Replies

1. 
   MikeSmith | Mar 30, 2009 05:44am | #1

   this is the end of the heating season.... check your relative humidity

   check the moisture content of your interior wood

   do you have a basement ?

   go down in the basement and measure the deoth of your joists...

    

   report back with the results

   Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
1. 
   davidmeiland | Mar 30, 2009 06:50am | #2

   Seems like we'd also want to know if framing lumber there is green or KD.

1. 
   shellky | Mar 31, 2009 02:57am | #10

   I have no idea. I'm sorry. I have no idea what lumber they used to build our house.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 06:33pm | #6

   You got a rainy day there too? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   MikeSmith | Mar 30, 2009 06:42pm | #7

   yesterday....  just  overcast  today

    

   Roy  &  Chuck  are  roofing 

    

   i'm  figgerinMike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   davidmeiland | Mar 30, 2009 08:13pm | #8

   >>i'm  figgerin

   Whatever you figgered... add sumpin' to it.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 09:21pm | #9

   I roofed last week.billing two jobs out and recovering today. Wet cold weekend.And mud season in full flow 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   pebble | Mar 30, 2009 07:13am | #3

   A drought can make these problems worsen.  When my mother's 30+ year old house started showing cracks in the drywall in one corner of the house it was after a particularly long dry spell where the soil's moisture content was much dryer than normal. 

   It was easily fixed when a new paint job was applied.  Flexible caulk was applied to the crack and now one can't tell there was a crack.

   Don't know about the nail pops though.  I suppose digging them (the ones that show pops) out and replacing with screws would be better.  At any rate that would call for a new paint job after repairs :(

3. 
   wane | Mar 30, 2009 03:43pm | #4

   where are you located?

1. 
   shellky | Mar 31, 2009 02:59am | #11

   Sorry...I guess that would have been important. We live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.

4. 
   Piffin | Mar 30, 2009 06:32pm | #5

   What makes you sure it is 'settling' and not frame lumber drying and shrinking? So far sounds more like the later...

   Would need info about your climate, interior humidity, heat system, lumber used, soil types, foundation methods, drainage installed or not etc, to offer much value.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   shellky | Mar 31, 2009 03:07am | #12

   You're correct, it may not be settling. We live in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. From planting in the yard I know there is clay in the soil. We have gas heat. I have no idea what the humidity is. I can tell you that the humidity isn't way out of whack since we don't have any condensation build up on the windows. I have no idea what kind of lumber they used to build the house. The foundation walls are poured concrete. I don't believe there was any additional drainage installed. I'm sorry I can't provide all the answers you were looking for. I completely understand not being able to answer my question without all the proper information.

1. 
   MikeSmith | Mar 31, 2009 04:20am | #13

   so... you do have a basement... go downstairs and measure your joists
   they might be 7" , 7 1/4" , 9" 8 1/2"measure about 3 of them and report backmeasure to the nearest 1/8"Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   shellky | Apr 02, 2009 05:09pm | #16

   I'll measure and let you know.

2. 
   Piffin | Mar 31, 2009 01:18pm | #14

   gas heat tells me you are exhausting air out of the house and any replacement air drawn in this time of year is dry. If you are not adding moisture with a humidifier and hav eseen no condensation of any kind on windows, that confirms your average interior humidity is on the low side. Overalll, that is good as long as you are comfortable, but it is most likely that the framing has shrunk since construction. Even kiln dried lumber will shrink a bit, esp if it rained a lot while the house was being built.
   But some still build with green lumber, which can shrink a lot more.Do you know if you have trusses or site framed rafter roof? If most of your cracks are at the seam between ceiling and walls and more near center of house than perimeter, you could be experiencing truss uplift too, a winter phenomenon.Any way you could sample a few photos of typical cracks you have? 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   shellky | Apr 02, 2009 05:09pm | #15

   We have trusses.  I'll try to take some photos over the next couple of days and post them.  The cracks are all over the place.  They are on the outside walls above the windows and between rooms.  Relative to the number we have very few are at the ceiling.  Thanks!

1. 
   Piffin | Apr 02, 2009 05:21pm | #17

   sounding more and more like wet faming lumber having shrunk.The good news is that after three years, it is about finished doing that. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!