Mike Dobony wrote:
"Laurie" wrote:

snipped intro

Q1 - there are some cracks over the doorways: must that drywall be
cut out and replaced or is there anything effective that will work
on approx 8" long 1/8 - 1/16" crack between the doorframe and crown
molding? I used some flexible rubbery like spray coating several
years ago to finish cracks along a window on a P&B house I sold, but
I never saw if it held or not...


I am assuming these cracks are in the corners of the door opening and
not in the middle. If this is the case the drywall was hung
improperly and the hangers put a butt joint at or very close to the
corner instead of breaking in the middle or preferrably away from the
door (a full sheet across the opening with no joint near or over the
door). If this is the case the rubbery coating you used might work. The
preferred method is to put a single sheet of drywall all the way
across the door opening and up to at least the next stud away from
the door.

I didn't know that - in the past it's all been corner cracks at windows and
doors, but this one goes right up the middle. It looks like it was a decent
sized one that was plastered over when they smoothed the wall to wallpaper -
and the top layer of the new plaster pulled away - but it doesn't go all the
way through now. I'll try it the easy way and if it doesn't hold pay someone
to do it right. :-)

Q2 - there are two corners where there is about 1/8" separation
between the two walls the entire height of the wall. How would I
best deal with that?


This reinforces the inproper hanging, or in this case, improper
mudding of the corner. Either the mud was put on too thick or there
is no joint paper in the corner. Sand it down to the paper and then
redo it the correct way. They now have inside corner molding. This
might not be a bad idea for this repair.

This I can do! As long as the house really is done shifting like the SE
says, it ought to hold.

Q2 - Can I just retexture over the smooth plaster spread over the
textured drywall or is there some reason a 3rd layer could be a
problem? I intend to paint whenever we're done with this mess.


Unless you are using texturing paint you need to use green or moisture
resistant dry wall. Either way, a 3rd layer does not sound too good,
but I have no experince in this area. I hang for a living right now
and have done standard mudding in the past.

I'll look into texturing paint. Thanks so much for your advice and education
Mike!

Laurie