Sagging ceiling joists?

[jkerbey]

Hi,

I moved into my new-ish house (11 years old) two years ago and had all the necessary surveys done that didn't bring up any anamolies. What is worrying me though is that it appears that the rafters/joists (please excuse the terminology if I've got it wrong!) are sagging and are clearly visible. There are two visible rafters/joists running horizontally across the house with the room above being the main bedroom. The pictures below hopefully show this.

Not knowing very much at all about why this happens, or how to fix it, I was wondering if anyone could advise me? Do I need to replace the ceiling? Can I just secure them and re-plaster? Is it a big job?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance!

Jon

 

[mointainwalker]

Rafters are the bits of wood that hold up the roof, Joists support floors.

Looking at the photos you have posted, the edges around the joists ( if that is what they are ) are very sharp and I cannot imagine that would be the case if there were any sagging : there would be irregular flaking. half-round surfaces.

Why do you think it is sagging ?

 

[jkerbey]

Maybe it's not sagging as such, but I'm assuming that the joists have definitely shifted down, although they don't appear to have shifted down consistently. Assuming the joist runs the full width of the house, about 1m is visible (as in the photo), then it disappears, then reappears in the kitchen for about 1m although not as visible.

 

[ladylola]

Just a thought , it could be just the plasterboard that has sagged, possible if nailed and the timber underneath has dried out after being put in much wetter than it is now.
Can you push the ceiling up at all? That is to say 'till it's flush, if so then it may be simply a job of putting in some screws and filling.
More drastically you may need to remove some plasterboard to inspect.

 

[jkerbey]

No, I can't move it at all! I don't think it's the plaster, and I'm not sure, but I don't think it's getting worse.

 

[mac391]

If you tap just above and below the crack it should sound quite hollow and sound more dense (solid) on the actual crack itself. If there is a joist behind the crack then it doesn't look like the plasterboard joint has taped.

Both could be repaired quite easily with a a stop bead, screws, joint tape and a feather finish. Plasterer required of course.