Kitchen Ceiling Is Cracking, What Do I Do? – On the House

Kitchen Ceiling Is Cracking, What Do I Do?

By on August 5, 2015

Q. I have a 38 year old home. My kitchen ceiling is cracking where it meets the walls. The ceiling is also cracking diagonally from the closet out to the middle of the room. I can’t understand what is happening. What should I do? -Martha L., Antioch, CA.

A. Spring is a time of year when rains subside and the sun comes out. The earth dries and our homes settle ever so slightly as the last bits of moisture evaporate from the soil. In your part of the country, a year of record rainfall is followed by seven years of drought. This radical change is bound to cause cracking in older homes with less modern and less stable foundations. We would suggest that you have a structural engineer look things over — just to make sure that nothing serious is going on. If all is safe structurally then monitor the cracks. If they expand and contract with changes in season patch them. If they get bigger and bigger you have a serious structural settlement problem that will require an engineers report to properly repair.

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