If the wall is plumb (straight up and down and not tilting inward), you can potentially monitor it to see if the size of the crack changes. If the crack continues to enlarge or the wall is out of plumb, a structural engineer’s review is recommended. Diagonal cracks. There are several common types of diagonal cracks in basement walls.
Ceiling Cracks: Superficial or Super Worrisome?The best thing to do if you find ceiling cracks is to schedule a free inspection with a reliable contractor. The contractor will check the crack to determine its severity and what steps may need to be taken. Many times a crack is nothing to worry about.
Our contractors offer free inspections. My Foundation Repairs and talk with a contractor to learn more about your ceiling cracks. Types of Ceiling Cracks. Fine, Straight Crack:These cracks can be caused when a drywall joint wasn't properly taped or mudded.
The tape may not be sticking to the drywall and so a 'crack' appears where the edge of the tape is. You can either ignore this or apply a small bit of drywall compound to the loose tape and stick it back on. Discolored Crack:If the crack is yellow or brown, it is most likely being caused by a water leak.
Once the leak is repaired, you can re-tape the drywall, making it look like new again. If the drywall is swollen or soft, you will want to replace the section. Small Spiderweb Cracks:A thinned drywall compound is used to make a textured ceiling. However, if the compound was applied too thickly, it can crack in all directions. You can cover the cracks with a layer of thin drywall compound. You can also sand off the old compound and reapply it. Horizontal Crack Between the Ceiling and Wall:This may be caused by something called 'truss uplift'.
The trusses holding up your roof are designed to move a little bit to absorb changes caused by temperature and humidity. The truss may move upward, lifting the ceiling with it. It's not going to cause any structural problems, but if you want to repair it, you will probably want to hire a professional. Ceiling Cracks in Plaster Ceilings:If you live in a home with plaster ceilings and you begin to see cracks, they may be caused by moisture and/or movement. Small cracks can be repaired by applying plaster. If they are bigger and sections of plaster are falling, you will probably have to remove the plaster and install with a drywall section. Large Cracks and a Bowed Ceiling:If your ceiling is sagging, you need to have the problem addressed.
If something heavy is above the ceiling, the ceiling can sag. You will need to move the heavy object.
Other causes may be the removal of a load-bearing wall or damage to the support structure. This type of issue will require an inspection by a or contractor. This is a situation that needs to be quickly, before it gets worse. My name is Sam Rathbun and I wanted to personally thank you for taking the time to visit www.MyFoundationRepairs.com, we take great pride in keeping homeowners up to date and current with information on foundation repair issues with your home or business. We know how important it is to keep your #1 investment in good shape and more importantly safe for you and your family. ECP, Earth Contact Products, is the name of the company I work for,.
We are the nation’s leading manufacturing company of foundation repair products based in the heart of the US.
Do cracks in my walls indicate a structural problem? -RachelMost small cracks in drywall or plaster walls are not serious and are caused by seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood framing in your house over time.
They’re often found at the corners of window and door frames, and can be patched using spackling or joint compound.Larger cracks in your walls, however, can indicate structural or foundation problems. If the cracks in your walls exhibit these characteristics:. The crack has a 3/16” or wider gap.
One side of the wall is higher than the other. Your doors no longer close in the frame.You may have a structural problem and should have your house examined by a foundation specialist.Watch this video to find out more. Further Information.
(video). (video). (video). (article)VIDEO TRANSCRIPTRachel Asks: I’m seeing a lot of small cracks in my walls.
Do I have a structural problem?Danny Lipford: It’s very unlikely that those small, hairline cracks that you see on the walls in your home, maybe above doors and windows, are actual structural problems. It’s usually just a little thermal expansion that can be repaired very easily by just using a little lightweight spackling.But the type of crack you really need to be concerned with are those that are little wider than that, maybe three-sixteenth of an inch or more, and where one side of the crack is not level with the other side of the crack.
That can indicate some active structural movement.Also, if you have any doors in your home that don’t fit the jams quite as well as they used to, another tell-tale sign. Either of those situations you need to call out a foundation specialist and allow them to look very closely at that area of your home. Ok, ranch home facing west, built in 1959. Furnace/laundry room, facing west, front/side of home. Hot water tank, washer and chimney in room.no clothes dryer. 7 yrs ago, plaster walls cracked,peeled and blistered.
Chimney contractor installed new flash and came back 3 times to other repairs until nothing else he could do. Mind you, inside walls plaster cracked,peeled and blistered. The furnace,chimney, water tank and vents wall and entrance wall are two walls effected. Mostly cracks on wall at ceiling, peels and blisters. Few blisters started 4 to 6 inches from ceiling.
After chimney repair, walls replastered. Fixed until 3 years ago, same problem with same walls. Roof repaired,new windows on outside walls.
There A Crack Up In The Ceiling Light
Did not repair walls yet and seems walls are getting worse what in the world causes plaster inside walls at ceiling to crack, peel open and blister???? Now there is a crack in the bathroom wall at ceiling, which hasnt been used in years. Can a pipe in the wall do it? Furnace room hot and cold? Mystery water leak?
Poorly mixed plaster? We dont want to fix the walls until we know the source. Roof guy said not the roof. Chimney guy says not that. Handyman said condensation from pipe in wall,contrater didnt know.HELP!!! A 94 yr old NANA owns and lives in the house and would like it fixed.
What should we do? Hi, Every summer in one corner of my bedroom a knocking sound occurs in the wall cavity and then wakes me earlier and earlier, eventually coinciding with the sun coming up – so for about 3 months the knocking starts at about 5.30am. I can almost pinpoint it. It carries on during the day with less frequency and then as the house cools it starts up again but not quite as bad. I have to move into my guest room for that period of time. This sound then stops after about 3 months despite temperatures still being in the 30’s (Centigrade that is) – heat soaked?
The Kinks Waterloo Sunset
It is a tiled roof and there are no pipes or anything like that in that corner of the bedroom and nowhere near any plumbing. There is movement in that corner in that there has been cracking and then severe cracking, all of which has been fixed (3 times)but cracks have reappeared, not severe though. What could it possibly be??? The house is 6 years old.
I bought it when it was 3 years old and immediately had solar panels put on. 18 months later the knocking sound started. So for 2 summers this noise has been going on. I would be so grateful if anyone has ever heard of anything like this.
Remember, it is a knocking sound, not creaking, metallic, cracking or clanging. Do I have to knock a great big hole in the wall?Trish. The interior door from garage to kitchen won’t latch when it rains a lot. A very thin crack appears from corner of door frame to ceiling (about 9 inches long)on garage side of wall appears. Once things dry out, it disappears and my door latches fine.
I wonder if it could be a serious foundation problem. There are no cracks on the outside of the house walls and none in the foundation.We live in South Central Texas and it’s either feast or famine when it comes to rain. We had an exceedingly wet spring.
Now it is June and things are dry.Linda. My house was built in 1953 and a small one room addition was built in 2009.
We’ve lived here for one year and after a few months of denial; I’m ready to admit we have significant cracks in the wall of our addition. It must’ve been built on a slab (no crawl space).
The cracks are mostly on one wall, they are vertical and horizontal. The widest cracks are in line with a window frame. The corner of the room (shown in the picture) is cracked from the floor to ceiling.
There is one vertical crack on an adjacent wall.Sewer line was replaced just under addition prior to move in. Sewer guy claims he only removed dirt outside of the house, so a guy could get down in the hole. From there they supposedly pushed a 3″ pipe through a 4″ pipe and didn’t excavate dirt from under the house. Wonder if the lack of packing dirt outside the house is causing this?Is my addition falling off? New house built only 10 months old. Exterior outside my house near the bedroom window has a long line crack that goes straight down from the corner of the window then makes a line turning left then goes back down.
I have the same problem outside in my backroom window. Please advice, My carpet in my bdrm window is wet like if I had spilled something and the baseboard on the top edge looks like its unglued with bits of the paint on top of the baseboard separting from the wall. We just had hurricane Irma when I noticed this issue. I just elevated my home due to super storm sandy and onceI was able to get in the house we noticed the bathroom door came off its hinges and that the tub also moved, kitchen counters moved out about 1/4 inch. There are many cracks throughout the house which is over 100 years old but was just totally redone after hurricane Sandy.My home lifter and contractor say its nothing but I had a roofing and siding contractor in and he suggested i get a structural engineer due to the rather large new crack in the kitchen ceiling which he said was not water damage more stress related.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated I just spent alot of money on a foundation and lift to put this house back together.Thanks. My husband and I just bought a historical home built in 1883, it has a beautiful stairwell going to a mid point with a bathroom then right up 5 more stairs to upstairs bedrooms. I noticed a crack in the wall extending from upstairs guest room running horizontally along stair well. The previous owners took down all of the original wallpaper and the walls are made from extremely hard spackle. This crack bulges out and I think it is just the spackle. We had the home inspected before we bought it for any structural issues and they did not find any.
Any advise on fixing this crack?? We bought a 40 year old house that did not eaves troughs. We had eavestroughs installed by a professional two years ago. I feel that because the house did not have these in place that water could have caused damage to the foundation because the concrete foundation in my basement has pulled away slightly and I noticed that it has even sunk! I feel this is causing new cracks in the walls, and moticed that my brand new kitchen countertop has dropped, detaching from the backsplash by half a millimeter. I noticed a crack on the outside of the foundation this year too.
Would all that water over 40 years cause major damage? I’m wondering if the foundation will have to be dug up around and a barrier applied. Thank you for any reply.