# Cracks appearing between walls, in drywall



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

I moved in to my new house 3 years ago. Built with all the inspections of a strict building department.
Slowly over the 3 years cracks have been appearing in the drywall in the corner seams. Some on ceiling, most on walls. All are at the corner seam.
I just bought some paintable caulk (acrylic latex)and was about to fill them. But before I do I wonder what is going on? I don't want to hide a bigger problem.
I will admit to keeping the house overly dry with woodstove. And I know there is a minor amount of natural settling in a new home from drying wood- I hear about 1/4" per floor. Maybe all new homes get this?
Any ideas? Thanks!


----------



## T-Bone 369 (Jan 18, 2007)

I assume this was a new build home when you moved in. There is a period of time after a new home is build when the lumber becomes acclimatize - usually this happens pretty quickly (<1 year) depending on the moisture content of the wood. Beyond this there are several things to look for. Look in the attic and check for obvious things first - are the roof and eve vents blocked? Do you see any signs of water penetration in the roof? Check the vents from the plumbing and from exaust fans and make sure they do not terminate in the attic but penetrate the shell. Same with the dryer vent. Is there enough insulation in the attic? If you do not find anything there see if you can uncover the bottom of one of the trusses where is passes over an interior wall. It should not be nailed into the wall but have a notched truss fastenter ( http://www.uspconnectors.com/pdf-full-line-2010/176.pdf for example). These are designed to allow some truss movement without pulling the wall along with it. Go into the basement/crawl space and check for moisture (another good place to look for a dryer hose improperly vented). Check where any beams connect with the flooring system. They should be tight to the joists. You can adjust the screw on jack posts if they need it or shim the conection between the joist and the beam. Inspect the foundation for defects and cracking. Is there an area where there is a lot of water sitting against the foundation? Check the gutters/downspouts. Check the perimiter tile if you can. Is the ground sloped away from the foundation (often with new construction the overdig will settle over the first couple of years). Do a careful walkthrough in the house. Do you notice any movement in the floor? When you slam the doors do the walls shake? Are you seeing nail pops in the sheetrock? 

I know how frustrating it can be to figure out what is happening. Start with the simple things and go from there. Good luck.


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Building codes address safety issues. They do not address quality/appearance issues.


----------



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

Alright thank you. It does seem most of what you pointed out are overall fine.
Yes it was a new build when I moved in.
Three floors, the entire bottom is a concrete slab and 10' solid concrete walls., wood framed two floor home above. All cracks are in the wood frame. No noticeable cracking in concrete, aside from where slab cracked slightly less than 6 months after pouring. I prepped the gravel below and... it was my first time on a compactor.

There were a few small drywall cracks within the first year, there are more now.

The house is built on a small raised area with slope going away on all sides, there are drains all around as per code but they were redundant. 
It is vaulted ceilings so no trusses or attic, and the roof is sprayfoamed (walls being batt). There is no noticeable moisture issues, of course the spray foam would hide anything as it doesn't let water through.
About a year after construction completion a handful of drywall nails 'raised' a bit but did not break through the paint, I figured normal.
Yeah floors seem fine besides the fact the air is dry and the pine does shrink/crack some over winter but seems to be fine come spring.


----------



## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

I tell my new home customers that if you want to heat with wood or coal, there is absolutely no callbacks to address any cosmetic drywall issues. The fact is that both type of heat absolutely beat the living snot out of a wood framed building and the drywall suffers the most. That said, I have seen even more extreme damage, like drying floor joists down to such an extremely low moisture content that they literally make shotgun loud explosions as they split. Chances are you have nothing in the way of structural issues, and that much of this damage will reappear seasonally as the moisture content of the structure swings. You will also get a pretty good handle on what cracks are repairable, and which ones will be the natural expansion joints that will never stop moving seasonally. My place has a crack over and under every double window. These are large openings and these cracks open and close seasonally. I no longer waste my time trying to repair them. Basically, doesn't sound like you have any big issue, certainly no different that the many customers I have had over the years that heat with wood and enjoy a nice toasty, bone dry, and hot house.


----------



## RebelDigger (Aug 5, 2010)

This is an issue with the old houses DH and I have renovated over the years. Never realized new houses did it. Our answer in the antique houses is to not tape and mud the corners, we use quarter round trim to hide the seam and paint it to match the wall. As long as you are careful to put the quarter round up so that the finishing nails are all in the same wall, this allows the walls to shift without messing up the drywall and paint. Works for us, you may want to try it in your home instead of re taping and mudding the corners. Seems like that could become an ongoing, constant job.


----------



## wharton (Oct 9, 2011)

RebelDigger said:


> This is an issue with the old houses DH and I have renovated over the years. Never realized new houses did it. Our answer in the antique houses is to not tape and mud the corners, we use quarter round trim to hide the seam and paint it to match the wall. As long as you are careful to put the quarter round up so that the finishing nails are all in the same wall, this allows the walls to shift without messing up the drywall and paint. Works for us, you may want to try it in your home instead of re taping and mudding the corners. Seems like that could become an ongoing, constant job.


Unfortunately, a lot of new homeowners also are quite surprised to find that their new home is getting cracks, and often unrepairable ones to boot. I often build a small ranch home with a cathedral ceiling great room located at the end of house. The end wall is 26' wide and 17' tall. I now tell the homeowner, before we even start to sheetrock, that the wall WILL crack, it WILL continue to crack until the day the wall no longer stands, the cracks will be minor, and strictly cosmetic, and I CAN'T do anything about it, unless they want a huge, butt ugly expansion joint in the middle of the wall. I pleaded with one customer to just get over the fact that this wall had a hairline crack. i explained that it was a waste of time to patch. He insisted. I patched about 15' of nearly invisible crack. The next day, when I came back to paint it, I asked the homeowner to get up on the ladder for a closer look. Yep, the wall cracked again, overnight. Fact is that homes not only move seasonally, they move over decades, and they even move on a daily basis depending on temperature, humidity, and sunlight exposure.


----------



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

Thank you all for the info on this.
I spoke with the engineer, who said it is normal for a new wood framed house if drywalled with moist studs, which happened. That in combination with a heavy snowload is why winter is when the mostly appear.
She did say if cracks are above windows, doors or along bearing walls it would be worth having her out- and they are fine thankfully.


----------



## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

Yes I have one wall with an expansion joint (1/4 or 1/2") covered with a nice pine board used all over with finishing and it did the trick nicely, no issues there as it has space to move.


----------



## Benny b (Jan 14, 2013)

Wharton is right on the money. Wood and coal heat are the hardest on drywall. But it's still going to crack over time no matter what heat is used. Benny


----------

