# Cracks in upstairs ceiling



## edta1 (May 20, 2011)

Hello All,
I have some cracks in and near the upstairs bathroom. They are all on the ceiling. See pictures. The picture with part of the vent shown is just outside the bathroom. 

Repairing it isn't the problem. The question is what caused this? We didn't turn on our humidifier until a few weeks ago (we didn't know it was off). So the air might have been dry. But these cracks are found in and around the bathroom where we shower. So there should be plenty of moisture to keep things hydrated. Too much moisture (our bathroom fan sucks?)? 

Other notes not sure if related:
-We live in the Chicago area. It's pretty cold outside right now.
-The area above this bathroom is the attic where we just got new insulation blown in. 
-We hear snapping and popping sounds from the attic. 

Please advise. Thanks!


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## luckyrabbit (Jan 4, 2012)

moisture, damp, water damage,,, not enough mud or no mud applied to behind the tape could cause the tape to peel over time.

not there so hard to say by just looking at a picture. If you fixed the leak or insulation problem, cut out the tape and reapply by mud and tape and fix. if still reoccurs then you know it's not fixed, meaning water damage or fan not working right


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Looks like poorly applyed tape to me.
Any chance of a picture of up in the attic.
Incorrectly installed trusses, rafters can also cause this.


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## Gary in WA (Mar 11, 2009)

Yep, you warmed the bottom chord of the trusses with the extra insulation, snapping and popping, moving and shaking, fig. 10; http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-023-wood-is-good-but-strange/

Gary


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