"Banty" wrote in message
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In article ,
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wrote in message
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Hi,

We're in a 45 year old raised ranch that we moved into last October.
It's now Feburary. A few weeks ago a crack started appearing in the
living room/dining area ceiling. It's very narrow (almost hairline)
and runs diagonaly out from the outside of a corner (picture an "L"
with the crack runing down and left from the lower-left corner of the
letter "L"). It's a couple feet long.

We recently had a bunch o' snow (we're near Syracuse, NY) but I don't
think that's it as I noticed the cracks before the snow hit.

There are also a couple of shorter but similar cracks in walls that
angle away from interior doorways -- one near the ceiling crack and
the other in another doorway at the other end of the house.

So, I'm trying to figure out if this is something I should panic about
(roof/beams collapsing) or if it's just "old-houses-do-that-besides-
it's-cold-so-wood-changes-shape" stuff. And what can/should be done.

Appreciate any help/knowledge/tips (and I hope I'm in the right group
for this) and let me know if I need to post more info.

Is your roof trusses, or stick framed? Trusses change shape with different
temps and snow load, sometimes, and since the ceiling is attached to them,
but the walls aren't, sometimes seasonal cracks open up down below,
especially along the spine of the house. This is usually at the
wall-ceiling
line (aka 'truss lift'), but if that joint is stronger than a nearby joint
like near the top of a doorway, it can show up there, too. As long as you
don't get any flaking or bubbling paint or other moisture indications, I
wouldn't lose sleep, just keep track of what the cracks do as the weather
changes, and check back here for an appropriate solution.


I agree on the not losing sleep (haven't seen a house fall down in a long
time -
we'll not talk about parking garages under load.. but - why would these
be
new cracks?

This is OP's first winter in the house. I suspect previous owner patched and
painted before sale, or the cracks were so hairline as to not be noticable
when he bought the place. This is also the first 'real' winter in several
years, in much of the country.

aem sends...