What Does It Mean When You Have Cracks in the Walls and Ceilings in Your Home?

Causes

• Walls and ceilings can develop cracks for a variety of reasons, from construction issues to natural deterioration. A shifting or settling foundation, for instance, can stress walls and ceilings. TKO Waterproof Coatings points out that the wooden parts of a home, such as window casements and door frames, can shrink or expand in response to environmental changes, putting additional stress on adjacent walls. Drywall can develop cracks along the seams between panels in response to this shifting, while plaster will crack when twisted or bent. Even if your foundation stays put, plaster walls and ceilings can eventually sag or crack after many years of defying gravity.

Problems

• Cracks and other problems that appear near doors and windows may serve as an early indicator of an unbalanced foundation, which according to the Concrete Network can cause considerable damage and loss of property value to a home. Drywall cracks may appear obvious, but you can have cracks in your plaster walls or ceilings without even knowing it. Depending on the temperature and humidity, the parts of the home prone to swelling may actually put enough pressure on an existing crack to seal it up temporarily, making it impossible to detect until those components shrink again.

Repair

• When patching a crack in your wall or ceiling, you must use the right materials and techniques, or the crack will simply reopen at a later date. A simple covering with spackle will not hold up under the continued stresses that caused the crack to form in the first place. Ask the Builder recommends covering plaster cracks with an adhesive tape such as fiberglass mesh or drywall paper tape that can absorb occasional shifting forces, followed with a building material called setting-type joint compound. You can tame drywall seam cracks by hammering the seams down, applying drywall tape and covering the area with hot mud, according to Mike Bell's Drywallschool.com.

Prevention

• While you may have no way to avoid age-related cracking of your walls and ceilings, you can still take steps to help prevent future cracks from forming. A foundation repair specialist can inspect your home’s foundation to detect any signs of shifting or unevenness and recalibrate the foundation level as needed. This kind of preventative maintenance can help keep walls and ceilings intact and windows and doors functional.