Advice re crack coming from ceiling down internal wall

FreeBear

So, a wall running from one side of the room to the other - Unlikely to be a bulging external wall then. If it is a timber stud wall, it could still be structural and supporting some of the ceiling rafters.

The cause of the crack could be rusted nails (and I'm assuming a lath & plaster wall here), and the laths have parted company from the internal timbers. If so, not particularly difficult to fix. If the plaster is a light gray or white and has a crumbly, sandy texture, then it is lime. Have a close look into the crack with the aid of a strong light and you may spot some strips of timber at regular intervals along its length.

Carrera74

The plaster is white and grey and crumbly underneath that layer. I can't see in the crack but will get a torch tomorrow and check. The light on my phone isn't showing anything.

My living room wall that i share with next door does have bulges in the alcove. They were there when I bought the house. Could this be causing the cracking? I'll point it out to the mortgage surveyor too

stuart45

You sometimes get cracking in the spine walls of terraced houses when work in other houses like removal of their spine walls to knock 2 rooms into one, or chimney breast removal.