# Help cracks on interior corners



## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Heres are the pictures:
http://postimg.org/image/k23gfca2l/
http://postimg.org/image/fir7tts71/
http://postimg.org/image/qq021xtkt/
http://postimg.org/image/jo24fqpz1/
http://postimg.org/image/l5nkraupp/


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Typical about this age of a new build, to find cracks in the corners or on tape seams. Also can see doors & windows needing adjustment. It is from using wet or green wood during the build.

If you have a basement or crawlspace, you may notice hairline cracks from settling, if they did not pack the dirt where the foundation is, or did not pour the footings at the proper spec.

Keep up on keeping a photo log and place it on a DVD for your record and so you can give it to a builder, along with a list on it of the items that you need them to fix.

It can take up to ten years for a home to stop showing cracks in drywall seams. I have seen a 20 year old plus home have signs of the drywall tape coming loose and nails popping, along with ceiling drywall sagging.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Unfortunately the warranty on the house run out. They already repaired it once last year but the same thing is happening again come winter time. They send some guy to paint over everything.

I feel like when the paint job was done, they never fill the inside of the corners. When I opened up one of these corner cracks, seems like its empty inside and if you push it very hard with your nail, it will go right through the paint.

The crown molding is separating from the ceiling just like last winter. In fact I think its worse then last time.

Also the house is build on a slab foundation around LR Arkansas.

I am really worried that this might be some structural/foundation issues. Is it okay if I caulk it up and paint over it? Or should I just watch and see if it gets worse?


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Also keep in mind that if you are keeping the heat really low and not running Air Conditioning, it can also cause the structure inside to act like a balloon. As it gets cold out and the humidity inside the house may be going up or down, the tape can pull away, nails can pop.

As for the inside corners. You can use a Caulk that can be painted on the corners.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

I have been running ac in the summer on 73 and heater on 75 in the winter. 

So it's safe to caulk and be done with this? 

I don't need a structural engineer right?


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Cracks in the corner like that means something moved. I would think after this much time any wet wood should have dried and not still be moving. Try pressing on each side of the corner and see if anything moves. Same on the ceiling joint. 

As for the crown this happens with the change in humidity and temps. Do the gaps in the crown close back up in the summer? 

If when the builder sent someone over and all they did was paint that is why it's coming back paint would never hold. You could caulk and re-paint use a caulk like Big Stretch that that will flex not one that dries hard.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Moved as in the walls are moving? So should i try pressing hard on the two walls around the corner?

I am kind of worried since it's happening again. 
Or is this just a job not done right the first time?


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

ToolSeeker said:


> Cracks in the corner like that means something moved. I would think after this much time any wet wood should have dried and not still be moving. Try pressing on each side of the corner and see if anything moves. Same on the ceiling joint.
> 
> As for the crown this happens with the change in humidity and temps. Do the gaps in the crown close back up in the summer?
> 
> If when the builder sent someone over and all they did was paint that is why it's coming back paint would never hold. You could caulk and re-paint use a caulk like Big Stretch that that will flex not one that dries hard.


I tried pressing the walls around the corner as well as the ceiling joint. Nothing moves so far. Is that a good sign?


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

If nothing is moving when you press on it, it means it is screwed tight to the framing. It could be settling, but those look like awful big cracks just to be settling. Could be bad tape job, or the wrong mud, but again they look awful big.

When they came to fix it the first time do you know if all they did was paint or did they fill in the cracks? I would suggest getting ahold of the builder and have him stop and look at the problem, it sounds like he thinks these are just hairline cracks. He needs to look at it. The correct fix is neither cheap nor easy.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

ToolSeeker said:


> If nothing is moving when you press on it, it means it is screwed tight to the framing. It could be settling, but those look like awful big cracks just to be settling. Could be bad tape job, or the wrong mud, but again they look awful big.
> 
> When they came to fix it the first time do you know if all they did was paint or did they fill in the cracks? I would suggest getting ahold of the builder and have him stop and look at the problem, it sounds like he thinks these are just hairline cracks. He needs to look at it. The correct fix is neither cheap nor easy.


I am pretty sure they did not fill in the cracks and just painted over them. I did show the builder of this wall and he just said he will have the painters repaint them.

I don't think there was any tape inside. When I tried to peel open one of the cracks, all I saw was the drywall. Doesn't appear to be any cracks on the dry wall it self. From what I can tell, it seems like there are 2 dry walls connected together. They just paint over the corners and doesn't seem like they even painted inside the corners.

What would be the correct solution to fix this? I was planning on to just caulk it and paint on top of it. Would that not fix this issue?


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Here are some images of this from a far away view:

http://postimg.org/image/6s18kexjh/

http://postimg.org/image/hg4zj97il/

http://postimg.org/image/v0vridnbh/


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Also here are some additional images not so upclose:
http://postimg.org/image/6s18kexjh/

http://postimg.org/image/hg4zj97il/

http://postimg.org/image/v0vridnbh/


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Also I was able to stick the edge of a knife between the 2 perpendicular connecting dry walls. Can't push it any further then that. Maybe it is connected to a stud at the end? Not sure how they build these things. 

Are there suppose to be a little gap between the Drywalls? Does this mean the dry wall moved apart from each other?


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

It is very hard to accurately diagnose a cause from some pictures.

I am of the opinion that the gaps in the crown are from normal winter (lower humidity) levels inside the home and the normal drying process. The use of a high quality acrylic caulk applied in the winter months should solve most of those problems.

I am willing to wager a small bet that if one cut away the tape in those corner joints you would find that there was a failure to properly fill the voids behind the tape where the drywall panels meet. That combined with the above mentioned normal drying of green wood causes the crack to open up. A permanent cure is to remove the corner tape, fill the voids and re-tape the joint. A lot of work but it does solve the problem. Just a re-tape and finish may solve the problem or it may not. Caulk and paint only work for a short period of time but are an easy DIY project.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Colbyt said:


> It is very hard to accurately diagnose a cause from some pictures.
> 
> I am of the opinion that the gaps in the crown are from normal winter (lower humidity) levels inside the home and the normal drying process. The use of a high quality acrylic caulk applied in the winter months should solve most of those problems.
> 
> I am willing to wager a small bet that if one cut away the tape in those corner joints you would find that there was a failure to properly fill the voids behind the tape where the drywall panels meet. That combined with the above mentioned normal drying of green wood causes the crack to open up. A permanent cure is to remove the corner tape, fill the voids and re-tape the joint. A lot of work but it does solve the problem. Just a re-tape and finish may solve the problem or it may not. Caulk and paint only work for a short period of time but are an easy DIY project.


There is no tape as far as I can tell and once I cut through the paint around the corner, there doesn't seem to be anything insides. There is a small gap between the paint and where the drywall panels meet. If I go with the caulking, what would be a good type of printable caulk? How long would it last? Maybe a couple of years?


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

The drywall tape bonds to the drywall in a very thin layer. Unless you know what you are looking at you will never see it.

I cheat and use disposable pastry bags to fill the voids. I use one of those triangle rubber caulking tools to remove the excess and then when that is dry I bed the new tape and finish the joint.

For all your caulking I highly prefer the Alex+ series sold at paint stores, Loews and HomeDepot. Quite a bit cheaper by the case of 12 tubes. Buy a better caulk gun with a quick release ($10 or so). Cut a small tip and really fill the void. It does take practice but the over flow is easy to wipe away with a damp, frequently rinsed rag if done immediately.

Proper filled the caulk will last a long time but it may crack again as it dries completely. I would wait a month or more before I painted.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

Colbyt said:


> The drywall tape bonds to the drywall in a very thin layer. Unless you know what you are looking at you will never see it.
> 
> I cheat and use disposable pastry bags to fill the voids. I use one of those triangle rubber caulking tools to remove the excess and then when that is dry I bed the new tape and finish the joint.
> 
> ...


I am very inexperienced so I might have missed the tape as you mentioned. However there is definitely voids between the paint around the corners and the two connecting drywalls.

Using my nails, I can collapse the paint around the corners when I press on it really hard.

Here are some images of a closer look at where I peel opened one of the cracks.






I think I can see the drywall it self, I can also stick a knife between the two dry walls. I don't know if that's normal to have that much space between it. It be hard for me to get caulk in between them.


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## Al_Amantea (Dec 27, 2014)

Since this is occuring every winter so far, and i assume it mostly goes away or gets better in the summer, what you are experiencing is simple wood movement.
Wood is a living product, and will expand or contract with changes in temperature or humidity during seasonal changes.
THIS IS NORMAL. 
More than likely, since it is winter, and a new house that was probably well built, somewhat tightly air sealed, and you are running the heater to stay warm, the wood in the walls is probably shrinking in the winter due to low humidity in the ambient air.
In the summer, humidity levels increase, and the wood in the walls will reexpand and start to close up the gaps. 
I would be willing to bet that your new home was built in the summer or spring (framing ), and was probably trimmed and drywalled in the fall or even late summer.

This is normal movement, and there is nothing that a builder can really do to completely stop it.

One thing that you can do is to have a whole house humidifier installed on your furnace, or at least try running a couple of humidifiers in the home during the winter to bring the humidity levels up to around 65% inside. This should minimize the problem and allow the home to stabilize. 
On older homes, this isnt normally an issue as the wood framing has had many years to dry out. Yours has not. Especially if the house was framed with wet lumber, or if the walls were closed in after a heavy rain and the framing was wet. As the framing dries out, it shrinks, causing the drywall corners to separate and crack.

On newer homes, there is a lot of air sealing done, like house wrap, vapor barriers, etc. that tend to lock the air inside from the air outside more efficiently. Running the heater causes the air inside to lose humidity and dry out.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

The house was build between winter of 2012 and spring of 2013.

This same thing happened in October of 2013. Most of the wall corners started to crack and the molding joints separated.

I called the builder and he came over and saw it and send some painter to repaint everything.

Now its happening again.

This is the first winter that I actually turned up the heater. Its set to 75 now. Last winter I had it on 58 for the entire time. My Girl Friend is staying here with me and she doesn't appreciate the cold weather like I do.

Should I just leave everything as is and see if the gap close up in the summer?


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## Al_Amantea (Dec 27, 2014)

Try running a couple of humidifiers for a week or two to see if things get better before you do anything else. If they get better, a whole house humifier may be the best option. You will still need to repair the damage, but need to stabilize the humidity levels first. Even running the heater at 58 to 60 can cause this, as the burner still runs full bore, just not as often. It would still happen, just might take longer.
Once the humidity in the house stabilizes between 55 and 65%, you will probably be able to turn the tstat down as well, as humid air feels warmer and more comfortable longer. You will have less static electricity in the air, too. 
WH humidifiers are not cheap, require some yearly maintenance, and have to be turned on and off every winter, but work efficiently and very effectively. 
After the root cause is corrected, then its time to repair the damage. If it is done too soon, it will come back again, but should still be able to be repaired this season.


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## nailgun59 (Jan 19, 2015)

Could be the drywall taper did not pre fill the gaps in this case it will keep cracking. I have a house I bought I had to fix cracks ever time we changed tenants one time I decided to figure it out. Do I removed drywall and found the corners were not nailed together with the framing. The piece worker cut corners. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I am also going to go with a bad tape job. Could be the gaps were too big, were not filled properly, mesh tape, lightweight mud. Any of these things combined with even a small amount of movement would cause the problem. 

Drywall mud has no strength that is why it must be taped. Without scrapping the mud out of one corner and seeing what is really causing it though we are all guessing.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

unknown9993 said:


> I am very inexperienced so
> ..................snip ........
> 
> It be hard for me to get caulk in between them.



This tube vid illustrates basic caulking.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeNM-UGVyH4

I think he left too much on the first wall section. For cracks in walls and corners the "gun" should be more vertical to the work surface. The closer to the tip you cut the smaller the hole and the less the flow. Don't waste your time or money buying the squeeze tubes.

Fill the crack for best results.


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## Al_Amantea (Dec 27, 2014)

That's a good possibility, but what you are all missing is the fact that his crown molding has a gap that opens in the winter and mostly closes in the summer.


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## unknown9993 (Jan 18, 2015)

I am not sure if they close in the summer. They had repainted the crown molding last year.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

I didn't watch the video but from the pic that is a bad caulk job. That is so much more on there than is needed, when you try to smooth out that much caulk it's going to be messy.


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