repairing a crack ín plasterboard

[ando]

Could anyone tell me the best way to repair a crack in plasterboard its like a L shape is it the join in the boards if so what can i do many thanks

 

[TheDec]

Is the plasterboard painted, and if so is the crack/split in the board or your paint system, we should really establish this before further advice is offered, and also a pic may be handy.

Dec

 

[Richard C]

Is this a wall or ceiling? If the cracks are dead straight & at right angles to each other, chances are it’s cracked along the board joints. This is caused by differential movement between the boards & can be due to one or more of the following; skimping on board thickness (12.5mm minimum for everything these days), wide gaps between boards, insufficient support &/or fixings, unsupported board edges, poor/no joint taping or in the worst case, movement of the building structure itself.

Once it’s gone, you won’t repair it with filler or even flexible caulk, which you will always see anyway; it’ll always crack again. Permanent repair involves more radical work stripping back the plaster, sorting out why it cracked in the first place, re-taping & replastering; local feathering can be enough but sometimes it’s easier & best to re-skim the whole area.