is it ok to skim over old plaster thats cracking and slightly lifting,or do i need 2 take off and bond?please?

Answer 1

If you skim over top of the plaster that is lifting off the wall. you might be able to go a few months and have it look decent but as the seasons start changing again those same old cracks and lifting pieces will show through except this time it will be with the plaster that you laid down. Are the walls old? Or are they drywall? either way your going to have to clean of the plaster that is lifting up that is getting ready to crack and for you cracks a good trick to them is to gouge them out a little with like a old bottle opener and fille them in with some painter caulk before you skim coat them. the painters caulk will expand and contract enough so that you wont get any future cracks in the same place. It sounds like you old walls and dont have drywall. if they are the old style walls plaster and lath you may want to decide the condition of the walls and if you want them to be updated with a 1/4 sheets of drywall

Answer 2

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RE:
is it ok to skim over old plaster thats cracking and slightly lifting,or do i need 2 take off and bond?please?

Answer 3

Can You Plaster Over Plaster

Answer 4

Previous answers are correct, if you go by what the text books tell you. BUT..... it isn't LAW!, to do so. :-) You can skim over plaster that, when tapped with your knuckles, sounds hollow. Old cottages (I'm in one myself) used lime "plaster" which is notorious for sounding hollow in loads of places when tapped. I unibonded/pva'd the walls,and skimmed them, 7 years ago. They haven't fallen apart, they haven't caused ANY problem, and I haven't been summoned to court to explain why I didn't create a load of throat stinging dust by removing the old material and totally replastering Does make a difference, the fact that I have old cottage though, because I intentionally wanted the plasterwork uneven/wavy. In a modern house I guess you would want the walls/ceilings perfectly flat. Text books are great, for the theory. Real life circumstances alter things.

Answer 5

if it is lifting then the plaster you skim over with will just lift with it sorry to say,i would take it all off and start from the begining,otherwise you will just be doing a cover up job which wont last long.

Answer 6

If it's lifting off remove it and start afresh but if it's cracked yet firmly held then rough it and re-skim the surface. Ideally start afresh and redo it all but only if you can afford to and don't feel that you are wasting your time by taking off good plaster work.

Answer 7

Any plaster which is cracked or feels hollow underneath needs to be removed back to where the plaster is sound, then start from the sound area to replaster

Answer 8

All hollow spots have to be chipped away, and any other defects removed. then you have to seal the walls using a pva adhesive watered down to 2-1. (2 parts pva, 1 part water). if the hollow spots proove to be quite deep you can core it out with a one coat plaster from any builders merchant or diy store.
one note, if doing it yourself, do not buy a new trowel and start plastering, the trowels have to be broken in. you can buy a broken in trowel from screwfix.com.
Have fun

Answer 9

first remove all loose plaster ..then level the bits you have removed with bonding plaster ..wait at least four hours ..then pva the rest of the wall ..then skim it ...be patient with it as it will have no suction ...dont over trowel it until it picks up

Answer 10

The rule is if it is lifting now, it will be a weak point, and make life miserable for you. I hate to say it but you will need to scrape off everything loose. The second time doing a job is always frustrating.