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Ceiling collapse...
whatsername235
Posts: 360 Forum Member
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Hi, I wondered if anyone has any experience of a ceiling collapse. Basically we live in a flat and the downstairs neighbours have had a bit of a collapse of their ceiling underneath one of our bedrooms. The plaster has come down in big chunks and based on timing etc, it will probably take a while contacting landlords/insurance companies etc.
It does seem to be largely cosmetic and it's just a thick layer of plaster that seems to be everywhere. Just curious as to whether or not this is likely to have any safety implications, would it be safe to sleep in the room above the collapse etc.
I know this might sound like a daft 'how are we meant to know' question but hopefully someone has an idea if this is anything to worry about!
It does seem to be largely cosmetic and it's just a thick layer of plaster that seems to be everywhere. Just curious as to whether or not this is likely to have any safety implications, would it be safe to sleep in the room above the collapse etc.
I know this might sound like a daft 'how are we meant to know' question but hopefully someone has an idea if this is anything to worry about!
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Unfortunately, this too will take a bit of time to determine. No obvious cause that we can see. Since it wasn't noticed til tonight, we can't really get anyone out to look at it and it's now a case of wondering if we need to clear the room or not!
It's not your problem.Unless they can prove you had an elephant in the room.
Which room, The room that the ceiling has collapsed on or the bedroom.
Maybe some dodgy DIY that hasn't got a building warrant?
Well the ceiling is technically the floor of one of our rooms so we're concerned it could get worse and be a safety hazard, don't really fancy falling through in the middle of the night and waking up in their flat :eek:
Thank you, we kinda hoped that might be the case.
My arse is quite big but wouldn't describe myself as an elephant
Why are you worried about your neighbours ceiling. Not a problem for you.
Do you have the same landlord?
I'm concerned in case it gets worse and the room above the collapse is unsafe. I know it's unlikely but we obviously don't want someone getting injured if the whole thing caves in.
Nah, different landlords and thankfully it seems we're not to blame just purely concerned from a safety point of view.
Jump up and down on your floor, if there is any movement, the floor may be unsafe.
Have you ever watched Cowboy Builders. If the other tenants landlord has used someone like this it could be unsafe.
Is this a house that's been converted to flats?
To be honest, it's an old tenement flat, we're used to small cracks as the building's pretty old but never a full blown plaster attack on their bedroom! I doubt it's even been done recently to be perfectly honest, no water could have gotten in and caused it so we're guessing it's just due to the age of the plaster. Hoping that as well!
The only way to find out is to get a structural survey, that's up to your landlord though.
Hope everything is OK.
However in very old buildings the plaster can become brittle and shrink causing parts to break off leading to a partial collapese. When this happens the joists and any boarding should be examined for signs of rot and if sound (which is usully the case) the remainder of the ceiling should be removed and replaced. It is very likely that the ceilings in the other rooms are in a similar condition and will fail within a few years so it is worth budgeting to get them replaced too.
It's quite common in pre WWI buildings.
No, but the plaster and lathe is attached to the underside of timber joists that ARE holding the floorboards up. If some of the joists are starting to fail, the bending down or twisting could dislodge some of the ceiling.
OP, was it totally dry, no signs of water? Any signs of rot in the joists, prod them with a screwdriver? No unusual furniture in your bedroom is there? Massive weighted filing cabinets or something that could overload the floor?
No water at all, it was totally dry. The buildings are pretty old and there's always something going on to fix something around here! No furniture that's particularly heavy, the heaviest thing in the room is on the other side as well. Thinking now it's nothing for us to worry about but my landlord's gonna be contacting the building factor to be on the safe side, thanks to all who replied!