I am remodling a house I just bought and the walls are cracked terribly. It was built in 1937 and the walls..

Question

are plastered with paint over them. I have been trying to cover the cracks and holes with joint compound but it is a neverending process and it still looks horrible. After priming the surface, I was thinking about mixing some joint compound with some paint of different colors and putting on my own kind of texture with a roller. Do you think this will work? If so, what kind of roller should I use? I already have some Well-Cote rollers of some different styles. Would they work? Any and all advice would be helpful. Thank you and have a great weekend!

The problems isn't bad enough to level the whole house or put new sheet rock on. It is mainly just in the stairway which I would guess was neglected and wasn't painted as much as the other rooms in the house. Thanks for the input.

Answer 1

If removing the plastered walls is out of the question. Chances are your whole home is like that, in that case, caulk the cracks and paint. It doesn't hurt the value of your home. If you cant live with it, [I couldn't] then Joint compound will work but I use USG Brand easy sand fast setting powder. There are other brands that work well too. That way you can recoat in a preset amount of time. There is a number on the bag [ 5, 20, 45, 90, 120,] The numbers roughly stands for how much time, in minuits, of work time you have before it sets up. I suggest that you get the highest. You can find it were you bought the compound. Mixing with water to about the same consistancy as your ready mixed joint compound. Coat the wall a heavy 1/8th inch over every part. Let set up, clean your tools and coat it again. You will notice that it is smoother on the second coat. Now one more coat, but this time you are putting the mud on and taking it all back off. This fills pit holes, scraches, and knife marks. wait a day and sand it but not much, just spots that really need it. Prime the wall, and use a light against the wall to circle with a pencil the spots that need addressed with a little more mud. I use a little colored chalk in this coat of mud so when it dries I can see it to sand it. Thats what I do when a costomer wants a smooth wall done cheap. there are spots that might recrack in a couple years [ i tell the costomer that there is not a product that will hold up a settling house]. Personally I would remove that old plaster one wall or room at a time and hang drywall. Ceilings too. At that time you can upgrade wireing, insulation, and modern smoke detectors. Side note, save the old trim and refinish it.

Answer 2

I just remodeled a turn of the century farm house with the same problems your facing, sorry but plaster is about the only way to fly, if your trying to save money. But put it on heavy and get yourself a high speed Palm sander and a good dust mask also a fan in a window blowing the dust out of the house will help keep the dust level down. In a room say 16ft by 16ft you will use maybe 10 gals of pre mixed compound. If you down want to travel this road those always wall paper. It covers up a lot of cracks. As far as ceiling are concern you can texture a ceiling.
As far as mixing paint in with joint compound you can try it if you want but remember that joint compound isn't water its a chemical. You might want to check into it before you pour you be mixing up some deadly toxic if your not careful.

Answer 3

For plaster cracks:
remove wallpaper / paint from the area and just a little beyond the crack both to the left and the right of the crack along the full length of the crack.

Cover the crack with a very thin layer of plaster
Apply that plaster mesh tape over the full crack ( now cover with plaster).
Make sure there are no bumps / lumps in the tape, smooth it out with a roller.

Apply a nice coat of plaster on top of the tape.
Allow it all to dry very well, just to be certain I'd give it a day and 1/2

Sand it so that it is even with the wall surface around, now you can repaint it or wallpaper over it.

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Answer 4

As long as a house is standing up, it will settle.Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Weather affects all areas inside and outside of your home.

My dad bought a 100 year old house 50 years ago. we had plaster walls and ceilings. Cracks everywhere. he spent a long time trying to figure out what to do and decided to just cover everything. Drop ceilings went up, paneling, wainscoating, wall paper and fresh paint. He also had my brother and I.I was 5,bro was 7. We learned how to refinish hardwood floors, hang wallpaper etc... Made a good living myself for 40 years doing that kind of work over and over.
A good cosmetic makeover isalways faster and cheaper.
We re-wired and re-plumbed our old home, put in new windows, all kinds of stuff. And the same house is still standing. My dad bought it for $12,000.00 in 1957.Mom sold it for $29,000.00 in 1973.I went and saw the place 2 years ago. I can buy it now for $245,0000.00.And It still has the same paint job my brother and I gave it in 1972. Same colors anyway.Looked like our work.

Answer 5

Feather dusting painting will work good on those nasty cracks.You should make a trip to home depot,you will be surprised of all that you can do to remedy the situation.I do not recommend texturing the walls,you will hate yourself later,i did that to one wall in one of the rooms,and i can not wait to tear that wall down,and replace the dry wall.There are also textured wall papers you can use,they are usually white in color,but are paintable..of course there is the choice of installing new dry walls on top,but unless you are good at finishing the seems you will end up with more trouble than you started with,it could be hard to have the seems come out smooth,and even.

Answer 6

Your best bet is to either rip down the plaster walls or install 3/8" sheetrock overtop. You may be able to find 1/4" sheetrock to install instead. You will save yourself time in the long run and will not see any more cracks.

Good luck

Answer 7

I have to agree with the answer for new drywall, and even in just one area the process would end the problem.

With all due respect if a 70 year old house is still settling, you should probably consider a fast sell, not a shore up.

The easy/fast way would be texture paint or stucco.

Answer 8

Why are you attacking the symptoms, and not solving the problem. Your house is settling, and is in need of shoring.
If you were to have the house leveled, the cracks would close themselves, the doors and windows would suddenly work, and your cabinet doors would stay shut by themselves.