Patching and Plastering - Ceiling seams cracked after primimg
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blackcar
05-18-09, 08:31 PM
I have run into a problem with new drywall in a basement ceiling. After priming the ceiling the seams and but joints cracked. I used paper tape and USG lightweight low dust mud. The ceiling was fine before priming. Has anyone run ito this problem? Any ideas about how to correct the problem?
marksr
05-19-09, 05:04 AM
Welcome to the forums!
Was the joint compound good and dry before you applied the primer? How wide/deep are the cracks?
You can probably just fill the cracks with j/c.
Was the joint compound good and dry before you applied the primer? How wide/deep are the cracks?
You can probably just fill the cracks with j/c.
blackcar
05-19-09, 07:56 PM
The compound was dry for about a couple weeks. The seams were sanded smooth and there were no cracks. The cracks are deep in the section we scraped to test out how deep the went.
marksr
05-20-09, 05:42 AM
How thick was the j/c applied? Are the cracks at the edge of tape?
I'm having a hard time understanding what happened:o
could you supply a pic [or 2] using a free site like photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com?)
I'm having a hard time understanding what happened:o
could you supply a pic [or 2] using a free site like photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com?)
blackcar
05-20-09, 07:55 AM
The layers of compound were not that thick. The cracks are in the middle of the seam and run the lenght of the room. Even the but joints have cracked. Like I said before, after digging a crack out, we found the crack to be deep and under the tape. I will work on getting pics. Thanks for your help.
blackcar
05-20-09, 02:31 PM
I added the photo to photobucket as you recommeded. You can find it by the tag Ceiling Crack DIY. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
marksr
05-21-09, 05:00 PM
couldn't find it:(
could you supply a link?
could you supply a link?
ecman51`
05-24-09, 04:17 PM
I just discovered this thread and am intrigued by it. I personally have never ran into or seen this situation. And I deal with a lot of houses and condos. I could offer some theories, but that's all.
First off, is that particular mud intended for taping? Lightweight muds I am familiar with are only to be used as top coat. Not for setting tape. The setting type pail muds, I believe, have a lot more bonding agent in it, like vinyl. I have been mudding and taping lately and have been using the 2 types and the pro taping mud is much more gooey and heavy, liek someone poured thick glue into the mix. But with the lightweight, my mud knife more easily goes through it, even as I scoop it out of the pail, and is entrained with air in it.
Next, I am presuming the house has been here for a while and you simply wanted to sheetrock the ceiling? If so, that construction lumber should have been acclamated by now. But, perhaps by covering the ceiling, you trapped heat in there(heat ducts?) that dried out the wood more, and it shrank and caused the cracks.
Note that it might be more apparent to see a crack in the paint, rather than the mud itself, especially if you had sanded and and left sanding marks lengthwise and also powder in the crack as well. What I'm saying is the cracks may have been there, masked by sand marks and powder, and priming had nothing to do with it.
Lastly, let's say priming did have something (if not everything) to do with it. Maybe the lightweight mud soaked up lots of paint and swelled, in the absense of a better bonding mud, and caused the cracking. And the fact that it was thinly applied, and maybe open joints and no prefill?
First off, is that particular mud intended for taping? Lightweight muds I am familiar with are only to be used as top coat. Not for setting tape. The setting type pail muds, I believe, have a lot more bonding agent in it, like vinyl. I have been mudding and taping lately and have been using the 2 types and the pro taping mud is much more gooey and heavy, liek someone poured thick glue into the mix. But with the lightweight, my mud knife more easily goes through it, even as I scoop it out of the pail, and is entrained with air in it.
Next, I am presuming the house has been here for a while and you simply wanted to sheetrock the ceiling? If so, that construction lumber should have been acclamated by now. But, perhaps by covering the ceiling, you trapped heat in there(heat ducts?) that dried out the wood more, and it shrank and caused the cracks.
Note that it might be more apparent to see a crack in the paint, rather than the mud itself, especially if you had sanded and and left sanding marks lengthwise and also powder in the crack as well. What I'm saying is the cracks may have been there, masked by sand marks and powder, and priming had nothing to do with it.
Lastly, let's say priming did have something (if not everything) to do with it. Maybe the lightweight mud soaked up lots of paint and swelled, in the absense of a better bonding mud, and caused the cracking. And the fact that it was thinly applied, and maybe open joints and no prefill?