Cracking? Really? what builders are you using? Forgive me also but what relevance does that have to the question? It says pro by your profile, professional at what exactly? Drying times obviously vary based on thickness of plaster, product used and humidity/temperature/airflow in the house. If multi finish us being used (most commonly used pink plaster ) the coat should be thin and not take more than a week to dry. It will take slightly longer if plaster is applied over repairs where bonding is used. It wouldn't be unreasonable to have the house finished in time for Christmas if you're lucky enough to catch a good decorator between jobs :) You shouldn't expect any cracking within the plaster, you may encounter the need for 'snagging' a month or two after decorating where cracks may appear between the walls and any skirting / wood but ideally the gaps should be caulked during the first few coats of paint. You'll observe several stages of the drying process, after a few hours the plaster will be chemically hardened and will start to get darker. it will then become a bit patchy as different thicknesses dry at different rates. The plaster will then get lighter and lighter over the next few days until it reaches a 'dusty' pink colour meaning it is dry :)

hi just had living room ceiling and walls plastered found a huge tin if dulux barley white could i use it to seal walls prior to painting colour i want? or should it just be white emulsion? watered down?! Thanks!

We recently did this on our renovation of a similar aged property, my dad was the builder so I’d trust that for us it was the best option and not a money making ploy. The old plaster was in an ok condition although I’m not sure how great it would have looked after the wall paper stripping. For us the pros and cons where: Pros: We could easily hide all the pipes and wiring inside the new walls. We could also put the plug sockets, light switches, internet ports, were ever we wanted them. We got a nice clean finish that’ll last and is inline with everything else that’s newly fitted. We could add insulation between the external walls and new plaster (we used Celotex which have has made a huge difference) We could shuffle the walls a little bit to make the bathroom and hallway bigger. Piece of mind, you might uncover something hidden under the old plaster that needs fixing. We found a dividing wall that wasn’t tied in and a crack that needed pinning. Getting it out the way while the House was a mess anyway. Cons: Cost, it wasn’t cheap. It took a while, it added around 4 weeks onto our project. It was hard work as we did all the finishing decorating ourselves. The new plaster will need to be mist coated and painted which is around 4-5coats of paint. You’ll need to have new skirting, picture rail and architrave fitted (and this also needs painting). The plaster will crack as it dries out over the first year, so you will need to touch it up. We did this ourselves and it took a weekend. We intend for the property to be our ‘forever’ home and were doing a complete renovation upstairs and downstairs anyway. So for us it was worth while. Let me know if you have any more questions.

I have had issues recently and was unsure as to who to get in to look - I didn’t want someone to just say I needed replastering - I wanted an honest opinion. In the end I spoke to a local building control officer who I had dealt with in the past (from the council). He then recommended a local damp expert (not a builder or plasterer - but a damp specialist). The damp specialist was brilliant - he came round, checked the wall and took metre readings, then told me that I didn’t actually have a damp issue! I was so relieved. He didn’t charge me either. If I had a builder, I honestly think that I would have ended up replastering. Top tip - google or ask around (even on local Facebook groups) for local reputable damp specialists.