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cracks in seams of ceiling drywall

17 years ago

There seams of the ceiling's drywall are cracking badly in certain areas of the house. (I assume they are seams because they are where the hall way meets the kitchen, and where the stairwell meets the upstairs hallway.) We tried spackling and painting, but it just recracked a few months later. Any suggestions on a permanent fix?

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Comments (5)

drywall_diy_guy
17 years ago
To get a long lasting repair, you need to score on each side of the seam, lift the old tape up, apply mud, retape, and finish. The new tape will last a while. Perhaps it was not even taped?

A detailed procedure for doing this is given at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Retaping Cracks
texasredhead
17 years ago
What type of foundation are you on? Are you having any problems with doors closing properly. Often cracking drywall seams is a sign of another problem such as a shifting foundation.
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I hope someone can help and possibly explain what happened in my basement. I am in the process of finishing my basement. I installed drywall to the ceiling using plenty of screws AND drywall adhesive to boot! My joint seams were nice and smooth after taping and applying and feathering a few coats of mud. I then sprayed an orange peel texture onto the ceiling. After letting dry for around 24 hours, I primed the ceiling. The following day after priming, I went downstairs to apply ceiling paint, and all of the seams are showing, and now appear noticably uneven??? Everything was nice and smooth when I primed, and now it just looks terrible. Any thoughts on what might have happened, and how I can fix it? My best guess is: The sprayed texture was not all the way dry when primed and caused some moisture/drying issues at the most vulnerable spot, which would be the seams. I was wondering if I can just feather out another layer of drywall mud, re-texture the area affected, and let fully dry, and then prime again.
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You don't need to skim the entire ceiling, but after doing the repair, you will need to match the texture before painting.
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I cant find the thread over at the paint forum, but the person who referred krack-kote stated the importance of knowing that you cant really sand it. Reading the website it states that small ridges and imperfections can be sanded when fully dry but appearently it needs to be applied as smooth as posslble, feathering the edges. Hopefully you'll get a response from someone that has used it, i never have. If it is compatible with joint compound, im wondering if krack-kote embedded in the crack leaving a minor void to be filled with joint compound would work, as it would finish better over the recommende fabric, i would assume.
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tsherman
Original Author
17 years ago
I guess we are on poured concrete, with a basement. Doors seem to close ok, but the floors creak like crazy. There do seem to be several cracks in the ceilings where seams meet. How do you tell the difference between "normal" settling, and shifting foundation?
User
17 years ago
There is also another cause of ceiling cracks----truss shifting. Often during construction, trusses get wet before/during installation. If installed wet, and sheetrock is installed, the trusses can move as they dry and crack the rock.

One way to tell if the cracks are truss rellated or foundation related is by location. Most foundation related cracks start at door/window corners and move up towards the ceiling or at bottom corners and move down towards the floor.

Truss related cracks usually show up at wall/ceiling joints or at openings in the ceiling. In two story/split entry designs, floor joists can sometimes act the same way if wet when installed.

If the crack seem to follow the seasons----showing up during spring or fall when the temps/humidity make the winter to summer/summer to winter transitions---it is a good indicator the cracks are wood movement related.

Fixing them as outlined above by drywall guy more than once is sometimes necessary before the situation is resolved. Now and then, a stressed piece of wood will move regardless and fixing is impossible for the long term.
Lukens7_Q_Com
12 years ago
Can I repair a cracked ceiling by taking a piece of drywall out and placing a thicker drywall peice in place of it and featurer it or is it better not to and do it with the same thickness piece.

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