The cracks are thin, vertical and are regularly spaced either 2 feet or 4 feet apart. We have now also developed cracks horizontally at the junction of the mouldings and the wall and the base boards and the wall. This particular room has one wall contiguous with the inside of the house and 3 wall that face the outside. We have no similar cracks in any other walls in our house. We recently had the windows (there are 8 of them) replaced in this room and the cracks seem to have gotten worse after this. Can anyone tell me why this has happened? Could there be a structural problem with the house or is it merely a cosmetic problem?
2007-01-31 12:23:51 · 13 answers · asked by Michael Z 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
get out quick or buy a hard hat
2007-01-31 12:32:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Sounds to me, that it is not a plastered wall, but a drywall wall. The clue is in the 2 foot and 4 foot vertical spacing of the cracks. There was no mention of the age of the house and plastering has gone out of style, at least the old way of doing it. If it is a skim coat over drywall, the installers might have not taped the joints, believing the skim coat would make that unnecessary
Another thought is the replacement of the eight windows. There might have been enough damage that the drywall or plaster had to be replaced and was done wrong.
An explanation of the horizontal crack location is that if I am correct about the drywall being replaced is that the installer did not bother to take off the baseboard and mouldings, just cut the old drywall at that location, then nailed up the new drywall butting it against the old.
2007-01-31 21:25:55 · answer #2 · answered by billy brite 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had this happen or is happening in my home, it started in one room and later all rooms got it. We had plasters come to texture the ceiling and tape and plaster the walls. They told me that are plaster walls from about 1940 had the first type of drywall which was a mixture of horse hair and plaster. They hung them up then lightly plaster over them. The reason why they cracked was because they hung it against the joists. The same thing will happen with new drywall if it is hung wrong. When the house settles a little and the moisture and plaster dry you will get dips and crack were all the wood framing is. That being said it is cosmetic, and it cost me $2500.00 to fix. It is messy but worth every penny! This is the price for them to type over and Spackle the cracks and dips, it is a skim coat with tape where needed.
2007-01-31 20:37:45 · answer #3 · answered by pixie1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you live in the area of the country that has been experiencing drought conditions for the past few summers and now are experiencing much needed precipitation, your situation may be directly related. We've been having that problem here in Texas. What happens is the soil contracts as the soil dries out from drought conditions then expands rapidly when it gets lots of rainfall. It's more cosmetic then anything. If my explanation is on target, then you might minimize the cracking by watering around the perimeter of the house to keep the soil from contracting as much and thus not expanding as much when it rains.
2007-01-31 20:53:22 · answer #4 · answered by Turnhog 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't say how old your home is, it might just be from natural "settling"..unless you've had an earthquake in your area recently? If your house is only a few year old, check with any close neighbors you have and see if they have the same problem happening. Some friends of ours bought a brand new home in a subdivision, and had similar problems because the builder didn't properly have the ground compacted (Or something like that?) before building, and their homes were slowly sinking. If that is the case, check with your builder immediately. I hope this helps..but it isn't that serious for you;)
Good Luck!!
2007-01-31 20:34:23 · answer #5 · answered by kandl722 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Due to the location and the isolation of just the one wall i don't think you have any earthquakes or foundation problems , what you have is called "setting" and it's perfectly normal with plaster . What you have is a simple cosmetic problem .
2007-01-31 20:40:58 · answer #6 · answered by steel_n_fire 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
vertical usually indicate settling (pretty normal). Horizontal can mean foundation is shifting (not supposed to happen). Check for other signs, Crooked basement walls, cracked foundation, leaning walls
2007-01-31 20:35:03 · answer #7 · answered by T C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they are regular it sounds cosmetic.
It could be that the cracks coincide with the joints in the wallboards and are caused by excessive heat or movement caused by work to the windows.
2007-02-01 01:22:16 · answer #8 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some cracks have no impact on a concrete foundation’s structural integrity, while others are indications of problems that need to be fixed before any refinishing work can be done. - See more at: http://www.miconstruguia.com/en/concrete-foundation-problems
2014-03-01 04:19:48 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is the joints where the plasterboard is joined, and wasn't taped. That's why the cracks are uniform. just fill the cracks with plaster and it should be okay.
2007-02-04 12:40:08 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
this could be because the person who put up the plaster board did not stagger the joints properly or used a lot of cut pieces instead of full sheets like your supposed to
2007-01-31 20:40:45 · answer #11 · answered by irishguy200 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋