Hi there… I’ll attach some pics from our kitchen. I have a house in Kingston, ON – built in 1974 and we bought it in 2004. It had similar cracking around in the same spot in the kitchen when we bought it and at the time, we just used some flexble caulking to fill and seal the crack and just painted over it. Looked OK – not great, but acceptable. The cracking has come back however, as wide or wider than ever. Seems to be isolated to this one wall and just open up again over the past few months. I’m hoping someone has some thoughts as to why they think it might be cracking, and/or some ideas on how to repair it. I’ll add that we have done some renos to the house – incl. new roof shingles (2006), topping up insulation (2007), and the bathroom was also gutted and rebuilt (located on backside of this wall – also 2007)… Cheers…
Replies
Is the roof stick framed or trusses?
Trusses...
O.K. - Is it near the center of the house, or near an outside wall?Does the size of the crack change with changes in the weather?
In broadest generality, whenever a politician makes a decision - right or wrong, good or bad, corrupt or honorable - He makes enemies. [Ferdinand Lundberg, Politicians and Other Scoundrels]
Located at the center of the house - the bump-out is where the chimney flue goes up. The wall is parallel to the trusses. As for changing sizes with the weather, not sure. We rent the house now and haven't lived there for 2 years, and didn't really notice it cracking for the 2-3 years we were there (although it's not in your site line so probably wouldn't notice right away). The pics are from our tenant.
Sounds to me like it might be truss uplift. I did a thread about it here:http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=24607.1Unfortunately the links in the post no longer work. But here's a current link to a PDF file about it that might help you understand what appears to be going on:http://www.sbcindustry.com/images/publication_images/ttb%20partition%20separation.pdf
Alcohol and calculus don't mix. Never drink and derive.
2 words... Crown Molding (or is that one word?). Anyway, I'm guessing whatever the cause, will require ripping stuff open to fix it. Thus, I would cover it with crown molding and call it fixed.
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools - BuildersTools.net
See my work - TedsCarpentry.com
Just one note about crown molding - If you put it up there it has to be attached to the ceiling only. Otherwise if the trusses move it will leave a gap at the top of the crown.
Nearly everyone will lie to you given the right circumstances. [Bill Clinton]
Good point. Also, make sure to paint the walls, and pre-paint the crown, before installing it.~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools - BuildersTools.netSee my work - TedsCarpentry.com
I can think of several other things this might be.First I'd check to see if the ceilin' is supported by the dw on the wall. The dw on the ceilin could have been cut short and double-taped.That chimney looks to be plaster over masonry. Could be somethin' goin' on with the vapor barrier (He's in Canada).If it is truss uplift, you want to remove the fasteners at least a foot from the wall and let the wall support the ceilin' and the truss do it's thing.He didn't say how old the place is - maybe that ceilin' was replaced at some time and none is supported by that wall.
Hard work is damn near as overrated as monogamy.
- Huey Long
He said it was built in 1974.
My bet is truss uplift, of course I have never seen that, but that looks like what I have been told.
That doesnt look like the truss uplift I've seen.
I lived in a house that had severe (about 3/8" inch uplift every winter. I couldn't paint the house in the winter because I couldn't understand where the corner was. The paper actually wa rounded like a cove.
I dropped a beaded molding 6" down to drop the ceiling. It made it easier to paint.
I personally have never seen truss uplift, so I will defer to your experience!
1974 = no screws, no glue,
maybe a faulty insulation job, maybe a lot of things.Or like I said: maybe a hack repair at some point.
Hard work is damn near as overrated as monogamy.
- Huey Long
I have a brother-in-law who lived in an area with expansive soil. For some reason, his fireplace moved diferently than the rest of the house. He was constantly patching the same crack. He had another like that in another part of the house with no real explanation, but would show up at the same time.