How to Fix Cracks Between Wall and Ceiling

LESLIE: Christine in Rhode Island needs some help with a wall that seems to be separating from the rest of the bathroom. How can we help you?

CHRISTINE: In a bathroom – it’s on the second floor. And the – I guess it’s from settling but this building is 12 years old and I patched that area with Durabond and it has separated again. So I don’t know what to do. Cover it up with crown molding maybe?

TOM: Mm-hmm. So the wall between the wall and the ceiling is what’s cracking?

CHRISTINE: Yes.

TOM: And you say Durabond. Is that a plaster – a spackle?

CHRISTINE: It dries very hard.

TOM: Well, look, so if you just put that on the wall, it’s got no stretch to it. What’s going to happen is it’s essentially going to crack again. It’s only filling the gap that’s there. It’s not stopping the crack from happening.

If you want to stop the crack from happening, what you have to do is you have to sand the wall and the ceiling in that area. You have to apply a drywall tape. We recommend fiberglass tape because it’s easy for DIYers. It’s like a netting. You put it across that crack and then you spackle on top of that. That gives it the strength to kind of bridge those two surfaces, which now want to move and expand and contract in different directions. Does that make sense?

CHRISTINE: Yeah, it makes sense. It sounds like a whole lot of work.

TOM: Yeah. And that’s what’s going to stop it. Or of course, like you say, you could just cover it with molding and call it a day, alright? Either way is fine but if you just put spackle on it or this product you’re calling Durabond, it’s not going to stop the crack. It will just come back again and again and again.

CHRISTINE: OK. Well, I thank you very much. I love your show.