Advice on filling ceiling cracks + holes

[Vadevious]

First of all, apologies - ever since I've found this forum I've come to realize that it's a goldmine for advice and much better than asking on reddit like I usually did. So prepare to see way more posts from me as I have a whole house to renovate

Onto my two problems:

1) The ceiling in the room I am renovating is cracked all over in straight lines at the joists/where the plasterboards meet. I've already used drywall screws to fasten the boards "more" and hopefully avoid further play. Also my loft is now boarded so I hope the distribution of weight will help lessen the strain on the joists forming more cracks. Anyhow, now that i've fastened everything up I plan to score the cracks/make them wider and then fill them/sand before painting. I'll also be using Zinsser Gardz all over the walls/ceiling to seal in old wallpaper adhesive after sanding as much as I can. My question is - what is the best method these days to doing a good job with these cracks? I know there's plenty of stuff online but some is quite old so I figured I'd ask in 2024 in case there's some new product/experiences from people on best way to get a good finish.

2) I've moved the pendant to the center of the room and also removed an old drawstring switch from the ceiling - leaving two holes. The joist is a bit far from the hole, just a small piece of wood there that was screwed onto the side of the joist to hold the switch/pendant. What's the best way to fill these? My current thought process is to cut a square and then get an exact same square of plasterboard in there, screw it on somehow then just fill around the edges? Maybe some of that tape stuff people use? Would love some advice.

As always, thank you all for taking the time to help a fella out

 

[blup]

First of all, apologies - ever since I've found this forum I've come to realize that it's a goldmine for advice and much better than asking on reddit like I usually did. So prepare to see way more posts from me as I have a whole house to renovate

Onto my two problems:

1) The ceiling in the room I am renovating is cracked all over in straight lines at the joists/where the plasterboards meet. I've already used drywall screws to fasten the boards "more" and hopefully avoid further play. Also my loft is now boarded so I hope the distribution of weight will help lessen the strain on the joists forming more cracks. Anyhow, now that i've fastened everything up I plan to score the cracks/make them wider and then fill them/sand before painting. I'll also be using Zinsser Gardz all over the walls/ceiling to seal in old wallpaper adhesive after sanding as much as I can. My question is - what is the best method these days to doing a good job with these cracks? I know there's plenty of stuff online but some is quite old so I figured I'd ask in 2024 in case there's some new product/experiences from people on best way to get a good finish.

I would use one of the oil based primers from zinsser like BIN or 123, rather than a water based one. Raking out the cracks is the way to go, use a decent filler like toupret. If the cracking is bad, consider overboarding the ceiling

2) I've moved the pendant to the center of the room and also removed an old drawstring switch from the ceiling - leaving two holes. The joist is a bit far from the hole, just a small piece of wood there that was screwed onto the side of the joist to hold the switch/pendant. What's the best way to fill these? My current thought process is to cut a square and then get an exact same square of plasterboard in there, screw it on somehow then just fill around the edges? Maybe some of that tape stuff people use? Would love some advice.

Reduce the space to be filled by inserting a suitable sized piece of wood that overlaps the hole by several cms. Screw fix through the ceiling into the sides of the wood with plasterboard screws and you will have a stable base to fill the hole.

As always, thank you all for taking the time to help a fella out

Good luck with the project.

 

[Vadevious]

I would use one of the oil based primers from zinsser like BIN or 123, rather than a water based one. Raking out the cracks is the way to go, use a decent filler like toupret. If the cracking is bad, consider overboarding the ceiling

Why oil based? Gardz literally is labelled as made for sealing in old wallpaper adhesive (among other things). Also I heard oil based stuff is full of much more chemicals and obviously cleaning brushes etc will be a pain?

Reduce the space to be filled by inserting a suitable sized piece of wood that overlaps the hole by several cms. Screw fix through the ceiling into the sides of the wood with plasterboard screws and you will have a stable base to fill the hole.

That works perfectly, cheers!

Good luck with the project.

Gonna need it

 

[blup]

Why oil based? Gardz literally is labelled as made for sealing in old wallpaper adhesive (among other things). Also I heard oil based stuff is full of much more chemicals and obviously cleaning brushes etc will be a pain?

Its about doing the job. Water based paint has to have some badass chemicals in it if it holds back damp. In the old days you would thin white gloss with turps, also now banned I believe.

 

[Wayners]

To fill holes blob some plasterboard and stick to the other side covering hole.
Then fill from room side.

Re cracks. Use tungsten 20mm scraper to take 2mm off over cracks. Seal with gardz. Cut tape to 15mm Ish and set in. Doing this the tape is below the original ceiling surface so can't be seen Vs having a bump along crack.
I used fibre fuse tape but you can also use fine mesh tape and toupret powder filter. 120 grade sandpaper. Easy job tbh

 

[Vadevious]

Its about doing the job. Water based paint has to have some badass chemicals in it if it holds back damp. In the old days you would thin white gloss with turps, also now banned I believe.

Sorry, I'm still a little confused about why oil based is better. Are you saying it does a better job? If so, why? I'm just really not a fan of the smell/cleanup

To fill holes blob some plasterboard and stick to the other side covering hole.
Then fill from room side.

No exactly easy to reach the holes from the other side unfortunately

Re cracks. Use tungsten 20mm scraper to take 2mm off over cracks. Seal with gardz. Cut tape to 15mm Ish and set in. Doing this the tape is below the original ceiling surface so can't be seen Vs having a bump along crack.
I used fibre fuse tape but you can also use fine mesh tape and toupret powder filter. 120 grade sandpaper. Easy job tbh

Oooh, never thought about doing it this way... Any idea if this stuff will be fine? I already bought it the other day for filling the wall cracks etc.

 

[Vadevious]

Also any idea where I can find a 20mm tungsten scraper? Looking online I can't seem to find one anywhere...

 

[opps]

I would use one of the oil based primers from zinsser like BIN or 123, rather than a water based one.

BIN is alcohol based, not oil based. Smell wise, yeah it does smell, but only of alcohol, and the smell dissipates once the paint is touch dry (approx 30 mins at this time of the year). Cleaning the brushes is incredibly easy, just dip them in household ammonia. The alkaline ammonia breaks the paint down rather than simply thinning it (as with waterbased paints).

I get what you are saying about waterbased stain blockers, but in this case the OP is trying to "lock" the wallpaper paste rather than blocking stains.

 

[Wayners]

Bacho 625 tungsten scraper

 

[Wayners]

Bacho 625 tungsten scraper. Clean spirit will clean BIN and waterbased paints. Very pleasant to use and easily purchased

 

[Vadevious]

Bacho 625 tungsten scraper. Clean spirit will clean BIN and waterbased paints. Very pleasant to use and easily purchased

Hmm that one's 25mm, assume that will work out?

 

[Wayners]

My mistake. Thought it was 20mm

 

[Vadevious]

My mistake. Thought it was 20mm

Thinking about getting this tape: https://www.screwfix.com/p/diall-pa...mm/619cf#product_additional_details_container

Will that be fine if I cut it down the middle, so would snugly fit 25mm scrapes?

Any idea if this stuff will be fine? I already bought it the other day for filling the wall cracks etc.

Forgot to link and ask if this filler will be fine: https://www.screwfix.com/p/toupret-internal-fine-surface-filler-1-5kg/503pp#_=p

 

[Wayners]

Paper tape is too thick. Also need filler under to get it to stick on. Bit of a dark art that.
It also don't like being sanded and will fibre up.
I stoped using paper tape years ago

 

[Vadevious]

Paper tape is too thick. Also need filler under to get it to stick on. Bit of a dark art that.
It also don't like being sanded and will fibre up.
I stoped using paper tape years ago

Okay so I've gotta find where to buy fibatape then? Unless you can suggest something else. What do you think about the filler I linked above?