Vertical 'Fold' has appeared in wallpaper-advise sought

[xsports]

Hi.
My bedroom has wallpapering in the walls. I noticed yesterday that a vertical 'fold' has appeared in the wall/wallpaper and I am not sure why.

I am concerned it might be due to a crack that might have developed in the wall. Of could it be a pretty mundane reason like weather change?

I have attached a picture. Can someone advise please?

Thanks

Untitled

• xsports
• 18 Mar 2014
• 1

 

[emilybronte]

Yes, it looks as though a crack has developed.

Put a wardrobe in front of it.

 

[xsports]

Should I not get it repaired??

 

[emilybronte]

Should I not get it repaired??

Well, the good news is that vertical cracks are not normally as sinister as horizontal ones in terms of indicating subsidence. So the house probably isn't going to fall down, or the wall collapse.

The bad news is that you could strip off the paper, fill in the crack and redecorate...only to find it cracks again a few weeks/months down the line. If you are the worrying type, I'd get a structural engineer* to take a look at it. They may well want to remove the paper to see it better, but wait until they come before ripping it all off. Or you could ignore it for at least 6 months/a year, then if nothing more has happened, fill and redecorate.

* I say a structural engineer rather than a builder because builders, although they would charge less to look at it, are not necessarily qualified to diagnose the fault and it's in their interests to claim it's something which needs (their!) immediate and expensive attention.

If you live in an old house (as I do) vertical cracks in walls cease to alarm you after a while.