Ceiling cracks - what to do

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Hi there
It's a Victorian flat, 1st floor, in Brighton.
When I bought it I had the ceiling rose removed and a set of downlights put in. I told the builder to run a cable behind the ceiling, but when I got home from work he had made trenches between them in the plaster from one downlight to another, forming a rectangular trench all way round the plaster.
I was freaked out and instead of killing him just went for a smoke.
But I was worried that he had weakend the entire ceiling.
It was about 8 years ago. 3 years ago a section fell out and was repaired, that builder stuck some mesh to the lathes.
Right now there are quite a few hairline cracks around. I have just polyfila'd them.
Some are under a set of heavy wardrobes in the room above. Others not.
2 areas of the plaster moved (depressed) slightly when I filled them.
That's where I am at.
Do I need to get a new ceiling done ? That's gonna be expensive.
But even if I do, won't the problems happen again ?
Could there be some subtle subsidence ?
Could the floor upstairs be a little unstable ?
Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
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L&P ceilings are by now of an age when they will be falling down, and may be staying up just out of habit.

Yours looks pretty good. Maybe it has been boarded and skimmed.

You said parts can be pressed up. These are loose and will fall down when they feel like it.

Towns that were bombed during the 1939/45 Unpleasantness are particularly likely to have loose ceilings due to the nibs breaking off. Also places that were damp or had waterleaks, the nails holding the laths may have rusted away. if you have access to the top it is possible to repair them, though laborious.

Taking down an old ceiling is a very dirty job.
 
Towns that were bombed during the 1939/45 Unpleasantness......

That's one way of putting it! o_O

I agree with JohnD in that you never know when a lath and plaster ceiling is going to give up holding on (I've seen so many become the carpet rather than the ceiling), but also that yours do look to be relatively sound, from the images.

The problem you have is that weight/movement on the floor above puts pressure on the joists. Even a slight flex in those joists can cause the plaster to crack.
You can try using a flexible filler system like Toupret's Fibacryl (elasticated scrim tape and flexible filler) which should sort out the cracks, but obviously won't help stabilise any ceiling movement. The only issue with this is that you need to be good at feathering and out the filler so as it doesn't leave any noticeable repair patches.

Have a look here - it shows a few products which might help you:

http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/Sundries/Fillers_Stoppers_and_Putties/
 
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Thanks well I just stuck some fine polyfila in there with my finger and painted over it. Unfortunately the paint is visible and looks shiny, no idea why it's the same Dulux Brilliant white matt. I don't know if I used the trade paint before, it's a headache to remember all these things.
Anyway it's not bad or anything, but if the sun is in certain position you can see the new paint being a bit shiny, the cracks are filled and there is already an uglyish and not level, repair in there right down the middle.
Anyway, it's an old flat I can't do everything, it's quite demanding.
Thanks for the help.
 

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