How to repair cracks between cornices and white set brick walls?

I am looking for some guidance on how to repair cracks in our house, specifically between the cornices and the white set on the interior walls. Most cracks are occurring near the corners and would like some recommendations on what to use to patch these cracks and hopefully prevent them from reoccurring. We also have a bit of the plaster come away from the wall in the bathroom and was wondering if something different would be needed for that area? Would some sort of silicone caulking be better suitable for this area to allow for movement without the cracking? House is 6yrs old and these cracks were repaired previously by the builder at the 1st year mark. But now it’s considered cosmetic and so not covered anymore. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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Comments

EricL

Hello @areezm

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your cornice.

For the very fine cracks of your ceiling, you can use ordinary UNi-PRO 500g Multi Purpose Interior Filler - 500g. But for the larger gaps and damaged surfaces, I suggest looking at these discussions - Solved: How to repair cracks on the wall, ceiling and cornice by @mmd22 and Solved: How to repair crumbled away cornice? by @yyecats. There are excellent suggestions on how to repair the damaged parts of your wall and cornice.

I also suggest having a look at this guide: How to repair a cracked cornice

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

AM1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/52015#Comment_52015

Thanks Eric.
I did take a look at these posts but they all have different recommendations. The first one says to use multi purpose filler for the cracks. Second one mentions about using gyprock plaster and third is to insert wedges and apply 3 in 1 silicone sealant and screwing the cornice to the wall. While the multi purpose filler seems to be the easiest option, I am concerned it won’t have any flexibility and will crack again. Is this true or am I mistaken?

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/88163#Comment_88163

Hello @AM1,

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell when the next shift or movement will occur in your wall. The filler products suggested are for immediate repairs and are not flexible except maybe for the silicone as it has bit of flexibility in it. But even the silicone will tear away from the wall, and you'll end up removing it, as it will leave cracks as well. My proposed course of action is to repair the cracks as suggested in the discussions using the methods that apply to your current situation. If the house has settled properly perhaps the wall movement will be to a minimum but only time will tell.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

R4addZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/109712#Comment_109712

Hi @AM1

This looks to be a relatively new house. Are you the original owner because some of that looks quite bad. In a new house, you always get some cracking of the cornice joints as they are just glued on and minor settling can pull on the plaster it is glued to and cause cracks. I have some myself that I am about to repair as I intend repainting the house and I have had this in every house I've had built. If you did have it built, have you approached the builder to see if they will fix it under warranty?

If they can't help the way I usually fix it is to run a Stanley knife around the bottom of the cornice to remove any loose plaster then just fill (normal water based spak filler) and sand flat before painting. One good thing is if you use a white filler, it usually ends up with a flat finish that pretty much matches the ceiling paint so any minor nicks you have to fill in the cornice don't require touching up.

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