I have a 3 year old house that has a problem with expansion/contraction in
the winter. The house was built in the summer and consequently during the
winter I have a couple of doorways that go out of square and a few cracks
appear. Then when it warms up again that doorways go back to normal and the
cracks close up. (This is all on the inside).

I feel I should mention that the house is about ~80ft long with a ~35ft
steel I-beam supporting the back half of the roof. The beam was glued in
place.

I am not sure if the beam contracting is the problem or not. Any ideas
about what is causing it, and how to fix it?

thanks

John Smith wrote:
I have a 3 year old house that has a problem with expansion/contraction in
the winter. The house was built in the summer and consequently during the
winter I have a couple of doorways that go out of square and a few cracks
appear. Then when it warms up again that doorways go back to normal and the
cracks close up. (This is all on the inside).

I feel I should mention that the house is about ~80ft long with a ~35ft
steel I-beam supporting the back half of the roof. The beam was glued in
place.

I am not sure if the beam contracting is the problem or not. Any ideas
about what is causing it, and how to fix it?

thanks


Don't think your problem is thermal expansion and
contraction. Doors moving around usually indicate
supports (foundation) moving around. If your
house is built on clay, the clay will expand and
contract with moisture content and the movement
will likely be uneven from end to end and from
side to side under your house.

The possible causes for this recurring problem are too complex to find
at a distance.
If it were my house, I'd be concerned about damage caused by the
movement.
You might find a forensic architect or engineer to examine the problem
and suggest a fix.
TB