cracks forming in drywall

[Nostalgic Dave]

Hello all.... looking for an opinion on a problem that has cropped up in my new shop. I've had drywall up and mudded/painted since about August, and about 3 weeks ago I noticed that some of the seams in the ceiling drywall were starting to show. Now, they show BADLY and there is even one huge seam, or CRACK showing on one wall. Almost all the long seams in the ceiling are now essentially cracks, but none of the short seams show (short dimension of the wall board). Anyone ever seen this happen? I've attached a picture of one of the cracks. It looks to me as tho the taped seams are not really pulling apart, but rather just splitting the paint on the surface. The paint at the crack is protruded outward, sort of a volcano effect. They do not appear to be structural related (I hope!). What went wrong? The guy who did the taping/mud work was a seasoned veteran in the biz for a good 50 years, so I have a hard time believing he could have made a mistake. Any ideas?

 

[tonyvlx]

Im a drywall finisher. What probably happend is ur new shop "setteld" a bit and the result is cracked joints. In your case seems a bit excessive.Usually when a new structure settles the nail/screw head pop out. If not that, your drywall finisher didnt use right method or materials for a proper job.

 

[DIGGER_DAVE]

How long after the tape/mudding did you primer and paint??

Might have been a case of the joint compound being still "green."
(not dried out enough)

 

[VvvJRvvV]

How long after the tape/mudding did you primer and paint??

Might have been a case of the joint compound being still "green."
(not dried out enough)

I agree. Really looks like the mud didn't set up properly. The only other thing that comes to mind. Did he glue and screw the drywall?

I have seen it pop like that, but to pop on every long seam, it almost has to be a mud problem.

 

[Nostalgic Dave]

A different outfit hung the drywall, and was just screwed, not glued. I know the mud guy used paper tape, and did some extra mudding because I didn't want to go with texture on the walls. I honestly don't remember how long it was before I started painting after he was done sanding... but I'm thinking it was about a week or so. I wonder if temperature could be playing a role here. It's been pretty cold outside recently, and until a few weeks ago I hadn't gotten my furnace installed yet. Tomorrow the insulation in the attic is going in, so I have only run the furnace a few times since installing it. Could brining the shop up from near freezing temps up to 70, then back down again at night cause any probs? I never kept it at 50 or so at night like I normaly would have, because without attic insulation the heat bill would have been a nightmare.

 

[The Money Pit]

Tony, here's a question for you. If my garage has been framed for a while and I just had sheetrock put up and finished, has it already settled and I won't have to worry about much cracking?

 

[z28toz06]

Did you turn the heat on recently? Maybe its very dry in there and its starting to shrink from the dry heat.

 

[tonyvlx]

MoneyPit
Ya, you should have no problems if ur garage has been built for a while. I do all new home drywall finishing and usually at the 1 year mark(house been built) Id go back and fix all the small nail/screw head pop outs.

 

[Nostalgic Dave]

The cracks have increased between last week and now, without having been heated in the mean time.... I did some chipping away at one of the seams with a knife to make sure that it was taped, and not just mudded... yep, theres tape. Also scraped away just the paint to see if the mud was cracked... it looks like the cracks are just in the paint. Is this what I would see if it was painted too soon after mudding like you guys suggest?

 

[tonyvlx]

Was the drywall sealed with Primer before paint???

 

[snorvet]

I have the same cracks in my attached garage (13 years old), but no cracks in the house. I think the problem is from extreme temperature swings, and maybe swings in humidity. My garage ranges from mid 30's to mid 90's. I plan on retaping, painting, and adding a dehumidifier in the spring.

My detached garage is heated in the winter with dehumidifier running almost constantly in the summer - no cracks in there, but its only been a year since I drywalled it.

 

[boiler7904]

It sounds like a combination of all of the ideas that have come up so far. One question regarding the ceiling cracks: Do you have attic storage above the ceiling? If so, you might be overloaded to the point where the drywall is starting to seperate under the stress.

 

[Nostalgic Dave]

Update: I was up in the attic yesterday to blow in the insulation and guess what.. I could see LIGHT through the biggest cracks! GULP! I guess no easy fix now, other than to grind away the seam and put in new tape, re-mud, sand and paint . I can hardly imagine that I had painted it too soon before the mud fully cured, but I guess it is possible and seems to be the only explaination as many of you have suggested. One observation related to the heat/cold extreme temperature change issue.... heat rises, which explains why the ceiling is full of cracked joints, but not the walls... with the exception of the wall opposite the furnace where the heat directly blows. Also, only the long end of the seams cracked because the short ends were all screwed to the trusses. Anyway, thanks all for your advice... I feel better now knowing what the most probable cause is, even if there is no easy solution.

 

[Kevin54]

If you had any humidity in the garage and then extreme temperature swings, it will cause the drywall to expand and contract. Best bet is to see if you can regulate the temperature closer and see if the drywall finisher is going to make it good. The structure of the building also comes into play. Depending on where you live you may experience truss rise. This occurs when you have a big temperature swing and the truss in the center will actually rise up. Some houses have it so bad that it will pull an interior wall away from the floor or crack quite a bit where the wall meets the ceiling. Are these cracks on your walls or are they on the ceiling area? If it is the ceiling, then the truss rise may be what you are experiencing. To eliminate that, you would need at least a 2x above the seam and screw the two ends of the drywall to that so the joints cannot move independently from one another, then finish it off. Drywall in a house usually does not crack like that due to the temperature changing slowly over a long period. A garage is different in that it can go from hot to cold in a matter of minutes.

Kevin

 

[D-Cal]

What thickness is the drywall? Using anything less than 5/8" on a ceiling will mean sagging over a 24" span and potential cracking.

 

[Ryan87LX]

I'm not a drywaller, but I have always been told never to mud drywall if the area is going to fall below freezing or it will crack.

I'm not sure where you are located, but it's been cold in many parts of North America over the past few weeks.

 

[Nostalgic Dave]

Humidity isn't a problem here, but cold certainly is this time of year. I am in Eastern WA state, and yes it is below freezing and has been for well over a week straight now. Sounds like all of what you guys suggest came together as "the perfect storm" against my drywall mud! DOH!

 

[PAToyota]

I've always been told to use (or spec) "setting" type drywall compound (the type you mix up) rather than the regular pre-mixed compound anywhere that you have questions about conditions. I used it in my workshop with good results - other than having to mix it up (I got one of those paddles for a 1/2" drill) I cannot see why people think it is such a problem to use.

 

[grumpyfemale]

Have a question??

There was a hole in the ceiling of the bathroom and cause the roof leaked and it went through to the ceiling of the main bathroom and bubbled so we poked a hole into the bubble and water everywhere. The question is the guy came and cut the piece out and replaced and taped and mudded but we notice it is cracking badly the next day and also for some reason on the side of the walls in the bathroom when it rained it leaked through the roof and ran down the wall inside of the paint well the guy just put mudding on the walls and it looks like ****. Why did it crack everywhere when he mudded it I think it is mudding he put on the dry wall on the roof but the mudding he put on the wall sides was just smeared on and cracked also the next day.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

If the guy didn't jam mud in the cracks, there is your problem. Patoyota is right about setting type mud being the best, Durabond being the most common type. It cannot be easily sanded, so it is not ideal for beginners or final coats unless you are an expert.

 

[V-10 Killer]

I'm not a drywaller, but I have always been told never to mud drywall if the area is going to fall below freezing or it will crack.

I'm not sure where you are located, but it's been cold in many parts of North America over the past few weeks.

If you had any humidity in the garage and then extreme temperature swings, it will cause the drywall to expand and contract. Best bet is to see if you can regulate the temperature closer and see if the drywall finisher is going to make it good. The structure of the building also comes into play. Depending on where you live you may experience truss rise. This occurs when you have a big temperature swing and the truss in the center will actually rise up. Some houses have it so bad that it will pull an interior wall away from the floor or crack quite a bit where the wall meets the ceiling. Are these cracks on your walls or are they on the ceiling area? If it is the ceiling, then the truss rise may be what you are experiencing. To eliminate that, you would need at least a 2x above the seam and screw the two ends of the drywall to that so the joints cannot move independently from one another, then finish it off. Drywall in a house usually does not crack like that due to the temperature changing slowly over a long period. A garage is different in that it can go from hot to cold in a matter of minutes.

Kevin

I'd agree with the above comments. My drywaller warned me once i mudded my detached garage, it'd always have to be heated in the winter or the joints would start to crack. expansion/contraction and all. He'd seen it in a few repair jobs on big houses with upstairs rooms people didn't use that had shut off the heat to reduce their utilities payments...

 

[JamieK]

Those protruding cracks happen because when the drywall is installed, its butted up tight to the next sheet. Then when it gets warmer or gains humidity, it expands slightly, pushing the two sheets together, bulging up the outer layer. This happens much sooner than in a house because of the temp and humidity swings when you open the garage door. The reason you're seeing light through the crack, if it was taped, may because they used the fiberglass mesh tape. About the only thing you can do is to run a taping knife along the crack, knocking off anything loose, and remudding.

 

[Dominico]

This is another good example of why you shouldn't drywall or wet plaster an unheated "detached" garage in areas where you have big temperature swings. I would say the only exception would be an "attached" garage. There has been considerable debate on this forum regarding OSB or any other product vs. drywall. I don't want to get into a debate because each has pros and cons however, if you choose drywall you will have a "lifetime of maintenance". Trust me, my family has made a living at it for three generations.

 

[buening]

Definitely temperature and shrinkage cracks. My garage has the same and it was done with Durabond setting type mud (kind you mix in a bucket). It is harder than normal mud but it still can't withstand the forces involved.