Looking at the lines on your house (where it's not finished out, needs to be backfilled), you're going to need some retaining walls. I'm not sure why this wasn't addressed during construction. Poured concrete retaining walls could have been done at the same time your basement walls were poured. imo, since your GC (if you have one) didn't figure it out during the build, you should contact a landscape architect/designer who can help the house blend into the land. Congrats on getting power. Hope you enjoy your new home.

I do think from your description that the failure of the drywall ceiling is a result of lack of venting between the top of the insulation material and the underside of the roof. For starters, I would poke around and see if you have pre-formed (often pink, but possibly blue) foam pieces with ridges tucked up under the roof. These are installed between the rafters in cathedral ceilings (which is technically what you have from an insulation point of view, no matter how garrett-y your rooms feel). If not, then that's your problem (or problems) in a nut shell. You can research this on the Owens-Corning website which has lots of instructions about venting cathedral-style roofs. And you can look over these pieces at any Home Depot/Lowes. It will make sense when you see them. You may need to remove, install roof venting and replace the wall/ceiling surfaces. The plaster may be damaged more from aggressive removal of adjacent surfaces than from roof deflection, but one can't tell without studying it. And you may also need additional venting on the kneewalls now that the attic has been converted into living space which generates a good deal of moisture. You can cut down on this by installing proper vent fans for the kitchenette and bathroom areas, but you will still need under-roof ventilation, if not soffit vents, as well. It sounds as though the attic work was done by DIY amateurs. And that brings me to the most serious point that occurred to me: is it possible your attic has been converted into living space on the QT, and without benefit of building inspections, permits, (and unfortunately, increased property taxes) etc.? It may seem like a persnickety issue, but the chief risk in my opinion is that your attic living space - if done sub-rosa -might not have sufficient, legal, means of egress in an emergency. If you never have an emergency, it might not matter, but in the case of fire, inadequate escape routes can lead to the death of occupants and firefighters attempting a rescue. This is a very serious risk, and not one I'd care to undertake; it has the potential for devastating financial, legal, and even criminal consequences. While you noodle on that risk, you can research the catherdral ceiling vent issues on line. If you think structural compromise might be the reason for the plaster cracking, then an old-house friendly structural engineer (and many are not) would be the one you need. Consultations with roofers, insulation contractors and plasterers will not resolve the central issues and may lead to unnecessary, off-point work at this stage. Aside from permitting issues, however it doesn't sound that dire, though ripping and venting and replacing the wall and ceiling surfaces won't be any fun in the heat of the summer. HTH, Molly~

If it looks BS, sounds like BS and smells like you know what, then it is. Old three-coat over lath plaster is put on in layers, the under layers (rough and scratch coats) can look a little rough, and they are supposed to be so for good adhesion. If your other walls are smooth then you have finish coat plaster on top, which is usually smooth as as silk. Its smoothness comes from the final polishing. My finish coat plaster is so smooth that little silicate (sand) particles in my unpainted bedroom ceiling will sparkle if the light hits them right. Now the contractor who did this, is he a plasterer, or something else? Did he use real plaster or joint compound? Is the plaster (if that's what it is) over lath or is a skim coat over board? And what is the nature of the roughness or texture: ripples, waves, orange peel or more than that? Also, though this may not be so important for modern plaster mixtures, older ones at least, need to cure and be primed before they can take any paint. Has anybody taken that into account? And yes, you can sand plaster; a big mess (lots of dust), but it can be done. Usually the problem is the other way around; in some areas of the country it is apparently customary to have a "knock-down" finish to plaster, in those cases the patch is often too smooth compared to the remaining walls. What was the outcome today? Good Luck! Molly~

The glaze does present an adhesion hurdle for the new color. And most of the "paint and primer in one" products do not work as well as a traditional primer. Therefore, I would recommend full priming the surface with a bonding primer and then top coating with a quality finish paint, usually at least two coats. Roll as much of it as you can, with a nap suited for the variations in the texture, probably a 1 inch thick nap. If it's much thinner you may end up fighting with the paint to get in all the crevices.