Cement wall is a type of wall that is commonly used in making houses, especially modern ones. Its simple and neat appearance is appealing for most people. However, sometimes hairline cracks could appear on it. Hairline crack is a small and narrow wall crack, with a width of only about 1 mm. Even though it is small in size, hairline cracks could affect the overall look of your wall, especially if they appear on the wall of your living room or family room. If they are not repaired straightaway, hairline cracks could elongate and expand, which could be a serious problem for your building.
Hairline cracks usually occur only on the surface of a cement wall, and they do not affect the wall’s structure. This kind of crack is also quite easy to fix, as it only requires a few easy steps and the materials are easy to be obtained. Therefore, you could fix hairline cracks by yourself at home using cement mixture without having to ask for a building expert’s help. To fix the cracks, you will only need to do these simple steps:
- Preparing Cement Mixture and Opening up The Crack
Before starting the fixing process, prepare some cement mixture first. Cement mixture is the main material used for filling in cracks. To create this mixture, all you have to do is combine some cement with some water. Set the mixture aside, and start opening up the hairline crack on your wall by creating a deeper crack using scraper or utility knife until it is about 5 cm wide.
- Applying Cement Mixture and Filling in the Gaps
The second step of the process is filling in the cracks. First of all, you have to make sure the wall that you are going to fill in is in damp condition. You could dampen the wall by splashing some water and let it absorb the water for a while. After the wall is dampened, you could begin filling in the cracks using cement mixture. Ensure that you are filling every parts of the gap perfectly, and carefully flatten the surface so it could be on the same level with the rest of the wall.
- Applying Finishing Plaster Properly
After the cracks are completely filled, you could proceed to the next step, which is applying finishing plaster. This is the most crucial step in fixing hairline cracks on your wall, because this step is a preventive attempt that could prevent hairline cracks from reappearing. This process should be done a few times until the wall surface is completely dry and flat. You have to make sure that the layer is smooth before beginning the next step to avoid any cracking risks in the future.
- Drying the Cement and Painting the Wall
After the gaps are filled with cement mixture and finishing plaster is applied, let the wall dry properly for about two weeks. Once the cement mixture has properly dried and properly merged with the rest of the wall, you could proceed to the last step, which is covering the patches by painting it in the same color with the rest of the wall. If the initial wall color has faded, it would be better to repaint your whole wall to disguise the patches.
If there are a lot of hairline cracks appearing in a wall area, make a bigger gap on the wall and fill it in with cement mixture. Then apply a finishing plaster and paint the wall evenly after the plaster has completely dried. Avoid painting only on the gaps as it could make the patches more visible. For a stronger and more durable wall, make sure to use premium quality cement, such as Semen Merah Putih, for your cement mixture.
