DIYbanter - View Single Post - cracking drywall, what normal, not normal

Doug Boulter

wrote on 03 Aug 2006:

The master bedroom has two hairline cracks (both going directly
up to the ceiling), one above the door that won't latch and
another on the opposite wall right above the window.

The upstairs
office has a crack above the window going directly up to the
ceiling

Downstairs there are three places where I have a crack going
from a door/window frame directly up to the ceiling

Notice a pattern here? Cracks going straight up to the ceiling
from a corner of a window or a door suggest that the drywall
hangers ended a sheet along the side of the door or window. That's
improper technique. You always "break" a sheet of drywall at the
middle of the top of a window or a door, so it looks like an upside
down L. Corners of windows and doors are points of high stress,
and if you try to break a sheet like it sounds as if your hangers
did, it will always crack.

Short of tearing down the old drywall and hanging new sheets, there
isn't a good way to fix that. You can tape and fill the cracks
from time to time, but they will likely open up again soon.

and finally
there is a crack in the downstairs bathroom between the wall and
ceiling.

Cracks at wall corners and wall-ceiling joints are often the result
of mesh drywall tape used with standard joint compound. Find the
easiest cracked corner to get to and cut out the joint compound and
tape. Re-tape with paper tape and apply the 3 coats of joint
compound. If that holds, do the other similar cracks the same way.

I read online from one person that seasonal
changes can cause cracks to appear and then disappear.

Well, no. Once the drywall cracks, it's not ever going to
mysteriously heal itself. As the walls move, the cracks may open
and close somewhat, but they'll never disappear.

washer is on the 1st floor and the people who moved out had a
top-loader, I brought in a front loader. I notice that when I am
up in my office upstairs and the washer spins, I can feel a
slight vibration. The washer itself doesn't seem to too vibrate
much but the way the house is built you can feel the slight
vibration.

Many front loaders (especially older ones) are appropriate only for
use on a concrete floor because of the vibration -- much worse than
in a top loader. You say your vibration is "slight," and not
knowing what that means, I can't say whether that's part of your
drywall problem or not.

--
Doug Boulter

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