Newly Skimmed Ceiling Cracking & Discolouring in New Bathroom - Advice Please

[Deleted member 317698]

Hello,

We’ve just had our bathroom professionally renovated and the our old Artex ceiling skimmed and painted. As you can see in the pictures, the ceiling has started to crack along the full width of the room around the doorway, and another small crack and a small bulge has formed around the shower screen. The ceiling around the shower is also starting to discolour and is turning grey.
For reference, the loft is directly above and there has been quite a lot of movement up there due to problems with our new Aqualisa shower.

Does anyone know what could be causing this and how to fix it? We only had the bathroom redone a couple of months ago and are having endless issues.

Thank you

 

[lostinthelight]

Do you know what preparation was done to the artex ceiling before skimming

 

[sparkwright]

Were there cracks before it was skimmed?

Any leaks in the loft?

Is all the loft insulation in place, or has it been pulled back?

Anyone been bashing about in the loft, for example knocking nails into the joists?

Was the new plaster thoroughly dry before painting?

Was a mist coat applied to the bare plaster?

 

[Deleted member 317698]

Do you know what preparation was done to the artex ceiling before skimming

I know they scraped a lot of the artex off first, but I’m not sure what they did after unfortunately.
Since my post, a few more cracks have appeared, and the one above the door, has got much larger and more pronounced. The discoloured section above the shower is also getting darker.
I’m concerned that they may have not done the proper prep work first. If that’s the case, will the ceiling need to be stripped back again, or can the prep work be done on top?
Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 317698]

Were there cracks before it was skimmed?

Any leaks in the loft?

Is all the loft insulation in place, or has it been pulled back?

Anyone been bashing about in the loft, for example knocking nails into the joists?

Was the new plaster thoroughly dry before painting?

Was a mist coat applied to the bare plaster?

Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch.

Yes, cracks were appearing in the Artex before they skimmed over the top. I think the bulging section was also in the same spot, however it’s only just reappeared after a couple of months. The crack above the door has also got much larger and more pronounced and a few more have appeared since my post. The weird grey discolouration above the shower has also become more pronounced.

We’ve had an engineer up in the loft 4 or 5 times in the past month trying to fix our new Aqualisa shower and he hasn’t mentioned any leaks. I’ll ask him to check when he’s back this week. Since the new bathroom was fitted, the pipes have been really loud throughout the house. Whenever any kind of water is turned on or the toilet flushed, the pipes start making a loud static noise for hours so it’s pretty much constant. Could this be a sign of a leak?

I think all the loft insulation is still in place. It’s at least 25+ years old however and we don’t have any floorboards.

The engineer has been in and out of the loft multiple times which causes quite a bit of movement and you can hear all the beams creaking when he’s up there. He hasn’t been hammering anything however. Holes were drilled through when the builders installed the new lights and shower, however the cracks didn’t appear until a couple months later.

I’m not sure about any of the prep work unfortunately. I know they scraped back a lot of the Artex before starting. They were also frustrated about how long everything was taking to dry as they were behind schedule and late for their next job so they put the heating on full and used a heater to try and speed up the process. They we’re definitely in a hurry to leave in the end.

Thanks!

 

[sparkwright]

Can you remember if they put any tape over the old cracks before re-plastering?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Should of had it double boarded and then plastered.

Andy

 

[JohnD]

How old is the house.

 

[Deleted member 317698]

How old is the house.

Around 35 years

 

[Deleted member 317698]

Can you remember if they put any tape over the old cracks before re-plastering?

I’m not sure I’m afraid. I was concerned about the original cracking and mentioned PVA and tape, but they told me they had it under control and not to worry.
Given that we’re not too sure what they did, would you recommend stripping it back and starting again, or can we do the proper prep work on top? We’re going to hire someone, but I want to know the facts so that I know it’s being done properly.
Thank you for your help

 

[Deleted member 317698]

Should of had it double boarded and then plastered.

Andy

I didn’t even know that was an option. Different builders will be renovating the kitchen and downstairs toilet this month so it’s worth looking into. Is it a lot more work?
Thanks!

 

[JohnD]

Around 35 years

So it will be a plasterboard ceiling.

I wonder why it cracked

Go into the loft and see if there are unsupported joints (not nailed to joists) or signs of leaks, or heavy objects/fat plumbers causing the timbers to sag.

 

[Deleted member 317698]

Should of had it double boarded and then plastered.

So it will be a plasterboard ceiling.

I wonder why it cracked

Go into the loft and see if there are unsupported joints (not nailed to joists) or signs of leaks, or heavy objects/fat plumbers causing the timbers to sag.

My Mum is disabled so I’ll go up and have a look for her later. We don’t have anything stored in the loft (apart from the tank) as it isn’t boarded up.

Before it was skimmed, there were big cracks spanning the length of the entire room along the joists in the bathroom. Strangely, some of these new cracks are in new places. We also don’t get cracks anywhere else in the house.
There are however small bulges where the joists are throughout the entire house (including downstairs). Unfortunately the builders said skimming the ceiling would fix the issue.

Thanks for your help

 

[HERTS P&D]

I didn’t even know that was an option. Different builders will be renovating the kitchen and downstairs toilet this month so it’s worth looking into. Is it a lot more work?
Thanks!

Very easy to do, get a quote from your new builders.

Andy

 

[omph]

If you push against the cracked areas, does it move ? if so, by how much ? and is it wet or damp ? Plaster is heavy and will add additional weight to the ceiling (which is already artexed). If it was already struggling beforehand, the additional weight may cause it to crack more and possibly cave in.

Chances are you may need to have the ceiling stripped and reboarded/plastered. I wouldn't recommend boarding over the ceiling as it seems the joists have some movement and someone in the design team of the original build was cutting corners and specced them to withstand a lower weight, so you want to minimise the dead weight, not increase it.

Also, you may want to get some builders/roofers in to double check the joist sizing to make sure they are adequate and don't need additional re-enforcement.

If you are feeling a bit adventurous and have a ladder and measuring tape, you can do it yourself. Here is a guide for joist spacing/length: https://www.rightsurvey.co.uk/floor-joist-span-tables-for-surveyors-floor-construction/