Cornice on load bearing wall cracked every 600mm or so.

Hi,

I’m really stressing about cracks in my cornice. The cornice is on the load bearing wall. The cracks are 600mm wide or so. They are very consistent cracks, very evenly spaced out. The cornice is now presenting as a wavy cornice. Does anyone know what may be causing this? My dad has put a support wall up until we know what is going on. When the ceiling near the cracked cornice is pushed up with some force it doesn’t move. It appears the ceiling is solid as ever. But something must be causing these cracks. Any ideas guys? I’ve already emailed some builders and awaiting a call back on Monday.

post some photos
rephrase your description, if cracks were 600mm wide you could climb through them

It is most likely your house has a truss roof and the wall with damaged cornice is internal non load bearing wall. If you have slab heave or edge subsidence then bottom chords of trusses are pressing on the cornice. I have seen this many times however you have not provided sufficient details. If you want right answers and what to do about it you should invest in proper inspection and a report

Sorry I’m very new to this, as you can probably tell haha, I meant the cracks appear every 600mm.

Thank you. I have just arranged a structural engineer to inspect and report.

i think building-expert is on the money with the trusses being the issue
what is the roof story, colourbond, tiles, solar panels
is this a new build or been reroofed

This sounds like a slab heave issue to begin with, roof trusses providing load on a non-load bearing wall is just a consequence.

Yes most likely but if one side of the house has subsided it will have same effect.