jonathanbowden wrote:
Hello,
I am a new homeowner, and would love any suggestions / advice / expertise
from those with more experience at this.

I have a crack in my first floor ceiling, directly underneath the
bathroom on the second floor, and running parallel with the front of the
bathtub.

the crack is not touching any walls.

it has been there since i first moved into the house almost a year ago,
but has grown in the last year. when i first moved in, the crack was
probably 3 inches long, and now it is 13 inches, and you can see where it
will grow more.

i replaced one of the original tub hardware pieces (not the main bottom
drain, but instead the middle silver piece on the front wall of the tub)
a few months ago, as i believe it was the original piece, and the rubber
gasket had rotted out. i thought that this bad piece may have allowed
water to leak through, thus affecting the drywall underneath, and then
causing a crack on the first floor ceiling. but since replacing this, the
crack has only grown more.

my only other thought is that the crack may be from settling, but the
house is 15 years old, and since the crack is directly under the upstairs
bathroom, i'm not really sure.

any help with this is much appreciated!

Check the ceiling with a 4' straightedge. What do you see?

Push up hard on the ceiling around the crack. Does the drywall appear to
be tight to the joist?

Is there any bounce to the bathroom floor? If tiled, any cracks? Is the
floor level?

Does the crack change at all when you fill the tub?

Is this a standard tub, or a soaker or whirlpool tub which holds
considerably more water?

Can you put photos on flickr or photobucket?