Crack Solutions Made Easy: Effective Ways to Deal with Cracks

There are problems that arise someday or the other. Someday there may be paint flaking off from the walls, or someday you may see blisters on your wall, also it may happen that you see some cracks on the exterior of your wall which may cause moisture in the interior of your walls during the rainy season and hence lead to problems like blistering or the paint coming off the walls.

The causes of the wall cracks may be one of the following:

• Natural Drywall Shrinkage: this may happen if the weather is too dry that it leads to the shrinkage of the walls which may lead to cracks in the exterior or the interior of the walls. These cracks can be horizontal or vertical in nature.
• Poor Foundation Construction: It may also happen that the material that was used for the construction of your home was not of good quality and thus the material of inferior quality leads to the cracks in a later stage.
• Temperature Changes: temperature changes also may lead to cracks in the walls. It is so because as the winter arises the moisture level in the atmosphere gets lowered down and as we have seen that our wooden doors and windows may also contact or expand during the changing weather so the same thing happens with the walls also. Thus, leading to cracks in the walls.

As discussed earlier cracks can be of two types- vertical as well as horizontal. Horizontal cracks do not pose much threat and hence do not call for an important fixing of the gaps. It does not signify the structural flaws in the construction of the home and thus one does not worry a lot about it. However, if there is any movement in the wall, vertical cracks can appear which can be the early warning signs of something more dangerous and in need of immediate attention. If timely attention is not given, these holes can become bigger and more dangerous, as they will spread in other areas.

Now let’s see that what all measures one can take to prevent a crack:

• Using expansion jointsin your brickwork. Expansion joints separate brick masonry into segments to prevent cracking caused by temperature change, moisture expansion, elastic deformation, settlement, or creep.
• Use pre-moulded foam or neoprene in the brick expansion joint. It can be done, by leaving a continuous opening through the brick Wythe and filling it. Finish this joint with a backer rod and elastomeric sealant material to prevent moisture and water from going into the brick joint.
• Do not forget to make sure that the expansion joint materials run through the full thickness of the Wythe. It will avoid that mortar, and other debris will clog the joint.
• Do not use fibreboard or similar materialsin expansion joints as they are not compressible.

These steps may help you to avoid cracks in the exterior or the interior of your home. Precautions are better than cures. Do not forget that you apply the above-stated precautions when your home is in the process to be made it. Because this might prevent your walls to get a crack in walls. But well even if the walls of your home gets a crack then let’s look at the ways in which it can be treated.

There are a number of ways by which we can get rid of the cracks that may come up. They are listed below:

The first thing that one should keep in mind before applying any of these cracker healing solutions is that the surface must be free from dust, oil, grease,loose particles, etc.

Now let’s get started with the alternatives one has to heal the cracks:

Asian paints Smartcare cracker seal: Asian Paints Smart Care Crack Seal is also special for the water-resistant film that prevents the water to seep down the cracks and hence, as a result, may form moisture or water droplets and hence, as a result, there may be blisters on the interior of the wall. Asian Paints Smart Care Crack Seal is ready to use fibreglass reinforced crack filling compound for both interior and exterior surfaces. It ensures the unmatched crack bridging ability for plaster cracks of up to 3 mm. Asian Paints Smart Care Crack Seal has got a very adhesive nature. It can be easily applied on any material that is insolvent in nature like wood, plaster, walls etc. also Asian Paints Smart Care Crack Seal allows it to be overcoated by paints from the Asian paints. Especially, the overcoating of the emulsion paints will have a greater adhesion to the cracker seal. The Asian Paints Smart Care Crack Seal is not to be applied over the wet surface. Also, it should be kept in mind that this cracker seal is only for the plaster walls. And for the cracks that are more than 3 mm this Asian Paints, Smart Care Crack Seal is not useful and hence it is advisable not to apply it on the cracks that are more than 3 mm.

Dr. Fixit: Let’s look at the way that how Dr. Fixit has to be applied over the wall, once the wall is well prepared for the Dr. Fixit to be applied upon. You first need to moisture the wall before you apply Dr. Fixit over the wall. Fine hairline cracks must bewidened up to a minimum of 1 mm and thenbe filled. For the filling,Dr. Fixit Crack-X Shrinkfreeon theinternal surfaces, remove the existing POP orpainter’s putty till the plaster surface is exposed. PressDr. Fixit Crack-X Shrinkfreefirmly into thecrack only one time, with a spatula or putty knifeand level the surface. If convenient, use the handballapplication. Take care to avoid the formation of cavities or bubblesduring application. Allow it to dry in ambient conditions for 5 to 6 hoursbefore painting for best results. A 7-day air curing isadvised. Once these steps have been performed it is advised to apply the best-suited putty over the walls and then get it repainted of the same colour as that of your wall.

So these were two of the measures that a person can take to cure the cracks on the walls so as to make the walls free from problems like blisters etc.

Well, this problem is most common in areas like the walls which are shared by the bathroom. It is so because the moisture level in the washroom is high thus may lead to cracks in the walls. Remember to keep your home well-ventilated during this season and take quick steps to remove any mould or fungus from your walls since this can cause respiratory issues. If you notice excess moisture or deep cracks in your walls, consult a professional immediately to prevent damp walls.

So all the best to prevent and cure your home walls of cracks like these.

Thank you!