Cracks in ceiling under bath

kateandpete

There are a few hairline cracks in the plaster ceiling in the room under our bathroom. I think that the cracks are developing in the position of the bath itself. There is no sign of any dampness/leak and I'm wondering if it's a problem of excessive load? The room with the cracks has been treated recently for some dry rot although this was coming from the cellar and affecting skirting boards. Treatment was carried out to a height of 1m on the affected wall.

Who should we get to investigate these cracks? Are we best to call the timber/damp company back, get a structural engineer in, or contact our insurance company. we had a full structural survey done when we bought the house 18 months ago and no problem was noted here. The dry rot and some damp issues were found however.

Many thanks for any advice.

phill99

It is highly unlikely that the bath is causing a load problem. Houses are
constructed to take imposed loads like baths, furniture etc. Small amouints of cracking in a house is not uncommon. I would be inclined to fill the cracks with a 'fine fill' polyfilla or similar and monitor them. If they open up again, then further investigation may be needed. Going to the expense of a structural engineer is unnecessary at the moment. A timber company are interested in only selling you a service so will find 'problem' whether one exists or not.

macman

Probably just flexing a bit with movement in the bathroom. Fill them and monitor it.

kateandpete

Thanks guys. My biggest concern was that the dry rot may have travelled further than anyone had realised and that the bath could land downstairs! We'll fill them today and see what happens.