LESLIE: Kurt in Ohio has a house that’s cracking up. Tell us about it.
KURT: Yeah, I have this house I purchased about five years ago. The house is about 16 years old. When I purchased the house, I noticed that the second floor had cracks in the ceilings, around the walls and everything.
TOM: Right.
KURT: And just the other day, I started noticing that they’re downstairs as well and I never saw them before. So I’m just kind of curious; is this because the house is still settling? Is it because of something else? And how can I stop it and fix it and prevent it from continuing to do so?
TOM: Well, cracks that have not been attended to are pretty common in a house of that age. If you don’t – if you’re not seeing any foundation cracks or any evidence of real significant movement, I wouldn’t think that they’re necessarily indicative of a structural problem.
The way to fix a crack to make sure it doesn’t come back is to use a perforated drywall tape. There is some tape out there that looks kind of like a gauze; it’s sticky-backed and it sits on top of the drywall and then you spackle through it and into the drywall underneath. And we often recommend that type of tape to use for crack repair because it’s really strong and it doesn’t open up.
But the fact that you’re getting cracks in the walls and the ceilings at the corners, that’s pretty typical in a 16-year-old house. And if it’s never been attended to, that’s probably why.
KURT: OK. That’ll work then.
TOM: Alright. Well, good luck with that project.
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