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Question
I live in a 58 year old single story ranch style home on a concrete slab. It's been a very dry year in the SF Bay Area, and I have a 1/4" crack running diagonally across my living room ceiling. It has been suggested that I have another layer of sheet rock screwed on top of the existing ceiling to prevent this happening again. Is this reasonable?
Hi Partricia, If you haven't patched the crack yet I would try that before I re drywalled the ceiling. In doing a structural crack like this I like to use fiberglass tape over the joint as opposed to normal paper drywall tape. The fiberglass tape has some flexibility and may prevent the crack from reappearing. My larger concern is why this crack is diagonal and just appeared? A diagonal drywall crack is unusual. Drywall usually cracks along seams and joints which should be vertical or horizontal. Has there been a shift in your foundation? Are any of your walls showing signs of shifting? If you have any more information you would like to share I may be able to give a more detailed answer. Please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com
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| Comment | Thank you so much for your answer. I'll try patching before replacing the sheetrock. We had a slight earthquake tremor a few months ago and it may have put more strain on the ceiling. Best regards, Patricia | ||
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Answers by Expert:
Bruce E. Johnson
Expertise
I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.
Experience
Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.
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