# Cracking Ceilings



## force8 (May 9, 2010)

We're doing a repair job on a house in which the builders went belly-up and walked. :whistling when we started the job 10 days ago, one room had 2 cracks in the ceiling. A few days ago, with warmer temperatures, 3 more appeared in that room and several in other rooms. There was no mud between the gaps in the boards on the 2 cracks we repaired, only tape and texture and the drywall is attached across ceiling joists spaced 21", so there is plenty of drywall edges attached to air rather than wood.  

This isn't something I've run into before, and I'm wondering what would be the best method of handling. Hot mud between the gaps or something more flexible before we mud, tape and texture? 

Planning on going up into the attic in the early am, to have a look-see at the structure but need to send estimate to owner asap and that estimate will not include tearing the whole thing down and re-doing it. Owners just want to get the thing finished as reasonably as possible so they can sell it.


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## cazna (Mar 28, 2010)

force8 said:


> We're doing a repair job on a house in which the builders went belly-up and walked. :whistling when we started the job 10 days ago, one room had 2 cracks in the ceiling. A few days ago, with warmer temperatures, 3 more appeared in that room and several in other rooms. There was no mud between the gaps in the boards on the 2 cracks we repaired, only tape and texture and the drywall is attached across ceiling joists spaced 21", so there is plenty of drywall edges attached to air rather than wood.
> 
> This isn't something I've run into before, and I'm wondering what would be the best method of handling. Hot mud between the gaps or something more flexible before we mud, tape and texture?
> 
> Planning on going up into the attic in the early am, to have a look-see at the structure but need to send estimate to owner asap and that estimate will not include tearing the whole thing down and re-doing it. Owners just want to get the thing finished as reasonably as possible so they can sell it.


 
You need to get some short peices of wire and push them through the cracks so they poke up in the ceiling space so when your up there you can find the correct cracked joins.
They need to be back blocked, which is using cut peices of wallboard and coving adheisive or easy sand etc to glue the cut peices to the back of the join that has cracked,make the peices as big as that will fit at least 400mmwide so you have 200mm either side of the join and as long as will fit, cover as much of the back of the cracked join as you can and use heaps of plaster, this will lock the to boards together and they wont move any more, then you can use paper tape or fibafuse to repair the crack, it wont come back again.
Hopefully the building was just drying out and moved a little and wont crack some where else on you.
I have struck ceiling cracking when the builders use timber battens instead of steel, when they are still a bit damp, they rush in and line it, and i then plaster it, then a few months later the battens finish drying, twist and cracks for me to fix.
Back blocking has worked every time so far for me, no need to pull out the ceiling and start again. Hope this works for you.


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## force8 (May 9, 2010)

i like that idea. it's a little less drastic than my plan b, which was to scab on nailers and screw the exiting boards. any idea how long it would take to squeeze up there (providing we find room enough) and do a 7.6 m long crack, which has joists cutting between?


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## force8 (May 9, 2010)

p.s. it's not a matter of drying joists. the place was built in 06 and the builder didn't go belly-up for no reason. windows were installed upside-down and leak like a sieve, walls have lovely waves in them, some large holes were just taped over, paint consisted of a pattern of bare texture, primer or paint in any particular order on the same wall or ceiling, and that was the "finished" work!  who knows what lurks overhead :batman:


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## wnybassman (May 9, 2008)

I'd be worried about what was done behind all the drywall (framing, electric,plumbing, etc.) if the finished product looks that bad. Mike Holmes would gut it! LOL!!


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## drywall guy158 (Dec 31, 2009)

just like mike holmes would say "fix it...fix it....fix it" l.o.l. !!


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## force8 (May 9, 2010)

I have no doubt what the framing looks like  as for the plumbing, we already went through and handled all those leaks. too bad i don't have customers who pay like mike's. if i did, i'd start with the :tank: and finish with the :nuke: and then i'd go thru this entire development of McMansions and do the same :thumbup:


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