Cracks on Ceiling and Walls in a New House General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[flojo]

Hi, I'm probably worrying about nothing but I know nothing about DIY. My house is 10yrs old & I have noticed that I have cracks along my ceilings, along the skirting boards where they meet the walls, along my walls where they meet the doors & my architraves have cracks where each seperate piece meets (along where they join together). Is this normal as this is the case in every room & will they get worse if I leave them? Please help!

[JRS]

Probably just normal new build cracks. Normally when houses are built they are cold and damp when taped and decorated, but when a tenant moves in the heating expands all the materials causing them to move apart. Like settlement cracks. Round the skirting and facings cut away the old caulk and re-do. The cracks on the ceiling and walls might need replaced too but only if you want the expense.

[chris_on_tour2002]

yup - totally normal i'm afraid. from your description all the cracks are appearing in areas where some normal movement would be expected. you can either waste your life continually filling and painting them only for them to reappear or you can go and find something more worthwhile to do! but from a structural point of view i doubt that you have anything to worry about.

[hunt]

cracks are normally found after some time on surface of wall, it is routine, temperature is main cause of this problem 8)