How to fix uneven walls?

Milo1

Hi 

The walls are uneven in most of my house.

See attached examples of two walls and two photos for each wall across the length of the wall in two different spots which I have measured with tape measure. The walls seem to be narrow towards the top and bottom ends and then bulge out towards the middle while one wall is broader at the ends and narrower in the middle as can be seen in the difference in the measurements. 

Also the difference is in centimetres not millimetres and is clearly visible when each wall is viewed from top towards bottom. See last photo as an example. See another photo of another wall as an example when compared to the side of my fridge. The fridge is straight - the wall isn't.

Also there is visible plastering issues across the ceiling wall junctions in the entire house with the junctions being wavy. And there are constant random noises from the walls and ceilings.

I will be engaging a registered building inspector to get it all checked but any input from experts here is much appreciated.

Thanks 🙏 

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Danica2. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about uneven walls.

From what you’ve shown, it looks like the differences you’re measuring are fairly minor. For example, in your second set of images, the 128 mm vs 126 mm difference is only 2 mm across the full wall height. In plastered walls, especially with corner beads and manual finishing, small variations like this are very common. It’s part of the nature of plastering by hand. In fact, a 2mm difference is actually very good. At a 10mm difference, you would be starting to question how well the wall was plastered. 

The real question is whether the bulges or waves are visually noticeable to the naked eye. If someone walking into the room can clearly see the wall bowing or the ceiling junctions looking wavy, then that’s a cosmetic finish issue you could discuss with your builder. But from a structural standpoint, the differences you’ve measured are well within typical tolerances.

Ultimately, it comes down to fit and finish rather than safety or structural integrity. Engaging a registered building inspector, as you plan to, is a good step. They can confirm whether anything is outside allowable tolerances. But from what your photos and measurements show, there’s no indication of a serious problem with the walls themselves.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell