Ceiling restoration in period houses. How to permanently eliminate cracks in ceilings and walls using fibreglass covering

Ceiling restoration in period houses

Ceilings in many period homes may form cracks over time. In a lot of period houses the ceilings have been lined at some stage with lining paper to hide cracks, but over time the cracks will reappear and tear their way through the lining paper. The best way to stop cracks from appearing in a ceiling again is to line the ceiling with a fibreglass wall/ceiling covering.

Sometimes, if the ceiling has been lined before, particularly in older period houses, it is necessary to strip this paper off before re-lining. If the paper is sound with large cracks showing through then the following steps are taken.

How to permanently eliminate cracks in ceilings and walls using fibreglass covering

The paper around the cracks is cut out

The edges of the paper are stuck down with adhesive

The cracks are filled and when the filler is hard, it is sanded and then the area is skimmed over (with skim) to make it as smooth as possible. Then the ceiling is lined with fibreglass covering. The fibreglass wall covering comes in 30/50 metre rolls which are a metre wide.

Hanging instructions for fibreglass wall coverings

Paste the wall or ceiling and not the wall covering, as in most cases.

When you have the wall or ceiling pasted slightly wider than one-metre width at a time, then hang the wall covering and brush into place ensuring contact with the ceiling is even over the whole surface. Using a plumb line is recommended to ensure your drops are hung straight.

Trim each end to fit, and the process is repeated, butt joining each length to one another and trimming to fit.

Wait twenty-four hours and then the ceiling is ready to paint.

Paint is absorbed into the already very strong fibreglass wall covering. re-enforcing them further ensures all cracks in the ceiling or wall will not reappear.