Ready to paint a room but notice small cracks on your walls? These small to medium cracks in plaster or drywall result from any of the following: a house settling on its foundation, a minor earthquake, seasonal changes, hammering nails or placing screws into a wall, or bumping a wall. You can repair most minor cracks in walls, but long, large cracks maybe signs of serious damage.
Instructions
1. Examine whether you have plaster or drywall. Plaster is a dry powder mixed with water to form a paste that hardens when mixed with water. Drywall is known as plasterboard, sheetrock or gypsum board. The gypsum mineral is ground to fine powder and dried. Plaster will crack if you try to hammer a nail into it, but drywall won't.
2. Spread newspaper on the floor to protect it while you work. Also, it helps with clean up.
3. Wear goggles to prevent loose debris from flying in your eyes.
4. Remove any loose plaster using a small chisel or putty knife. For drywall, you may have to cut away using a utility knife or keyhole saw.
5. Vacuum out any loose debris in and around the crack.
6. Dampen the surface with water using a clean rag or sponge. This helps the joint compound bond with the old surface.
7. Fill the cracks with joint compound while the surface is moist. For medium or large drywall cracks, you can use in-bed mesh tape along with the joint compound. Apply the joint compound thinly with the putty knife until the mesh tape is covered and the patch is smooth. You may need to apply additional coats to achieve the look you desire.
8. Allow for drying time between each coat. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.
9. Sand the area smooth until there are no ridges or bumps. With mesh tape, you may need to apply two or more coats of joint compound over the first, taking care to cover the tape.
10. Keep applying compound, drying and sanding until you no longer see the crack and surface is smooth. A challenge is trying to make it blend in with the rest of the wall.
11. Apply primer, which helps to prepare the surface for painting. Follow the instructions given by the manufacturer.
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