Ceiling cracking

[TheClaw]

The ceiling in my garage is starting to crack at the seams where they taped the drywall. the garage could be 30 years old. Is this just a crappy drywall job starting to rot or is my ceiling starting to bow? I do have some stuff in the attic of the garage, nothing terribly heavy (I have to carry it up there). I just wondering if the whole garage is starting to sag.


Thanks,
Jeff

 

[readhead]

How many not so heavy things did you take up there a hundered times?
Is the roof framed with truss's or conventional?

 

[Smiliesafari]

Improper installation. The joints should be tight and they should be mudded in then taped and mudded again.

 

[1/2 Cup]

There could be a number of things that are causing the cracking;
1. Structural issues.
2. Foundation movement.
3. The loading in the attic.
4. The initial plasterboard (dry wall to you guys) installation and fixing.
5. The mudding job looks a bit below par to me and not finished well.
6. The tape appears to be pulling away from the joint due to the movement.
I guess to sum it all up, an on site assessment from a builder should answer your questions.
Cheers

 

[TheClaw]

There a few things up there, I could lighten the load. The framing is conventional. The only issue I have with talking to a builder is he is going to want to build. What's his incentive to say its a bad drywall job.

 

[readhead]

What is the size and span of the ceiling joists?

 

[Kevin54]

Improper instillation and possibly improper insulation. Heating and cooling along with the winters, and moisture can cause the seams to start to let loose.

Luckily, you have smooth ceilings and possibly the seams can be repaired by pulling all of the old tape off and then having the seams redone. Speak with a professional drywall person, have them look at it, and get their opinion.

We are just now getting the ceiling in our Family Room redone because of a **** job a guy I hired years back screwed it all up. The drywall was hung going the wrong direction, then he attempted to stomp the ceiling and it looked like ****. I fired him, and at the time, I just took some mud and a roller to try and cover it. It was alright for a few years, but has always been a thorn in my side. A few years ago, I hired my drywall guy to popcorn the ceiling to try and hide it, but with the drywall running the wrong direction, when the light was right, you could dee it sort of drooping down between the trusses. So I spoke with my drywall guy the other day as to how to remedy the problem once and for all.

Shim it down with 3/4" lumber, and hang all new, lightweight drywall. He started Wednesday, and it will be completed tomorrow. The rest of our house has a stomped pattern in it which looks great, but I really didn't want as heavy as pattern. What he did was stomp it then knocked it down with a trowel. So we still have a texture to it, but not as strong looking as the other rooms. Four days on a 24' x 24' room is great and the total price is $1200 which I don't feel is bad at all.

I'll get some pics later on this afternoon, when I get done mowing and go in for the evening.

 

[readhead]

That is not bad drywall. The fact that there is a gap in the tape indicates movement. It appears that the drywall was fire taped which will not have a finished apperance.

 

[wssix99]

Is this just a crappy drywall job starting to rot or is my ceiling starting to bow?

It looks like an armature job as the seams aren't even lined up. So, I would say it is a bad job, but...


The thing that is really puzzling is that you have cracks everywhere. A problem with loading or structural movement would give you cracks in localized areas or along distinct lines of movement.

Given that the joint compound also looks brittle/deteriorated, I'm wondering if the wallboard was in a moist environment for a while and then went to very dry.

Is the space or space above heated/cooled? Have you made any HVAC changes, done roof repair, added ventilation fans, etc. since the cracking started?

 

[brownbagg]

that an overloaded ceiling, its about to come down, just nail a 1x4 over the crack, it be fine.

 

[Kevin54]

that an overloaded ceiling, its about to come down, just nail a 1x4 over the crack, it be fine.

How do you come to that conclusion because the tape is cracking. The ceiling isn't ready to fall. I can show you the same damn thing in the ceiling of my garage, and my ceiling sure as hell is not going to come down. A garage ceiling is one place that you will get ceiling joints cracking because of the temperature differentials within a garage. If you look good at the ceiling pictures, it's a ****** tape job for one. Another fact that if the garage is 30 some years old, most people back at that time used a garage to store tools and park cars. They were not worried about aesthetics of a garage like they are today.