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I purchased a house about 6 months ago and there was a small crack that seemed to have been patched up/repaired. The inspector had no issues with it, but I just looked and it seems to have grown within the last week or so. Should I be concerned? the house is 25 years old. The roof was repaired in 2005. I appreciate any feedback you can provide!
You can tell where the old crack was by the grey surrounding the actual crack, this is where it was patched.
The new crack starts thick but is thinner towards the end. Sorry I can't get a better picture, but I'd assume it's about 30-50% as big as the old crack.
We haven't had any significant rain in the last week, I did repair a leak 3 weeks ago caused by a small hole created by the awning structure, but I hope it isn't a leak issue. I haven't seen any signs of water damage here.
Due to the fact that it's not straight it's not a butt joint (two sheets of drywall meet). Which leads me to believe it's a stress crack- that means something is moving. Cracks any place else? From the corners of windows, doors, or in corners of exterior walls?
There is no space above, we are in Florida and it is 1 story. There are no other cracks anywhere else in the home. The inspector said he had built 100s of homes in the area and wasn't worried, but obviously a growth after 6 months is causing me pause.
That looks like a drywall screw on the left. I doubt it is water related as no staining, but if that is a screw head then someone did a repair there at one time...maybe that section got pushed down from the attic when some HVAC work was going on...most likely it is cosmetic and has grown because of the seasonal change. Depending on why the repair had to be made and how thick the mud layer is on your ceiling the crack may continue to grow until it reaches the vault peak. Patch with an elastomeric filler and repaint.
That pic helped-
Definitely stress related. The crack is on a vaulted ceiling that is sitting on that wall/corner. Between the two walls, and the rafter you're getting some movement in several different directions. Some of it could be wind related; and some of it could be expansion/contraction related. Only other thing could be a broken rafter-
Water related? Anything is possible, but since there's no staining I would rather doubt it.
Thanks Born and K'ledgeBldr. That brown dot on the left is actually paint haha, I need to get up there to touch it up. The seasons are definitely in flux here, it's been back in the mid 80s. I am near the Fort Lauderdale area. Should I be concerned that this is a major problem, or is mostly a cosmetic issue as the house ages? If it is a stress crack, is it something that will impact the house structurally? I'm not sure how old the original crack is, but maybe it's growing as it's getting warmer. It was Summer when we moved in. I want to stop it from happening every year if it's season related.
It's a stress crack, probably caused by movement from thermal expansion. You could probably stop the propagation by drilling a 1/4" hole at either end and repairing, but with the texture that's obviously going to show.
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