Lath and plaster is a flexible skeleton of timber strips holding a lime-rich coat that has moved with the building for well over a century. Treating it like a rigid modern wall is exactly why cracks reappear a few months after filling.
Seasonal movement in the timber laths flexes the plaster keys behind the surface, so a rigid filler bridging a crack simply cracks again at the same point. Understanding that the movement is structural, not cosmetic, changes how we approach the repair.
Flexible fillers and scrim tape across hairline cracks accommodate small seasonal shifts far better than a hard gypsum-based product. Where a section has genuinely lost its key to the laths, that patch needs replacing rather than endlessly re-filled.
A lath and plaster ceiling that flexes underfoot from above or sags visibly may have failed keys rather than surface cracking, and painting over that is cosmetic rather than a fix. We flag structural concerns rather than simply coating around them.
Not entirely if the building keeps moving seasonally, but flexible repair methods reduce reappearance far more than standard rigid filler.
Visible sag, a hollow sound when tapped, or movement felt from the room above all suggest a failed key that needs a plasterer, not just paint.
Usually yes with the right primer, though very porous or friable surfaces sometimes need stabilising first to avoid an uneven finish.
Point out your worst recurring crack and we will explain what is moving behind it before we price the repair.
Lath and plaster cracks return unless the repair allows for the timber movement causing them.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
