Can anyone tell me what causes these “lines” in drywall? They seem to be following the drywall joints and I suspect some kind of joint failure. I don’t think they’re settling cracks since those usually run diagonally from door or window corners.
We’re getting ready to repaint and I would like to fix this so it stays fixed.
Any ideas will be appreciated.
Replies
Dave,
You need a scale reference in the pics. No way to tell how big they are.
Jon
the first one looks like it is around a opening, like a window or door. if it is it looks to me like the drywall was hung in line with one edge of the opening insted of cutting the opening out of the sheet. this can cause a stress crack to fallow the drywall from the corner of the opening up to the upper joint. no idea what caused the failure in the long joint, those are usually pretty strong.
james
What's the object in the lower left of #0326, a countertop? Appears to me that the crack is also displaced or puckered in some way. Could there have been some kind of movement of the countertop (or whatever it is) that caused a shearing force along that corner?
326 looks like there was something behind the rock and someone tried to force the rock tight against the studs. Like maybe an electrical box that caught the edge of the rock. That's probably not the reason here cuz I don't see an outlet...but looks like something wasn't flush and rather than clear the obstruction the rock was forced into place. Maybe not by the original hangers, but maybe the trim guy when he nailed on the base.Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Thanks for the input - I think maybe we're onto something. Here are two more pics taken from a distance to give a better sense of dimension.
325 is a closeup of 329. The wall is the north wall of the family room & entry (vaulted ceiling) and the kitchen/eating area is on the other side of the wall. The ceiling in the kitchen/eating area is a standard 8' ceiling. The 'bubble' runs 3' from the corner to the vaulted ceiling. The drywall is flush on either side of the 'bubble' but the seam has bubbled out ~1/4" at the corner and less at the ceiling.
326 is a closeup of 330. This is the same wall as before, but this shows the opening to the dining room. The picture doesn't show it all, but this 'bubble' runs straight up ~2', then turns left and runs to the metal corner bead, then runs up to the beam along the edge of the corner bead. Again, the drywall is flush on each side and the 'bubble' protrudes between 1/4" to almost nothing.
There are a couple of other area with similar but far less noticable problems. As far as I know, there's nothing in the walls that would cause this problem. I've also noticed that the problems are in the upper half of the walls. The lower halves seem fine.
The house is a basic California tract house (selling price 5X it's real value - lol) built in 1979. We've owned it since late '79 and it's survived the usual number of California earthquakes - including Loma Preita in '89 that was centered about 30 miles from here.
Although I'll certainly defer to the more experienced members, it sure looks to me like you had some shifting as opposed to just the usual drying lumber, etc sort of cracks. That being the case, unless you have reason to believe it's an ongoing problem (and a future "seismic disturbance") you oughta be safe with patching the area and repainting...
Looks like the header in the doorway wasn't properly affixed to the studs. It either dropped or shifted slightly, and took the drywall with it. I don't think patching will be a permanent answer...you probably need to take off some drywall and secure the header.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Dave: I'm not a DW expert - but try this for an explanation: Whoever rocked the house took the easy way out & ran a joint straight up from the corner of the door opening to the ceiling. Now, 25 yrs later, and at least two earthquakes, the dimensions of the opening have changed, the wall got racked and there was a joint that runs floor to ceiling along that side of the door opening. That's where the structure was weakest during the tremblor, and where the building had relative motion between sections of the wall. Betcha that your WB was hung vertically, rather than horizontally. Now, had the DW wrapped the corner and acted like a skin around the corner, it would have strengthened the wall, and no crack - or else a miserbly erratic, wandering crack from corner to wherever. I'll also betcha that were you to cut a cross section out of the "Bubble," you would find that the paper in the joint separated from the underlying WB, and formed that long, skinny bubble. Remember the failure of the British Comet aircraft - a crach formed at the corner of a square window that led to total failure of the fuselage. Same principle, but different materials.
Don Reinhard, half-baked engineerThe GlassMasterworks - If it scratches, I etch it!
Someone once said that the measure of someone's intelligence is related to how closely they agree with you. You are all obviously highly intelligent folks!!! I suspected a drywall problem, but couldn't decide what it might be. As a former practicing professional engineer and present general contractor, I wasn't buying the settling theory - those don't generally follow the drywall joints. Besides, I've spent enough time under this joint to know that the structure is OK.
Upon closer inspection, I think some of the drywall was hung vertically and they put joints in the corners.
I guess I'll rip out sections of the rock and 'bridge' the bad spots with new stuff. Whoopee!!! I get to practice my skills at matching the old texture - lol
Thanks to one and all of you. I owe you a cold one, someday. If anyone is near San Jose, CA and is good at matching texture, come on over.............I'll buy.- lol
yup...shtty hang job..shoulda been a cut out, not a follow..one of the first rules of drywall install.
Easy fix tho'..see it's easy cuz it's you and your house..hard means it's me and your house..lol
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
No job is ever too difficult for the person who isn't doing it. - lol
It really won't be that bad. I do lots of drywall work already. My problem is always getting a good match with the old texture. And now, SWMBO wants the popcorn ceilings scraped off, too.
what the hell, make all the mess at once..saves on Swiffers.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
don't mention popcorn cielings.
spent the last day and half scraping an entire house....with a lazy idiot "helper" who couldn't be left alone to do it...
why do we hire these people?
sorry for the rant
"why do we hire?"..because we believe in our hearts and mind, it's the way to go...help an Idiot..he needs the work..I don't wanna do it...whatever, we do..and we always pay more in the end..
your "rant" sounds too much like a disgruntled HO..LOL
Good help , don't come easy.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
nah, we hired this dope cause he's the boss's kid's friend.
I find the hardest part of any job in my home is finding the time to do it.
Yep, as others have said, 0329 looks like a seam problem all the way to the ceiling. Just peeling back along the break and a little scraping will tell you quickly whether there's a seam.
Is that just a shadow, or another scrap of drywall immediately to the right of the crack?
The only "trick" I've come across for matching texture is to leave a good texturing primer upside down for a day before you start using it. Not news to any remodeler. May even be on the bucket.
If it turns out that there is a framing problem, I'd like to know what you find. Lots of ways to do it wrong, and I'm sure I haven't seen all of them yet.
I'm planning an expedition under the house sometime soon just to make sure there aren't any structural problems. If I find anything, I'll post pics.
I'm not really looking forward to that, though. I'm convinced that the house has settled over the last 25 yrs. I ran phone lines and stereo speaker wires shortly after we moved in and had no problems getting past the plumbing and heating ducts. Over the years though, it's been more difficult to get under that stuff and I believe it's due to settling. SWMBO says that the increase in my jeans waist size is the real problem, but what does she know, anyway!! She's just a gurl, right?? - lol
Next to that opening, there is going to be a lot of point load where the header meets the wall. You may have some settling or sagging. What is that corner resting on down below?
I have a different opinion then everyone else. From the pics it looks like the header shrunk. This is common in new construction, framing lumber has up to 19% moisture allowed. If it is new construction ( 1 year old or less ) then remove tape and retape.
mike