks like I'm  going to have to rub down to the PVA and remove and then start again but this time with out the PVA layer, ah well I love sanding ceilings all weekend.

 

So for anyone in the same boat in the near future avoid the PVA being applied anywhere but in the actual crack, I did a 3 inch band either side of the crack and this has what has caused the problem.

 

Also this method of joining 2 freshly plastered areas actually works OK discounting the PVA disaster.

[Nickfromwales]

  On 20/08/2016 at 19:07, 8ball said:

So for anyone in the same boat in the near future avoid the PVA being applied anywhere but in the actual crack, I did a 3 inch band either side of the crack and this has what has caused the problem.

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I should have stated not to go crazy either side of the crack . One brush with watered down PVA should just suck straight into new plaster, deffo don't go over that with neat PVA. oops. Lol. 

[8ball]

  On 21/08/2016 at 22:29, Nickfromwales said:

 

I should have stated not to go crazy either side of the crack . One brush with watered down PVA should just suck straight into new plaster, deffo don't go over that with neat PVA. oops. Lol. 

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Ah well Nick no injury was caused and my wife has stopped crying so everything s OK. I have removed the defected (see pic below) area and will start again tomorrow.

 

[Nickfromwales]

Pmsl

[TheMitchells]

I do love learning from others mistakes!  Thanks 8Ball.

[Roger440]

  On 09/08/2016 at 00:11, Nickfromwales said:

Hi 8

First job is to assess the repair. Don't just go whacking filler in straight away as you don't want to make any high points any higher.

Get a good straight edge, a 600mm spirit level / similar, and put it centrally across the crack. One end on one ceiling and t'other on........t'other. Drag the level from one end of the crack to the other and see what the height differences are, where they're worst and identify any plaster that is creating high points. Mark them with pencil as you go along. 

Remove any high points by scraping or sanding with 40 grit paper until you get to a point where the level shows you a reasonably even transition from left to right. 

Get a brush and some PVA ( 50% PVA - 50 % water ) and thoroughly coat the crack and about an inch of the plaster each side. Wait until that dries almost completely and then coat just the crack with neat PVA. Allow to go tacky and then load up with filler. I'd use Gyproc Easyfill tbh as it doesn't shrink or crack as it dries, and is really easy to sand back. It's my preferred bulk filler, with Toupret as the smaller application / finisher filler. Use one of these filler applicator 'knifes' and it'll be easier to get a smooth coat in one go. 

Get a decent quality sanding paddle like this and go against the crack, not in line with it. Don't try to get this right first coat, but build in layers. Make the first just shy of the plastered surface and leave to dry. Give a quick rough sand to get rid of trowel /knife  marks and then prime with the diluted PVA mix and load up with filler again, this time slightly proud. Leave to dry fully and then sand as stated above. Be gentle as this stuff sands back quickly. 

If your arms start to hurt a little from all these processes then your doing it right

 

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Great advice  Was going to post the same question, but no need, its all here.

 

Will see how it goes next weekend.

[Nickfromwales]

Heed @8ball 's words about not getting excessive amounts of pva solution on the adjacent faces . 

[Roger440]

  On 05/12/2016 at 08:52, Nickfromwales said:

Heed @8ball 's words about not getting excessive amounts of pva solution on the adjacent faces . 

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Yes indeed. Saw that too