Cracks!

charleyroo

Hi all

Just thought of posting here as it's been making me ponder for a while

I bought my house in March and nothing on the home buyer's report mentioned about any of this. Basically, some of the ceilings have a couple of hairline cracks in them (only in the plaster - we have carefully removed a section of the plaster to see if there's any damage above, and there is none) is this anything to worry about?

Also, I've noticed in the main bedroom (back of house) wall (inside the house, but on an external wall) there is a slim crack, and same in the 3rd bedroom(inside the house, but on an external wall) The walls are lath (??)

The house is a 1900 terraced style. I have attached another house in the street so you can see what sort of style/age it is: (it's normal brick on the back, with render) http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30996130.html

Sorry to be vague. If it helps I will take photos later.

bradleigh1977

have you been in the loft lately? i have plastered thousands of ceilings that were lathe, and as its not particully strong, a couple of bangs up in the loft crack the ceiling. If you can get it taken away and replaced. If its a small crack, buy a bag of EASI FILL from wickes or b n q... and it will sand down perfect. If after a while the crack apears again, or gets wider. Then in needs removing or plasterboarding over.

charleyroo

i believe the ceilings are plaster. the walls are definitely lath. the wall cracks are the ones that concern me the most, as i've seen under the plaster in the ceilings and the plasterboard underneath is undamaged.

bradleigh1977

is there any cracks outside? if not it could just be normal cracking. heating up of the house, cooling down etc. Thet may have been filled/painted over prior to you buying it. In a perfect world, i would rip out all the lathe, then replace with insulation/plasterboard etc.

Or you could have it boarded over, and skimmed.

the ceiling could still have been cracked by movement in the loft or if it wasnt taped properly. Get some photos on and we may be able to help

ormus

hairline plaster cracks in houses are perfectly normal. you can fill them and repaint them.
12 months later they are back again. esp joins nr the walls/ceilings.
this is due to expansion and shrinkage over the four seasons. and maybe small movements in the whole building/foundations.
when bricks/joints start to crack and the gaps get wider, then you have big problems.

charleyroo

hi both

thanks for taking the time to reply.

this is one room:


another of the same crack to give you an idea of size. when you tap around the crack, its hollow as if its just plasterboard (despite being an external wall) away from the crack on the same wall, the sound is solid. the crack goes across and down in a straight formation.


then, this is in our main bedroom. the crack goes from the window sill as shown below:


and then this is the overall crack in this room, its not as straight as in the other room, and tails off before hitting the edge of the wall.

slipperyshoe

Hi. The cracks do not look like they are anything structural so I would not let them keep you up at night. The hairline one on the ceiling can be filled no probs. The one on the wall appears as though the plaster has de-bonded from the wall a bit. If you tap the wall with your finger nails you will be able to hear if this is the case as it will sound hollow.

Either way I would do As one other poster said-a a bit of easi fill will do the trick. You will need to dig the cracks out a little (be brave an have faith here). Just use the corner of a wall paper scraper to do this. This will allow the filler to get a good bond and allow you to sand them down. Once painted you will never know. I have also had success with some of the lightweight 'no sanding' fillers from the DIY stores. These have the consistency of whipped cream and are a great product. If you have loads of cracks it may get quite pricey using these.

Hope this helps

charleyroo

thanks for your help, i will get the other half to invest in one of the products above and get filling

bradleigh1977

the second picture loooks like a crack on the plasterboard joint. the others are general normal cracks. get them filled, and painted. You may have to do them once a year, as they expand and retract/

charleyroo

bradleigh1977 wrote: »

the second picture loooks like a crack on the plasterboard joint. /

hi, thanks for taking the time to respond. do you think it's a major concern?