What your cracks are trying to tell you.
What the heck is going on with your drywall? Drywall is is used in most new homes these days, and it is also the source of a huge amount of repair calls. It is important to understand what is exactly happening when you see those cracks, so let's try and figure it out!
If you see cracks where the ceiling meets the wall, and it results in a horizontal crack, what is causing that? (Picture below for context- That is in fact right at the ceiling joint. The vertical wall is in blue)
Options:
a) House Settling
b) Bad Installation
c) Gravity
d) Devil Elves with bad intentions
e) Truss Uplift
Answer:
e) Truss Uplift
Well what the heck is that? And I'll bet 9 out of 10 homeowners/cottage owners would have said house settling. Why? Because we don't fundamentally understand our homes. And that's ok, but it makes it very hard to diagnose and fix things so they don't happen again. It's like having an angry teenager....who knows what the actual issue is??
So what is truss uplift? I'm going to post the wiki here just in case you want to geek out on building science, but in essence it means that the bottom of your roof truss is nice and toasty in the insulation, and the top of the truss is in the cold, so when that happens the top of the rafter contracts causing the bottom to lift. The result? Lots of cracking, especially near the ceiling and corner joints.
You can fix these issues by just mudding and repairing, but they will be back. So what do you do? Well the idea is to work with the issue....
Trick 1:
Crown Molding.
Guess what? You aren't going to see that crack anymore if it's hidden. As my grandpappy used to tell me: If you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. Look, truss uplift is going to happen, so instead of beating your head against a wall and fixing it over and over, just let the joint move and hide the cracks with some moulding. Sorted.
Trick 2:
Truss Backing Angle
This one will only work on new installs, or if you decide its bugging you enough to rip down the old drywall and start fresh. This awesome product from Trim-Tex basically decouples the drywall from the trusses so it floats independently and doesn't crack from the movement. Great stuff. It's nice and light to install and can solve the issue before it happens. Honestly, Trim-tex has some pretty spectacular products and great blogs and videos on this, so please go check them out if you want to know more. Just click on the link above. (To be clear, I have no affiliation with Trim-Tex. I just think they have some great stuff.)
Ok. So we have had a look at cracks along your ceiling, oh but wait, let's back up a second. Look, if you see moisture, or a lot of cracking, or sagging etc, it could be a bigger problem. I'm just going through some of the more common problems, but be aware that it could be a larger issue. Be a house detective and look for other signs of failure, and if it looks significant, call a pro.
What if the cracks are in the vertical inside corners of the wall?
No mini quiz needed for this one. This is either good old house shifting, or changes in temperatures or moisture content.
Now houses shift, but I think the theme of this blog is to be curious about why things are happening. If you just saw the crack above in your corner on it's own, you can be pretty sure it's nothing serious. If that crack was accompanied by water damage, sagging, a large gap etc, then you should have a closer look, or call a pro.
Vertical inside corner cracks are unattractive, and, luckily for you, they will often come back even if you repair them. I mean God help you if you own a cottage, especially a three season one. Between the heat/cold swings of leaving a house unconditioned, and the shifting that often comes with 'cottage construction', your drywall will be constantly under attack from cracking.
But there must be a solution! (You exclaim)
Well there is now.
The only reasonable way to deal with those cracks previously was to avoid using drywall at all. Paneling, and creative trim pieces were the easiest solution to those issues, but now there is an innovative new option.
It's magic
At Trim-Tex, they have come out with a product called Magic Corner. I'm not going to lie, this stuff is pretty cool. It allows for movement in the inside corner joints so you will be less likely to have cracking.
See that flexible piece in the centre? That moves instead of the rigid tape and mud that's normally there, so you avoid cracking.
See that's the thing about building science. It's always changing. Innovations come out regularly to deal with common issues, but you might have no idea that a solution exists because there is just so much information out there to sift through.
So do your research, learn how to diagnose and fix some problems, and have a chat with a pro on The Project Garage if you need a creative solution. If that pro can help you by directing you to a new product or solution, then you have saved time, money and possibly your sanity.
So be brave DIYers! I hope this has been a good primer on two of the most common kinds of drywall cracks. If you need to chat about your drywall issues, you can always book a call with one of our drywall pros, or with me. Book here.
And as a final tip: Don't do crack.
© Stephanie Paraskevopulos for The Project Garage 2023
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