Worried ceiling plasterboard cracks mean the house is becoming unsafe

[tnorfotkcab]

I keep for some reason imagining the house is going to fall down and it's really annoying!!

I live in a mid terrace house, and my signs are ...the plasterboard in the bedroom ceilings...I can see the outline if every board and imagine it's getting worse and that means the roof is going to fall in, because the walls at tilting outwards... causing all the ceiling plasterboard to move away from each other and show all the cracks....

I wake up in a panic thinking about it.

I don't even know who to call to fix the plasterboard issue

Photos?

I'll try to get some later.

But imagine an outline of every piece of plasterboard!

Was the ceiling skimmed or just boarded? You can't see the joins on the boards on a professionally plastered ceiling.

I had all the walls and ceilings skimmed in my house more than 15 years ago and can't see any outlines. You could ask 3 plasterers to talk you through your options and give you quotes.

It would be unusual for the walls to falling out and the roof to be falling in. If you genuinely think this is an issue get a structural survey done. Not cheap but will put your mind at rest or identify required remedial works.

It was done before we moved here, so no idea of the quality tbh.

Downstairs we have had plastered as part of refurbishment, around 8 years ago and not a crack to be seen m.

It's unlilely your walls aree falling outwards if they were there would be cracks somewhere on the walls walls as well. Is it an old terrace or a new build?

If it's new then the cracks are likely part of the drying out / shrinkage of the plasterboard. It's really cool for new builds to get cracks.

If it is old then there is the possibility of some kind of movement such as subsidence but if it was enough to be affecting g the ceiling I think you would see massive cracks in the walls. We had a crack in on of our old houses from subsidence and it was about 2cm at the top of the wall...no ceiling cracks though.

I look at houses that are 500 years old and see their wonky walls and try to reassure myself, if they're still standing then ours will too.... And the dozens of other terraces on our road show mi signs of collapsed roofs...

But I still wake up thinking the front of the house is falling off on occasion. Like toppling away from the rest of the building..😐

1960s terrace.

Example!

It could be the method used to fix the plasterboard, for example if they nailed it up (not an expert on 1960's construction) then over time it's loosening.

Hi,
Just seen your photo. I agree with your thought that it's just the outline of the boards. A plasterer will be able to tell you if they can be secured and skimmed or need replaced. A skilled plasterer is worth their weight in gold.

It does not look like structural cracks though as yours are uniformed along the edges. You could probably search structural cracks to compare them but the ones I've seen on Homes under the Hammer have been on walls.

I know what you mean about older houses still standing. My house is 100 years old and whilst it needed cosmetic work the structure is solid.

Hope you get the ceiling sorted soon and can put your worries of roof and wall issues to rest. 😊

Get out of this house quick!

Only joking, I can't offer any advice as I haven't got a clue sorry

I think I need to get upstairs replastered.... And if I'm going to do that, I may as well get every room.redecoratrd and new carpets....

Better start saving the pennies.

There is a clearly a problem with the plasterboard (I’m not a builder 😅), but those are not deep structural cracks- it would be cracks in the actual wall/ceilings not just the plaster that might make the house dangerous. That looks a really long way from that to me.

if the whole waking up in the night imagining the walls falling over thing isn’t hyperbole I would suggest seeing someone about your anxiety either before or after you call the plasterer.

It’s just the plasterboard outline. It’s just not a good plastering job. Plasterboard isn’t your wall.
the house has stood for 60+ years. You’d be very unfortunate for it to suddenly decide to collapse now for no apparent reason and without any sign of it except rubbish plastering.

It's either (a) a DIY job badly done or (b) they employed a cowboy plasterer.

It looks unsightly but I doubt if it's a sign the house is falling down - especially if there are no wall cracks.

I have loads of ceiling cracks, though lathe and plaster, which I think is worse. I've been concerned for 15 years that the ceiling might fall down, but so far nothing has happened!
I don't think there is anything structurally wrong with your house, and if there was the neighbouring houses would also be affected.

We have a 1950s house and a couple of our rooms look like that. I've always assumed it was just the method for doing the plaster on the ceilings at the time.

All houses move and when they do cracks can open up. That looks like the edges of plasterboard and highly unlikely to be a problem. If you want a definitive assessment of the structural soundness of your house you can get a structural engineer to come and do a report although that would be expensive. You could also ask a surveyor to come round and have a look for a more informal assessment. My approach though would be to just keep an eye to see if any actual cracks open up anywhere. If you have structural problems a crack will appear and it will keep widening over time.