Replies

1. 
   RW | Feb 13, 2003 04:46am | #1

   There's a number of things that could be going on here. My first thought is, have you ruled out the idea that the house is just moving that much? I ask b/c I ran into it about a year ago with a HO who had considered that, but was sort of in the thought of "why after 15 years of nothing is everything shifting now?". Turns out he was growing a termite farm. Took out about 15 feet of wall, from the pad to the insulation. He first noticed movement above a set of french doors.

   Thoughts are also churning about water, adhesion problems between what you have and what you've added . . .

   " To the noble mind / Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind" - Wm Shakespeare, Hamlet, III,i,100

1. 
   CAGIV | Feb 13, 2003 05:49am | #2

   I'll offer another possibility to termites.

   Last year this happened in home we had worked on.

   I had been incredably dry for several months, very little rain.  The ground was drying up and pulling away from the foundation.  On the side of the house where this happened the most there was a gap about an inch between soil and concrete.  The house kept shifting that way and that side of the home is where the cracks were mostly located. although they were not only on walls, but also on the cielings and trim around doors running perpendicular to the exterior wall was seperating to the toon of a quarter inch in doors closest to exterior wall.View Image

2. 
   gann | Feb 26, 2003 04:07am | #3

   Flexible,paintable latex caulk

1. 
   mellowstello | Feb 28, 2003 02:36am | #5

   Thanks for the ideas everyone.  I really hope it's not termites.  Yikes!  There is no other evidence of their presence so I'm not gonna worry about it.  The reason I used the word ventilation was because when you put your hand near the crack you could feel cold air coming in (before I started trying to fix them with a coat of the crack repair glue/paint and mesh followed by numerous coats of joint compound.) 

   3 of the 6 cracks look great - you can't even notice that there was a crack there.  The other 3 I'm gonna have to fudge with a little more. 

   All of the cracks were either below or above old windows that were installed back in the early 70's when the house was built.  The cracks start at the window and extend vertically to either the ceiling or the baseboard heating unit.  I also noticed that the casing underneath the sill was really cold.  When I popped it off, there was no insulation between the bottom of the window and the 2x4 frame.  So my next approach will be to stuff some insulation in there and then I'll try using some phenoseal on the cracks. 

   Thanks again yall

   dan

1. 
   stonefever | Feb 28, 2003 03:11am | #6

   Remember this conversation, Dan, when you go to sell this house and have to fill out the disclosure form....

3. 
   Piffin | Feb 26, 2003 05:58am | #4

   Dan, One of my favorite classmates lived in Clinton Corner for about five years or so. Howdy.

   Anyway, I'm not sure why you say, "IObviously there is some sort of ventilation issue here... " Is there something else you know that I don't? Ventilation never occoured to me.

   Is this a new house or old? New could be a problem with lumber shrinking as it dries. If old and just now beginning to crack the indication is something structural like bugs eating it, foundation moving, etc.

   Are the cracks in verticle alignment or diagonally going away from the corners? Verticle indicates to me a problem with the fastening schedule used by the installer.

   Or it could be that the house was inadequately framed. I saw one with symptoms like this and whenever the door was slammed, you could see the wall move.

   So tell us more...

   .

   Excellence is its own reward!