Cracks in ceiling

[MikeJEN]

Hi, i am after the more informed opinion of the members here on cracks that are appearing on the ceilings of my 1930's semi.

I moved in at the end of June 2013 and there were no cracks to be seen, however about a 2/3 weeks ago they started to appear in the front living room. I beleive this room has a lath and plaster ceiling as the cracks are in a random pattern originating from the centre of the ceiling. since then more cracks have appeared in an upstairs bedroom, and the kitchen/dinner room. The kitchen/dinner has plasterboard so the cracks are in straight lines. Since the cracks appeared in the living room they have appeared to spread and do seem to be getting slightly bigger. I noticed today a new small crack today in another bedroom upstairs. They are all still relatively small at about 1mm at the widest point. There are no cracks which can be seen on any interior or exterior walls. before moving I had a homebuyers report that flagged no issues with subsidence.

My question is could these cracks be caused by the weather? Only seemed to appear when it started to get cold? Are they purely cosmetic or will something need to be done to stop the ceiling from falling down (which i am terrified about)! Generally the whole house is in really good condition.

Help and input much appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

 

[trowelmonkey1]

Hi Mike,

Bit of a problem you've got there, i've not heard of weather causing ceiling ceiling shrinkage/cracks before but it's strange how they've all happened at once and with the turn in the weather.

Does it look like they've been repaired previously to get it through the sale?

I'd be worried about the lathe and plaster ones, if those cracks are getting worse especially, that plaster won't give any warning before it falls off in large pieces, could really hurt someone.

The quick way to remedy it is to board over it and skim, otherwise you're faced with pulling the lot down and boarding it.

 

[MikeJEN]

Hi, on close on close inspection there may be signs of previous repair, but I'm not 100% sure. The house was immaculate when we first viewed the property in May. The previous owners don't seem the type to do bodge job...they refurbished the place 5 years ago with new roof, kitchen, bathroom, etc to a high standard.

What is the approx cost of boarding over and skim? Living room is about 4 x 4 metres. Would work need to be done on the kitchen/diner which has plasterboard and has faint cracks along where the boards join?

I suppose my main concern is how big a problem is this...small or big? £1k-£2k to sort all the ceilings in the house out would be very annoying but manageable...£5k+ and I'll be really mad.

 

[Alastairreid]

As you have just moved in chances are you will have been moving heavy furniture around in the rooms above.

As tm says the lath ceiling needs to be looked at, push up on the plaster and see if it moves.

The kitchen ceiling will be a cosmetic fix.

 

[MikeJEN]

alastairreid, i understand your logic but we moved in over 3 months ago now...plus there are cracks appearing in the ceilings of a few rooms upstairs. Could it be movement in the joists??? As mentioned no cracks on the external walls?

The cracks on the Lath ceiling downstairs are small...and can hardly be seen when sitting down, the ceiling is also very flat in appearance too. When you do get right up to it you can see a very small drop across the cracks, talking hardly anything. When i push the ceiling it does move...but it is literally the smallest movement.

If we were to overboard the old lath ceiling would plasterboard be strong enough? Is it worth taking the lath down and starting from scratch. I've read on here that the mess is horrendous, but is it really that bad? What are the cost differentials between overboard/skim & taking the lath down??

I'm based in north London/Herts...if anyone can recommend a plasterer it would be appreciated. Think I may get an expert rather than worrying about it.

Thanks
Mike

 

[joe-90]

Stop panicking ffs. Just paint it until it stabilises. You are probably heating the rooms and the moisture is drying out.

 

[MikeJEN]

Have you been speaking to my wife??

Yeah, may be over-reacting but I'm a worrier, can't help it.

I will monitor and see how it goes.

 

[joe-90]

Don't worry, it sounds like nothing at all.

 

[MikeJEN]

These cracks are definetly getting worse so would like to get a professional plasterer in...can anybody recommend anyone in Barnet, North London/Herts?

Thanks
Mike