Bedroom Ceiling Cracks

[Slandar]

Hi All
As always an old home has new surprises
We have had a crack and sag appear in one small area of a bedroom ceiling. Our usual handyman wants to overboard the entire ceiling which we don't want to do.
I saw some posts that suggest screws and washers can be used to support the sagging section, does this work? Or what alternative approach should I be considering?
Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

 

[Cubist]

Is it safe to assume this is a lath and plaster ceiling? Screws and washers are often used to rectify sagging lath and plaster and also plasterboard ceilings. Just how badly cracked is that ceiling and how significant are the dips? Also, does the ceiling move is you gently press on it?

 

[Slandar]

Hi Cubist
Definitely lathe and plaster in this room.
Cracks are quite fine and ceiling is only, spongy?? In one area, about 6inch diameter

 

[Cubist]

Can you estimate how much movement there is if you press gently in the centre of that rough area? My guess would be no more than a centimetre and quite possibly less. If you could then locate a joist near the centre line of spongy section you could then remove a divot of plaster to accommodate a screw and washer, or even a couple of same, to pull the lath back to the joist line. Thin/fine cracks in the plaster are nothing much to worry about and result from the very small movements of the materials resulting the heating and cooling cycles. The only time to really worry is if the plaster has absorbed a lot of moisture and has started to pull away from the joists over fairly large areas.

 

[Slandar]

Thanks for the advice,
The sagging area is probably about 5mm give in it, good to hear I dont need to worry so much about the radiating cracks with no give in them.
I will have to get up into the loft, and work out where the joist runs over the next week or so.

 

[Kearn]

I’ve now sadly got a fair few cracks in our bedroom ceiling, most generated by the movement in the tie beam which was over spanned and had some bounce in it, and this past year’s works have exaggerated its movement before it was supported. They are just cracks though, no movement and the nibs through the lath are still holding fine. A few coats of limewash will largely fill them and sort things out.

 

[mardinor]

Those aren’t cracks, they’re wrinkles. Enjoy as character of the old place.
Only when you can start seeing more of those stars would I start worrying.

 

[Slandar]

That's made me chuckle, I'm sure senior management will bring the list of jobs if they start seeing stars

 

[Gothichome]

As a constant repairer of cracked plaster I use a technique (generally called the Big Wally method) , in the area of the spongy bit you drill holes in the location of the beam about four inches apart. Then squirt construction adhesive into one of the holes until you see it coming out of the second hole. At this point I screw into beam a screw with a fender washer in place and this will suck the offending plaster into the adhesive against the beam. Once the adhesive has set just remove the screw and fill the holes.
“Big Wally” is a company that sells kits using this technique but the same thing can put together at your local hardware shop a lot cheaper. For the adhesive I use a product called ‘no more nails’ in the pressurized can, it is less stiff than trying to squeeze it from a tube. If my description is a bit vague just search “big Wally” into YouTube or google, lots of videos

 

[Cubist]

If you're seeing stars... then the ceilings collapsed already.

Careful if you follow up on @Gothichome s search advice - there are lots of Big Wally's in the UK and you don't want home decor advice from those guys.

 

[Gothichome]

checking the parental control toggle should help in narrowing down the search.