"numtys numty" wrote

After having ground floor ceilings re-plastered for a second time, they
are once more showing cracks. I assume the joists are moving and
causing this to happen. The floors above the ceiling are extremely
noisy when anyone is upstairs.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to replace the ceilings as
re-plastering is very expensive and obviously not the answer.

Thanks in anticipation
--


Archie Gallacher

How old is your house Archie?
I suspect that most modern houses will suffer in this way.
The push towards cheap construction means that lighter beams of poorer
quality timber are used these days.
Calculations are produced to support the use of these beams and prove that
they will not fail. But they will be designed closer to the allowable
deflection than would have happened years ago. Plaster is an unforgiving
brittle coating, so as the plasterboard ceiling tries to flex, there can
only be one outcome.
Also, the lighter beams do not deaden the vibrations/sound as well as their
more substantial predecessors.
If your house is not of modern construction, then I would suspect that some
settlement has occurred to allow some movement of first floor joists. This
would not have to be serious structural stuff, just shrinkage of key timbers
would be enough to crack an expanse of plaster.

Phil