Ceiling damage is very tough to deal with. Since working with it requires being high-up and since it’s crucial to the safety of living, ceilings are a tough fix. Small damages could be repaired and fixed but large and complex issues might require more than you or your budget could handle. If a ceiling is damaged enough, it can collapse, causing danger to not only finances, but also lives. Here’s five common problems which cause ceiling damage that you should know about.
Age in general
Old things tend to break. That’s the rule in life. No disrespect towards antiques or older items, but when it comes to construction materials, most of them have age and time listed as enemy and a threat. It’s important to inspect your building’s integrity and reliability every 20 years (at least). If your building and home is older than 50 years, most definitely hire a building safety inspector. Most of the time it’s hard to notice ceiling damage, but professionals have the right tools and equipment to do so.
Water, especially leaks
Water kills wood. Since regular timber has an unfortunate tendency to absorb moisture, rot and attract mold, if your neighbours from upstairs have a nasty flood or if something leaks within your ceiling frame, you’re in for a tough time. Of course, most of the time it’s noticeable by staining, paint peeling, etc., but we’d recommend outright building or refurbishing with waterproof wood.
Such wood is processed with fire and is called Shou Sugi Ban. You can watch a short, 7-minute YouTube video about it here. Burnt wood is also much more fire and rot resistant, solving most of safety and durability issues that regular timber might have. If you’re also wondering, a burnt wood ceiling looks much nicer too. The texture is more profound while the colour is enhanced comparing to regular wood.
Constructional errors
This is very rarely the case, but such a situation is possible. Constructional errors or miscalculations made by the architect or the engineer can finally show and your home might lose its capability of carrying the entire weight. As a result, the ceiling could collapse.
Whenever this is noticed, you should seek legal responsibility and compensation from those responsible.
Unnecessarily heavy loads from above
Ceiling damage from heavy loads is slightly far-fetched, but also a possibility nonetheless. If you live below a dance studio or a basketball court, constant bouncing and jumping could damage your ceiling in the long run. However, such neighbours above living areas are very uncommon and thus you shouldn’t worry.
In spite of that, don’t use your ceiling for storing two pianos, your lawnmower and everything else that weighs over a ton. It could cause ceiling damage.
Vibrations and resonance
Living next to an airport or a busy railroad comes to mind. Vibrations and resonance that jets and fast trains create are not ‘healthy’ to any construction. People that live next to airports and those who inhabit houses close to railroads know that once they pass by, paintings fall off the walls, glass and china shatters, etc.
In the long run, damage could harm your ceiling.
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