# Mostly vertical crack in wall, near vaulted ceiling, how to fix properly?



## ScottK1 (Sep 14, 2017)

Hi everyone,
First time posting about an issue I have in my house.
We bought this house 4 years ago, it was built in 1992.
The house has vaulted everything, (which is apparently why my wife loved it), so our living room is vaulted, and all the bedrooms/bathrooms upstairs are vaulted as well.

I have an issue in our living room with a crack that mostly runs vertical starting at the ceiling and moving down about 6 feet in total.
The crack is about 5 feet left from the peak/apex.
The crack itself goes down/vertical 2 feet from the ceiling, moves left/horizontal 2 inches, and then continues down again for about 3 more feet.

After living here for about a year, I painted over the crack, but over time it has come back again.
I know that I will need to do some drywall repair and then paint to help fix it this time, but before I did, I was hoping to get some opinions on whether this crack will probably just come back again, (ie, I got a structural problem here), or the problem was just the drywall prep/taping/etc.

Attached are a couple pics I took of it.

Thanks for any/all suggestions on what is the best method of attack here!


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## XSleeper (Sep 23, 2007)

I have found that most cracks like that are related to slight movements in the framing that are not being helped by the way the rock happened to be hung... the location of butt joints. 

It needs to be rescrewed, notched, retaped, and refinished. But even then, after repairing and patching it, it might come back.

IMO the best thing to do would be to cut out a large section at least 32" wide. Maybe even 48. Put in one piece of sheet rock that will span across where the crack is now... relocating the butt joints away from that framing member. It makes a bigger job out of it, but it's in hopes that it won't come back.

In opening up the wall you might also find the reason why it's cracking. Multiple studs that are not fastened to one another for example. Movement in the framing is what causes most cracks and pops.

Is that a 10' tall wall? I wonder if the jog to the left is at 8'?


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## ScottK1 (Sep 14, 2017)

The vault's peak is 14.5' tall.
The ceiling descends the same on both sides at the same slope.
The crack is on the left side, and is about 5 feet to the left of center
The height of the ceiling at the crack point is 12'.


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## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

That crack could be caused by a warped stud.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

All good points/advice above^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BUT:

If paint handled it fine for a few years, and it appears to be a hairline crack maybe seasonally induced, GOOF-OFF makes a spray product called Goodby Cracks.

It's a spray on elastomeric type thin film that can be painted over and it will work for minor issues that it appears you have. It maintains your original texture

At $5, it might be a worthwhile try before ripping out tape or entire drywall solutions.

I think I found it on the internet.... don't think it is in stores.

Good luck


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## ScottK1 (Sep 14, 2017)

Thanks for the responses!

I am not sure how long the repainting hid the crack, but I think I will try the Goodby Crack stuff, as it does appear to get decent ratings by people.
At the very worst, if it doesn't work, I can always move to the next suggestions of tape and drywall solutions.


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