Walls and Ceilings - Help! My ceiling is falling
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Jarrett
01-04-03, 08:32 PM
About two years ago, I notice a one inch crack in my cieling where one edge of the seam tape had separated from the drywall. Now today this crack extends from wall to wall and the opposite edge of the tape is now cracking. What could be causing this? I have an attic fan and there doesn't seem to be any moisture up there.
Should I go ahead and tear down the sagging seam tape and reseam it with new tape and spackle? Should I rescrew the drywall? Another concern is that the cieling is textured with a swirl brush. Will I be able to patch the cieling and retexture it to hide the repair?
Jarrett
Should I go ahead and tear down the sagging seam tape and reseam it with new tape and spackle? Should I rescrew the drywall? Another concern is that the cieling is textured with a swirl brush. Will I be able to patch the cieling and retexture it to hide the repair?
Jarrett
chfite
01-07-03, 08:14 PM
What room of the house is this?
Jarrett
01-08-03, 08:33 AM
My living room
chfite
01-08-03, 07:58 PM
As a general rule, tape comes off of a joint if the joint moves open and tears the tape or if there is moisture enough to cause the joint compound to let go. I have seen this most often in garages. If this house has been there a while, 10, 15 years, I would retape. It seems as if the problem developed slowly, and a repair might last. But there is likely a moisture problem somewhere.
I get the impression that the sheet rock is sagging, too. If that is the case, then you will benefit greatly from finding the source of the moisture problem and resolving it. I am assuming that you don't have something in the attic sitting directly on the insulation on the ceiling below, causing it to fail from loading. If there has been enough of a moisture problem for the sheetrock to sag, especially if it is pulling away from the ceiling joists, then moisture is the most likely culprit. Once sheetrock gets enough moisture in it, it becomes brittle and breaks easily. If you try to screw it back into place, it may just break.
If the tape is torn and failing, then it may well be that the house has settled and such motion will likely stop so that you can repair.
I get the impression that the sheet rock is sagging, too. If that is the case, then you will benefit greatly from finding the source of the moisture problem and resolving it. I am assuming that you don't have something in the attic sitting directly on the insulation on the ceiling below, causing it to fail from loading. If there has been enough of a moisture problem for the sheetrock to sag, especially if it is pulling away from the ceiling joists, then moisture is the most likely culprit. Once sheetrock gets enough moisture in it, it becomes brittle and breaks easily. If you try to screw it back into place, it may just break.
If the tape is torn and failing, then it may well be that the house has settled and such motion will likely stop so that you can repair.