"Trying to get cracks in ceiling repaired and from photos the y say it will happen again unless I install expansion joints."

OMG! P l e a s e,not that guy again! Have you not paid attention when I warned folks about the y say and I heard? Two of the biggest liars in the country.

I've never seen expansion joints in drywall ceiling. Just a wag but I'd say joints were never taped or were improperly taped. If it were mine,I'd make sure foundation isn't shifting or correct it if it is shifting. An easy hack is caulk that remains' flexiable when dry. Most preferiable would be sanding down a few inches to each side of crack,scratch vee groove into crack. At that point,if there's no sign of crumbling,re-tape joint. If texture can't be matched,"crowfoot" texture intire ceiling. Remember,if either of those guys show up with advice while you are working on this,hit them in the kisser with the crow's foot and that's the last you will see of them for a while.

Blondelle, if memory serves me correctly, didnt you just have a bunch of work done on a chiminey? Is it possible that something then caused the cracks, since you didnt notice any when you painted?? I would imagine when they did all that major work, they may have knocked something off kilter with the house. It may need to just be patched, but, I would hire a very reputable general contractor to take a look at it, and tell you what you can do to fix it. Always something to do when you own a house. Last week, I had to have a flashing repaired, and then fix the damage it did in a storage closet. This week, I had to have the plumber come because, I have a toilet that wont flush, but, drains, and vents and toilet are clear, and toilet will flush just fine, if removed from the floor and set into the shower. 2nd plumber to look at it. Both have given up, and said to try another toilet. Then today, I had to have the heating guy come to restart the heat part of my heat pump, so I didnt freeze to death. It comes in 3s, so hoping that is my share of the 3s for the year.

"who is IT.?"

IT ???,,,,,Oh boy,IT is sneeky. Best anyone can figure,IT is kin to Mr Heard, never show's them selves and only operate's behind a key board or through They Said or I Heard. To date, IT's gender,age,profession nor anything else is known. Mr Heard and Mr Said can be found any day handing out advice at the local coffee shop. This much I know for certain from my contracting days. Never tell a contractor what any of the afore mentioned say's about projects the contractor is undertaking. For that matter,don't mention Klem either. Contractors hate that stuff. So that we understand one another,I'm not saying you shouldn't ask advice no take advice,it can come in real handy. What I am saying is don't bring up the advice to other folks. Don't believe me? Here's how you can test it. Go in tonight and cheerful tell you wife how the lady next door or at the office said your wife can improve her cooking or love making. Scared of your wife? Next time you are facing a judge,qoute the law according "IT".

I'll never again be able to get a good night's rest at the grand old 1800s bed and breakfast mansions unless I sleep under the bed.

Plaster repair techniques are different from drywall repair.

OP: Which is it? Plaster or drywall?

Was the plaster removed before the sheetrock went up?

blondelle-

Since it's sheetrock, I'd say that looks like an improperly done joint between sheetrock edges. That kind of linear crack typically occurs when tape isn't used. The only fix is to re-do the joint properly with tape. If you simply fill the crack in with spackling, it will look fine for a while and then the crack will reappear.

The idea of some kind of expansion joints is baloney and sounds like what you would hear from someone who doesn't know what he is doing....

Not necessairly. There may have been a slight movement when they fixed the roof, or it could even be something caused by the very different type of weather we have had all over the US this summer. I would tape it, mud it, (and it may take 3 coats of mud, sanding between coats, once each coat has dried), and then primer it and repaint the ceiling.

It could be a couple of factors or a combination. Regardless of whatever is causing it, if the ceiling is sheetrock, the fix is going to be the same: retaping and refinishing. If it is something structurally significant, it could reappear, and then we can have another discussion about it :-)