Architrave: new plaster + old casings

[rafezetter]

This is it. If you are planning to spend 10yrs+ it's worth doing

As a person in the trade it's worth doing ANYWAY and well document it, make a "house file" of renovations you do to the home, including copies of invoices etc etc. PICTURES - lots of pictures, where plumbing and wiring is under floors etc etc.

Put that file in digital format on a pen drive and lock it someplace safe - passport lockbox etc; then update as necessary.

FIX CUT OUTS IN JOISTS. This is a major bugbear of mine, even if it looks sturdy. You only need a bit of rot or other issue in exactly the wrong place and you're well and truly badgered.

When you come to sell - "Here's my house with a FULL SERVICE HISTORY of what I've paid to have done; pictures, invoices, paint colours (I know homeowners that do this for thier own information), whetever it is you did, however small, document it. There will be many buyers who will greatly thank you and will not baulk at the asking price because they KNOW WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE.

Why homeowners don't do this by default, but almost INSIST on it when buying a significantly cheaper item such as a vehicle is beyond my ken, but there we are.

 

[rafezetter]

I have repaired all my lather and plaster ceiling from big cracks to small cracks!
I fill the small cracks with lime putty mix wet it first.
The big cracks I drill holes along the crack just through the lathes then inject with a good liquid nails I normally use gorilla stuff then get some 50mm plastic washers and screw back up to make solid leave it 24 House then fill it all in.
It’s labour intensive but the lime looks great again still breathable and good soundproofing. Hopefully should last few more years already 100 years old looks great again painted with clay paint

Good standard practice, except ideally the adhesive should get into the void between the plaster and the lathe - above that it's not doing a lot of good, as the problem is almost always the plaster has blown from the lathe, not the lathe from the supports above - how exactly do you "glue" lathes to air?

So you drill the hole JUST into the plaster with a blunt masonry drillbit, brish out any loose rubbish, then give a good squirt of polyurethane low expanding adhesive, then make sure each place you've put the glue, that the screw etc has got good purchase, otherwise the glue may well expand and actually blow a section of plaster off. If you've made a hole and no lathe, don't put glue there in case it creeps sideways. Just X the hole out.

You can even "stick back" largeish areas if you do it a section at a time and use a plaster prop (or acrow prop) and a plate for the ceiling.

"V" ing out a crack beforehand (multitool carbide tip works a treat for this) will give more body to the fill thus increasing the chance the hairline crack won't come back.

I've been doing exactly this for an ex forum member Eriktheviking on his 1910 home just this last week, on multiple ceilings.

(He's fine BTW for any interested, and Steve Maskery is emigrating to France with a ladyfriend, buying an old farm - I'm glad he has someone now, given him quite the perk it has )

 

[Mjward]

As a person in the trade it's worth doing ANYWAY and well document it, make a "house file" of renovations you do to the home, including copies of invoices etc etc. PICTURES - lots of pictures, where plumbing and wiring is under floors etc etc.

Put that file in digital format on a pen drive and lock it someplace safe - passport lockbox etc; then update as necessary.

FIX CUT OUTS IN JOISTS. This is a major bugbear of mine, even if it looks sturdy. You only need a bit of rot or other issue in exactly the wrong place and you're well and truly badgered.

When you come to sell - "Here's my house with a FULL SERVICE HISTORY of what I've paid to have done; pictures, invoices, paint colours (I know homeowners that do this for thier own information), whetever it is you did, however small, document it. There will be many buyers who will greatly thank you and will not baulk at the asking price because they KNOW WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DONE.

Why homeowners don't do this by default, but almost INSIST on it when buying a significantly cheaper item such as a vehicle is beyond my ken, but there we are.

100%. Have done this for every renovation. I am completely anal about documentation and have at least 500 photos PER ROOM of the before/during/after of renovations as well as hundreds of documents covering wiring routes, pipe runs etc etc. It's mostly for my own benefit to know where the bodies lie but I know as a prospective purchaser if I was presented with it then I'd be a lot happier about knowing what has gone on. A tad off topic but for the life of me I don't know why electricians aren't mandated to upload a copy of the wiring schematics when they do a full rewire. It's something that should be laminated and dangling off the consumer unit.

 

[joncooper27]

Good standard practice, except ideally the adhesive should get into the void between the plaster and the lathe - above that it's not doing a lot of good, as the problem is almost always the plaster has blown from the lathe, not the lathe from the supports above - how exactly do you "glue" lathes to air?

So you drill the hole JUST into the plaster with a blunt masonry drillbit, brish out any loose rubbish, then give a good squirt of polyurethane low expanding adhesive, then make sure each place you've put the glue, that the screw etc has got good purchase, otherwise the glue may well expand and actually blow a section of plaster off. If you've made a hole and no lathe, don't put glue there in case it creeps sideways. Just X the hole out.

You can even "stick back" largeish areas if you do it a section at a time and use a plaster prop (or acrow prop) and a plate for the ceiling.

"V" ing out a crack beforehand (multitool carbide tip works a treat for this) will give more body to the fill thus increasing the chance the hairline crack won't come back.

I've been doing exactly this for an ex forum member Eriktheviking on his 1910 home just this last week, on multiple ceilings.

(He's fine BTW for any interested, and Steve Maskery is emigrating to France with a ladyfriend, buying an old farm - I'm glad he has someone now, given him quite the perk it has )

Hi
Yes I use a blunt masonry bit and don’t drill into the lath. I then use my industrial vacuum hoover all dust out. Then use my garden sprayer that I use to damp lime plaster before filling or painting to wash out. Once dry I inject normally use gorilla heavy duty grab adhesive. Leave it overnight screwed up with washers.

 

[mr rusty]

I would remove those strips first. It's far easier to trim the plaster than cut rebates in architraves. A multitool is the best too for this. Run the multitool vertically down the plaster in a line where the outer edge of the arch will be. Now run the multitool in horizontally with the blade resting on the edge of the casing, so you trim the plaster back level with the casing as far as the cut/outer edge of arch. Pin and glue the arch in place, and run a bead of caulk down the plaster-arch joint.. Sorted.