crack in ceiling

[hsa1]

Hi any advice would be appreciated,
There is a linear crack spanning the living room and bathroom ceiling,all the way across. this is a 2 bedroom 1st floor flat. any suggestions to cause, solution and costs? (photos attached)

many thanks

 

[^woody^]

How long has it been there

 

[hsa1]

How long has it been there

to be honest many years, at least 5. are there any signs its something structural or a big problem?

 

[^woody^]

Looks like a joint in a concrete floor.

If it's not got any bigger in five years or more, then it's not a problem

 

[hsa1]

Looks like a joint in a concrete floor.

If it's not got any bigger in five years or more, then it's not a problem

thanks. is it normal to find it in just this one area of the flat (i.e. bathroom and living room) and no where else? would you be able to guesstimate the costs of repair if it does need reparative work, considering its a flat not sure how that would work

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Stick some filler in it, sand it down and paint it. If it reappears then you may have something to fret about. That corner pic looks like water damage but I can't see where it relates to the crack. May be your upstairs neighbours have a leak in their drainage, hard to tell without chopping a hole in the ceiling and having a look. Possibly said leak has rotted the end of a joist which has then dropped a bit but again impossible to tell without lifting boards above/chopping in to your ceiling. What type construction are we talking here?

 

[hsa1]

Stick some filler in it, sand it down and paint it. If it reappears then you may have something to fret about. That corner pic looks like water damage but I can't see where it relates to the crack. May be your upstairs neighbours have a leak in their drainage, hard to tell without chopping a hole in the ceiling and having a look. Possibly said leak has rotted the end of a joist which has then dropped a bit but again impossible to tell without lifting boards above/chopping in to your ceiling. What type construction are we talking here?

Its a first floor standard construction flat in a block of 3 levels, thanks for the advice

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Standard as in timber joists? Running parallel to the crack or perpendicular? (If you can see your floorboards, good odds the upstairs boards will run the same way & they'll be running across the joists)

 

[John D v2.0]

Although In our house the ground floor runs one way, first floor the other, and upstairs ceiling the original way!