Strange cracks in bedroom ceiling :-/

[Missy1]

Hello, whilst Laying in bed this evening I looked up
And noticed some odd shaped cracks on bedroom ceiling (kind of a large square shaped 'Z' going from boiler cupboard to bedroom light... Right above my head. I'm really worried now & may seem dumb (don't know the first thing about things like this!) but I'm scared the ceiling is going to fall through! I think my loft is pretty jam packed, due to spinal problems I can't get up there. I will try and post some pictures and hope someone can help put my mind at rest! Thank you. (just tried adding pics from phone & it's not letting me, will try again from laptop in the morning).

 

[Burnerman]

An overloaded loft will certainly give problems such as this to the ceiling - especially if its the old lath and plaster type.....the timbers up there aren't often strong enough to carry extra load.
Has anyone been up there recently? Its usually movement that causes this - often the cracks have been there for ages without you noticing!
John

 

[Missy1]

Thanks for your John. No one has been up there for a while but I will see if I can ask a relative to go up an have a look. It is an old house and will need to get someone to help clear it out. Checked the other bedroom an that ceiling has cracks too but even worse! I'm a born worrier & scared its going to come through hehe! Leigh

 

[joe-90]

Old ceilings always crack along expansion lines. It's a bit like flexing a biscuit - sooner or later it will crack along the weakest path. Just decorate them away.

 

[Burnerman]

Leigh, worry ye not.....cracks in ceilings don't occur quickly unless there is movement up there - i.e people walking on the rafters, or articles shifted around and so on.
You wont get an avalanche of plaster on your bed.....I wouldn't mind betting that the cracks have actually been there longer than you think!
When the plaster was originally applied, it would have been thickly spread over thin wooden strips called laths, and the plaster forms around these laths and sets solid. So, its free to crack alright, but rarely falls through.
Really old properties used to use plaster mixed with horse hair to give it more substance. I can just imagine going to B&Q and asking for a 'bag of horse hair', please......to be met with blank stares!
If you wish to improve things, a plasterer these days will fix plasterboard sheets over the ceiling, fixing these sheets into the rafters with screws, and then skim over the whole lot with a pink skimming plaster coat called finish.
John

 

[Burnerman]

Old ceilings always crack along expansion lines. It's a bit like flexing a biscuit - sooner or later it will crack along the weakest path. Just decorate them away.

Cheers Joe - I don't like folks to be worried for no reason.
John