How to fix cracks from house movement?

jakewiffen8

I’m looking to sell my house in the coming months and we have done a fair bit of work on the house, but due to the dry summer and a lot of movement out in western VIC we’ve seen some next cracks come up. Should we do anything about the cracking and if so what do we need to do? Some of the cracking is coming up in the corners of the house and some just come up horizontally.
We also need to patch a hole in the wall that our dogs have made, how do we go about plastering it back up?

Thanks in advance.     

JacobZ

Hi @jakewiffen8,

Thank you for your question about fixing plaster issues in your house.

Images two and four are fairly simple repairs, but one and three are a bit more in-depth. It may be worth considering the cost to have a plasterer do them for you. They can certainly be accomplished D.I.Y., but a plasterer will have the necessary tools and know-how to fix them up relatively easily.

With anything relating to plaster in residential settings, Gyprock's The Red Book #2 Residential Installation is the best document for reference. It is long and in-depth, but most issues will be covered with a quick search.

For the patch where the pipe goes through the wall, you will have to cut out and replace the plaster around the pipe, specifically where I have indicated the cracking, as this piece is essentially floating and is not attached. In doing this, you can cut out the plasterboard on the left that has had the paper peeled off.

You can use a Utility Knife to cut out a section, cut a Plaster Repair Panel to fit the gap, screw it in with plasterboard screws, then tape the joins with mesh tape and plaster with Multi-Purpose Joint Compound.

I believe the second image is showing a gap behind the architrave on a door. This gap is filled with caulk, such as No More Gaps. To fix this, cut out the caulk with a utility knife, then apply a fresh bead of caulk to the gap. Check out How To Silicone a Gap for some guidance on the process.  

The third image shows an internal corner. Typically, in an internal corner, there would be an Internal Angle Plaster Trim or paper tape used to reinforce the corner and give a nice clean line. As there doesn't appear to be anything in this corner, I'd suggest you install one.

The horizontal crack in the fourth image should have mesh tape applied to the crack and then plastered with Multi-Purpose Joint Compound.

You might like to check out How To Patch A Plaster Wall for some further guidance.

Let me know if you have further questions, I am happy to explain further if required.

Jacob