Hi all.
Around 2-3 months ago I had four walls in my living room plastered by a small conservation company. Since I didn't know better at the time, they used Natural Hydraulic Lime 3.5. The work took place very quickly; 3 coats over a period of about 5 days. The area was around 22 sq metres in total, so not a large room.
Up until now I have had no problems with the way they worked, or the quality of the plastering. Timbers in the wall were covered with building paper and wire to reduce the risk of cracking in the plaster. Wires were also covered with trunking.
Since the work was completed, the walls have been limewashed by myself. I took more time over this, completing one coat each week. I believe 3 or 4 coats were used. Plenty of spray used before and after to keep the wall damp. Since then the room has not been used very often and has not been heated. (I don't believe temperatures in the room have been below 10 degrees though.)
In the last couple of days I have noticed 3 cracks forming. Two are minor and could well be closed up by a little limewash. However one is fairly major, forming a vertical crack almost 1m high and perhaps between 0.5 and 1mm wide in places. It is certainly more than the limewash cracking.
Previous to this wall being plastered it was covered in a gypsum browning and skim plaster. I am not sure how long it had been there. It showed no sign of movement or cracking.
I am now looking for advice. I will have the plasterers back to take a look, but am concerned they will attribute it to movement of the building. Surely this is unlikely though given it has happened so quickly and there has been no evidence of movement previously? Is it likely to be caused by their use of NHL 3.5, or just the fact work was completed so quickly?
And, perhaps more importantly, what should I do to close the crack? Try and fill with putty, or dig out a small area and re-plaster?
Around 2-3 months ago I had four walls in my living room plastered by a small conservation company. Since I didn't know better at the time, they used Natural Hydraulic Lime 3.5. The work took place very quickly; 3 coats over a period of about 5 days. The area was around 22 sq metres in total, so not a large room.
Up until now I have had no problems with the way they worked, or the quality of the plastering. Timbers in the wall were covered with building paper and wire to reduce the risk of cracking in the plaster. Wires were also covered with trunking.
Since the work was completed, the walls have been limewashed by myself. I took more time over this, completing one coat each week. I believe 3 or 4 coats were used. Plenty of spray used before and after to keep the wall damp. Since then the room has not been used very often and has not been heated. (I don't believe temperatures in the room have been below 10 degrees though.)
In the last couple of days I have noticed 3 cracks forming. Two are minor and could well be closed up by a little limewash. However one is fairly major, forming a vertical crack almost 1m high and perhaps between 0.5 and 1mm wide in places. It is certainly more than the limewash cracking.
Previous to this wall being plastered it was covered in a gypsum browning and skim plaster. I am not sure how long it had been there. It showed no sign of movement or cracking.
I am now looking for advice. I will have the plasterers back to take a look, but am concerned they will attribute it to movement of the building. Surely this is unlikely though given it has happened so quickly and there has been no evidence of movement previously? Is it likely to be caused by their use of NHL 3.5, or just the fact work was completed so quickly?
And, perhaps more importantly, what should I do to close the crack? Try and fill with putty, or dig out a small area and re-plaster?