Greetings. Sorry that my first post is a question rather than something useful but something has be baffled and I need some help.
So some background first. I live in a top floor flat. 1960s build, metal flat roof that pools terribly when it rains (Im at the highest point and can see the parts of the roof of the "M" shaped building) and when we bought the wreck it had compressed carboard ceiling tiles throughout, most of which were water stained, bowed and even falling down. We took them down and revealed that they were tacked to timber batons (look original and in great condition, nice and dry). Batons are fixed to metal brackets which are fixed to the underside of the flat roof. I wish i'd taken pictures of it, I might have one somewhere.
So, we replaced every ceiling. We had to! Plasterboard screwed to the batons and 'half bonded' like bricks, taped and skimmed then painted. Which makes this all the more confusing. The crack in my ceiling runs the full length of the room, that's almost 7 meters, and because of how the plasterboards are laid out it can't be running along a joint. So, what could be causing this? I'm concerned because it seems to be getting worse. We had a leak last weekend, a small one about 30cm long and maybe 5cm wide, coincidentally along the crack. There was a stain around it too suggesting that it had also happened over the weekend when we were away. I pierced it with a skewer expecting water to dribble out, nothing. No wet patches since despite the worst weather i've seen in ages. Some options i've considered:
Settling/Expansion of the plaster. But there are cracks nowhere else.
Too cold? There is a void of around 30cm (if that) between the plasterboard and underside of the roof.
The plasterboards are heavier than the previous ceiling, and are too much for the batons which are bowing (please God no!)
There is water up there somewhere.
Any suggestions? I'm worried it's going to end up being a big job, that something pretty bad is going to happen. We have spoken to the management committee and a roofer has been called, but they can't get up there until this wind dies down.
I've upload a couple of pictures. Two of the crack which are a bit crap, it's hard to take a picture of it. One of the leak.
//www.diynot.com/network/Designernotdoer/albums/
Cheers everyone!!
So some background first. I live in a top floor flat. 1960s build, metal flat roof that pools terribly when it rains (Im at the highest point and can see the parts of the roof of the "M" shaped building) and when we bought the wreck it had compressed carboard ceiling tiles throughout, most of which were water stained, bowed and even falling down. We took them down and revealed that they were tacked to timber batons (look original and in great condition, nice and dry). Batons are fixed to metal brackets which are fixed to the underside of the flat roof. I wish i'd taken pictures of it, I might have one somewhere.
So, we replaced every ceiling. We had to! Plasterboard screwed to the batons and 'half bonded' like bricks, taped and skimmed then painted. Which makes this all the more confusing. The crack in my ceiling runs the full length of the room, that's almost 7 meters, and because of how the plasterboards are laid out it can't be running along a joint. So, what could be causing this? I'm concerned because it seems to be getting worse. We had a leak last weekend, a small one about 30cm long and maybe 5cm wide, coincidentally along the crack. There was a stain around it too suggesting that it had also happened over the weekend when we were away. I pierced it with a skewer expecting water to dribble out, nothing. No wet patches since despite the worst weather i've seen in ages. Some options i've considered:
Settling/Expansion of the plaster. But there are cracks nowhere else.
Too cold? There is a void of around 30cm (if that) between the plasterboard and underside of the roof.
The plasterboards are heavier than the previous ceiling, and are too much for the batons which are bowing (please God no!)
There is water up there somewhere.
Any suggestions? I'm worried it's going to end up being a big job, that something pretty bad is going to happen. We have spoken to the management committee and a roofer has been called, but they can't get up there until this wind dies down.
I've upload a couple of pictures. Two of the crack which are a bit crap, it's hard to take a picture of it. One of the leak.
//www.diynot.com/network/Designernotdoer/albums/
Cheers everyone!!
