First House

[Burkee92]

Been in house two years n just started noticing small hairline cracks on ceiling in 2 bedrooms around all the coving looks like plaster is coming away, any ideas what it could b. My house is 50 years old and is really cold when heating isn’t on. Also a few really thin cracks on plasterboard going up stairs . Just stressing me out as I’m it’s my first house 😩

Hi OP, We're just giving this a bump for you.

Houses move with temperature fluctuations and changes in moisture content of the surrounding soil. So you will always get some stresses in the structure. Caulk (the stuff that decorators use to seal up little cracks in corners) is flexible for this reason. Redecoration is a part of house maintenance. I've been told that any cracks bigger than 2 mm are when you need to start worrying. Cracks through both inner and outer walls are when you seriously need to investigate.

If you live in a clay soil area then they are quite bad for summer shrinkage and winter expansion.

It will be movement. Totally to be expected

It just sounds like settlement cracks. They form over time, mine has them where the ceiling meets the walls, in a couple of places. But they are tiny.

Keep an eye on them, only worry if they are obviously spreading and getting larger.

If they haven’t worsened after a few months, just fill them with filler.

Hairline cracks are totally normal. Just monitor it and if you see any getting alot more noticeable then call someone in.

could be because the heating is not constant too

Thanks people 👌🏻