Cracking ceiling panels... why?

[andyoxon]

When we moved in to this house 18 mths ago, some rooms had cracked ceiling panels e.g. main bedroom & landing, and possibly the odd crack in the hall and dining room. I'm trying not to be paranoid and imagine new cracks, but...the dining room now has many cracks, as does the hall.

The lounge, bathroom, is still Ok, as are two of the other bedrooms, the small 4th bedroom is papered with no cracks. All the other ceilings are artexed, though with low depth swirls.

The only thing that changed is electrician taking up floorboards to lay cable and plumber installing new boiler and piping, but this was a year ago. I guess the banging away by the contractors may have cause some cracks, perhaps the new efficient heating has caused humidity changes?

Any ideas?

What is the best way to repair/monitor. Having all the ceilings done would be very expensive - is there a good solution...

 

[dellzeqq]

Andy - haven't we had a similar thread before?

Anyway. By panels do you mean plasterboard? If it is plasterboard is it nailed to timber joists? Is it the plasteboard that is tearing, or is it only the surface treatment (usually skim plaster) that is cracking? Are there similar cracks in the walls? Have you looked at the external faces of the walls (presuming these to be brick or rendered block) and is there cracking? What is the construction of the roof? Is it a hipped roof, a normal pitched roof or a flat roof? Is the house built on clay? Are the doors and windows binding? Have you looked at the lintols over the doors and windows and are they level?

Send me a pm with a telephone number if you want. I'm not going to diagnose anything remotely, but I might be able to tell you where to go if it sounds serious.

 

[Over The Hill]

When they put the sheets of board up they should put some sort of mesh tape over the gaps before the finish (plaster or artex) is put on. That holds it all together.

If they missed that then the normal use of the house (walking around, stuff in the loft etc) will make the joints open on the weak areas. If it is only small then really not much to worry about (hairline crack) but if they are bigger (say as thick as a light pull cord) then that is worrying and should be checked out.

If big then it is something moving apart if hairline then it is moving but staying where it is. Thin crack can probably just be painted over but may come back. Try a bit. Also you can get some flexible thick paint stuff that may hide it fairly easily.

 

[Slowgrind]

Fill em and paint em. Chances are that the moving of the floorboards above (Sparks,Plumber) has caused cracks to form at the seams of your plasterboards. Floorboards should never be nailed down when refixing them as the hammer impact can cause this problem. Countersunk screws are best for this job.

 

[andyoxon]

Andy - haven't we had a similar thread before?

Anyway. By panels do you mean plasterboard? If it is plasterboard is it nailed to timber joists? Is it the plasteboard that is tearing, or is it only the surface treatment (usually skim plaster) that is cracking? Are there similar cracks in the walls? Have you looked at the external faces of the walls (presuming these to be brick or rendered block) and is there cracking? What is the construction of the roof? Is it a hipped roof, a normal pitched roof or a flat roof? Is the house built on clay? Are the doors and windows binding? Have you looked at the lintols over the doors and windows and are they level?

Send me a pm with a telephone number if you want. I'm not going to diagnose anything remotely, but I might be able to tell you where to go if it sounds serious.

Cheers d. YHM.

Andy

 

[andyoxon]

When they put the sheets of board up they should put some sort of mesh tape over the gaps before the finish (plaster or artex) is put on. That holds it all together.

If they missed that then the normal use of the house (walking around, stuff in the loft etc) will make the joints open on the weak areas. If it is only small then really not much to worry about (hairline crack) but if they are bigger (say as thick as a light pull cord) then that is worrying and should be checked out.

If big then it is something moving apart if hairline then it is moving but staying where it is. Thin crack can probably just be painted over but may come back. Try a bit. Also you can get some flexible thick paint stuff that may hide it fairly easily.

Thanks, they all seem to be hairline cracks (at the mo. ) Interesting re. the possible lack of mesh and continued cracking with use, because they do seem to be extending. Though since the ceilings have been done a few years, you might think the whole lot would already be cracked. Perhaps the mini ao's jumping and running about have something to do with it...

I'm trying not to get paranoid about this...

 

[andyoxon]

Fill em and paint em. Chances are that the moving of the floorboards above (Sparks,Plumber) has caused cracks to form at the seams of your plasterboards. Floorboards should never be nailed down when refixing them as the hammer impact can cause this problem. Countersunk screws are best for this job.

Cheers. There are some flexible ceiling pastes I think - polyfilla?

The only thing is some of the 'cracks', I forgot to say, are more like creases in the artex(?) and not cracks yet (perhaps the crack comes next). So I guess this would need sanding a tad before repair...?

 

[andyoxon]

There's nothing like taking photos of cracking ceiling panels - for the record, to make one paranoid that the house is falling down about ones ears. I noticed that one crack in the dining room extends about an inch or two down into the hard cornice... But then this is directly below where the plumber (& electrician) was working (airing cupboard) in June 2007. The problem is that I really don't know when the crack appeared...? I am fairly sure that they weren't there when we moved in...

 

[Slowgrind]

You only have to worry about a crack when its big enough to get your finger in!

 

[Renard]

You only have to worry about a crack when its big enough to get your finger in!

I would worry if I couldn't