I was thinking on just applying some filler and sanding but the idea of the holes is genius! Is what we did on structural cracks on metal in order to stop the crack propagating. Makes total sense. Genius
Yes, on outsides around windows that are painted. But interior no it takes too long to dry foam and powder filler. Caulk is for speed not the best finish.
Great video. The foam trick is also a great way to stop drafts within outside walls. Mine are 4" of brick, 6" of concrete block, a 3/4" gap and 1/2 of drywall. On the coldest day of the year (-4F, -20 C around here), I can tell just by feeling the wall where the air currents are running, so I'll make holes about 3" apart (just close enough to see the foam coming from the previous hole) and keep filling until the path is totally blocked off. It's worked so well that I'm running out of drafts to fix.
Can I use premixed Joint Compound instead of powder filler? Can I skip adding the paint to filler if I plan on painting the entire wall once cracks are repaired?
Thanks, scrubbable matt is waterproof and tough and a hardstop filler is used after the first coat of emulsion has gone on. Hardstop allows you to fill without the need to seal the filler, after you can just apply your finish coat without the filler flashing.
Great video and may give it a go but doesn't the diluted pva still show through after the final coat of paint. For me In the past some drips of pva left on the skimmed plaster were a nightmare to remove. They kept showing through the final coat of paint until I sanded the dried drips of pva out of the wall.
Hi wanted to ask after doing all this do I not open the rest of the crack to fill with ova filler or just the few holes I makes in the cracks as there long and quite a few on one wall thank you shez
We call it a hard-stop filler and we use this only after the first coat of emulsion has dried ,when any holes show up. It stops the filler needing touching up before a second coat, otherwise they would flash after the second coat is dry.
They may just be hairline from the plaster drying out... If you have had your walls skimmed then they could be cracks that were in the old plaster or artex.. hard to say without looking but if no movement... rake out and fill.
Painting and Decorating Thankyou for taking the time to reply! One other quick question ;) I have a single story side extension with a pitched roof, there are a few cracks which I want to sort, underneath the plasterboard there is insulation and then the roof. Would you use the same method? Cheers
Good video I have the same problem how far are the holes apart ones I have filled with foam and doubled filled and sanded back I don't have to fill crack micky
I didn’t see him fill the crack. Only the holes. Maybe I missed something?? Did he simply paint over the crack after he pinned it with the expanding foam??
Very informative and practical videos, thank you. If the plaster is loose enough to sound hollow, and in places actually move backwards and fowards very slightly, will the expanding foam not blow the plaster off the wall?
I have some hairline cracks appearing on my wall. Do i need to have the plaster re-skim before doing this (as you mention in description)? Great vid btw
We have a old house where we’ve taken all the wallpaper off but the walls all have tiny cracks. The plastering bill is expensive and was wondering if we could use filler in all cracks and then sand down and paint? What do you think?
Hi.. if you know the cracks are more superficial than foundation... then wall doctor or ordinary lining paper will cover all hairline cracks.... all though I would make sure they are not troublesome cracks and still light fill most of the cracks. Important Important to remove old paste before painting the wall..... so hair line cracks without linning..... clean paste off wall then check for big cracks and sort... hairline leave sand down and then coat with diluted PVA light sand when dry then give it a coat of paint.. allow to dry then mix hard stop filler and fill what you can see... light sand then finish coat..... no short cuts.
Never seen adding paint to filler and will give it a try. What filler do you use ? Also filler will always flash in daylight , don’t you ever spot the filler in prior to its final coat Thanks
Sorry for late reply, we use pollycell interior easy sand pollyfila. When you mix it with paint you have no need to prime and it does not flash. Thanks
My guess is that it stops the crack from propagating further; if you don't do it then there is the risk that the crack will recur and possibly spread from its end points.
As an emulsion in water, PVA emulsions are used as adhesives for porous materials, particularly for wood, paper, and cloth, and as a consolidant for porous building stone, in particular sandstone. Uses: as wood glue, PVA is known as "white glue" and the yellow as "carpenter's glue". as paper adhesive during paper packaging conversion in bookbinding and book arts, due to its flexible strong bond and non-acidic nature (unlike many other polymers). The use of PVA on the Archimedes Palimpsest during the 20th century greatly hindered the task of disbinding the book and preserving and imaging the pages in the early 21st century, in part because the glue was stronger than the parchment it held together. in handicrafts as envelope adhesive as wallpaper adhesive as a primer for drywall and other substrates
Why the need for scrubbable Matt? Is it a thicker formulation that sits in the hairline crack better? I followed another of your videos and cut in to the crack a little, then followed your technique in this vid.
How can you tell them if you need to rake out a hairline crack with a Stanley knife? I’m seeing different videos for the same thing - hairlines being raked out in one video and in others being pinned with foam
I no this question doesn't relate to yo video got a problem got a ceiling rose in my living room there is a brush mark 3 or 4 round the rose I hav emulsion ed with Matt twice you can still see the mark can u help me please
Yes, the best way is to sand down around the ceiling rose then cut in with your emulsion taking your time to lay off the paint then roll the ceiling getting as close to the ceiling rose as you can even use a small roller to get the texture as close to the ceiling rose you can always use tape around the ceiling fixture so you can get really close.
Work the paint so it's spread out evenly and reduce pressure as you go, to feather the paint so no heavy brush marks are left that's called laying off.
Thanks, over the years you find better ways to get the job looking good, filling large holes and fixing cracks permanently was a problem on jobs until foam.
I used this technique around a rood light and it worked perfectly, however I did tweak it slightly. To improve on this method even further I would say leave a gap of at least 1 week between each stage. This allows everything to dry out 100% and reduces the chances of hairline cracks even further. The filling should also be done over a few stages. Tradesman can not afford to do this as it would mean they cant finish the job is a couple of days. The cracks around the roof light were repaired twice by 2 different painter decorators. Cracks reappeared after a few weeks!
Great.. it does work perfectly well.. and theses techniques and products are designed to be fast drying.. chemical reactions... when it's evaporation only then this can slow a job down... especially with high humidity. Once you have learned your trade well... you work in a way that always makes sure things have time to dry.. the bigger the job the better.. small jobs have drying time issues. We also have heaters and dehumidifier which helps control some environmental factors.
If I may, I humbly disagree. I think it is adhering the plaster back to the lath. When plaster cracks it leaves voids behind as the plaster is separating from the lath. Spray foam is like glue, and it expands and fills voids.
