Newly skimmed Artex ceilings all showing long cracks (see pictures) - seeking advice on expectations/workmanship

jimpmorrison

New Member
Hi, I appreciate this is covered in different ways in other posts but I want to make sure I'm being fair to the plasterer who carried out the work before I contact them about this.

I live in a south east London flat and recently paid £1020 for a small firm to skim two small bedrooms and the landing. I think this was around 35m2. We wanted the ceilings skimmed to cover the textured artex layer. From what I could tell they used PVA as a bonding and re screwed along the joints to try and fix the boards.

Right after the work was finished I went away for a week and when I returned the ceilings have formed long cracks which run almost the length of the rooms, across the direction of the ceiling joists and so I imagine in line with the old plasterboards.

Is this something that is fairly typical or is it a sign that the area was not prepared properly or work carried out not as well as it could have been?

Thanks for for all contributions
 

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hsl alone costs more than that price - you have had some cheap cowboys in pal
That finish is bad, could’ve fannied about scraping out joints screwing and scrimming em but just should’ve over boarded it anyways
 
Thanks for responding. It did seem cheap but I wasn't trying to find the cheapest, I tried to go off Google reviews as I wasn't able to get a recommendation from anyone I knew. Do you have any advice on what our next steps could be?
 
Need to give it a poke and a prod really to find out what’s happened
If it’s a joint crack it’s just filler biggest worry is the plaster is going to come away it’s a good price so don’t beat yourself or the plasterer up
 
As Monkey boy said always overboard an artex ceiling as you don't know how it's been boarded originally ie, thickness of board, amount of fixings etc.
At least if it's overboarded and has cracked its down to the plasterer or structural movement.
 
Thanks for responding. It did seem cheap but I wasn't trying to find the cheapest, I tried to go off Google reviews as I wasn't able to get a recommendation from anyone I knew. Do you have any advice on what our next steps could be?
You ain’t getting that sorted fast?
Could paint it and live with it?
Could put faux wooden joists up over cracks for an old worldly look?
Could get them to return and pursue rectifying it?
Could get a reputable spred in to price up his own remedial works?
 
Yes its not easy to make a decision based on reviews alone.
I'm now trying to get other plasterers to quote for the potential repair work. One plasterer has recommended to overboard the skimmed areas and then re skim. I'm slightly concerned about the additional weight this would add (one layer of board and 2 skim layers hanging from the joists). Does anyone think this could be a problem?
 
Yes its not easy to make a decision based on reviews alone.
I'm now trying to get other plasterers to quote for the potential repair work. One plasterer has recommended to overboard the skimmed areas and then re skim. I'm slightly concerned about the additional weight this would add (one layer of board and 2 skim layers hanging from the joists). Does anyone think this could be a problem?
No
 
I’m south east London
Thats good to know. Can I ask how you would approach this job? One plasterer has recommended overboarding and skimming again whilst another has said they would paint and fill the cracks in this instance but that it should have been overboarded first. I'm really just wanting to avoid getting further down the line and the crack opening up and becoming worse
 
The plasterers given you a price
You accepted that price
Unless it’s falling off the ceiling he hasn’t done a lot wrong
Like I said have a poke and a prod
It’s a fuxking crack it could be a straight joint
 
Thats good to know. Can I ask how you would approach this job? One plasterer has recommended overboarding and skimming again whilst another has said they would paint and fill the cracks in this instance but that it should have been overboarded first. I'm really just wanting to avoid getting further down the line and the crack opening up and becoming worse
I’d only overboard and set it
 
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