drywall question

[bookwormom]

guys, I hope someone knows what is the matter and how it can be remedied.
the drywall in the ceilings of an upstairs, built two years ago and done by Amish, is showing a crack along all the seams. there is loose insulation above it that we blew in. downstairs there is no problem so far.

[rassd71]

hmmm, without seeing it, it's hard to say. But the crack are just on the seems? Is it all of them? Is it just the ceilings, walls or both?

[Gringo]

If it's along all the seams, they may have gone cheap and not used tape. The remedy is to tape and re-mud it. Dig into one seam and see if there is any paper or fiberglass tape in there. If not, you have to do all the seams. Then repaint. That's what it sounds like.

[bookwormom]

there is mesh tape, I know because I put it on myself. It is only on the ceilings. so far only upstairs.

[tufhelp]

The cracks as items to repair are one thing, but why are there cracks, that is the question. Was it poor nailing/screwing/taping job on the ceiling, or maybe the foundation/slab settling and causing a shift/twist in the construction? It may well be worth checking out.

Is there anyway to bring the taping/texturing team leader back in to see his handy work and see what he has to offer/say.

[rassd71]

If it's just the ceiling, it doesn't sound like a foundation settling issue.

If you can get the contractor back in, that would be a good start.

Out of curiousity, what was the scope of the work? Was there more than just drywall done? Is it an addition? If so, could it be that the roof framing isn't tied in properly and that's shifted? IF so, it could be a much bigger problem.

[bookwormom]

it is a new building, post and beam straw bale construction, two stories, on a slab. North, West and East side are below grade and laid up in cement block. The guy who did it has experience in building. The ceiling joists are 2x8s. Part of the ceiling is slanted, that area is not cracked, only the horizontal part shows the cracks at every seam.

[rassd71]

ok, this may or may not have anything to do with it, but I'm going to ask anyway... how thick is the drywall? And do you know which direct it's running compared to the ceiling joists? And lastly, are the seems of the drywall all lined up or are they staggered?

just thinking out loud, or at least pondering.

[bookwormom]

the joists are running north -south and the drywall east-west. Is that what you wanted to know? hmm, it is only the seams that go east-west that have cracked.

[rassd71]

Ok, according to my drywall guy, the most likely thing is that it's 1/2 inch drywall on 24 inch centered joists and it's sagging.

[msta999]

Here is some good info on this. I used this to do some of my own and it came out pretty good.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/installdrywall

[HockeyFan]

I'd be curious in the attic, what's there. What is the drywall attached to, and was it done with nails or screws.
Did the drywall pull down away from the nails or screws, or did they pull with the drywall.
There are a lot of questions.
How long is the crack?
It sounds like it's isolated to this one spot, so it might just be a bad section that needs to be repaired and the rest of the job should be fine.

You could just ask one of the Amish men to return and look at it and tell you what they believe the cause is.

[SARGUY]

It sounds like your ceiling wasn t strapped.There should be 1x3 strapping run at right angles to your joists or the bottom of your trusses.They should be on 16 in. centers and thereby giving you a continuous surface for the drywall seams.