About 6 weeks ago, after our last warm up and then subzero temps, I noticed a crack in the ceiling in the kids room. Then two weeks ago I noticed another...and this morning there is now one in the kitchen!!!!!
We have plaster ceilings and I guess the paint is cracking off with the cold weather contracting and expanding the house!'
How do I get the house ready to put it on the market if new ceiling cracks keep showing up? I repaired the kids room, and now I need to do it again!!! I ripped the cracked paint/plaster off it this morning, but now i have to do it in the kitchen... I so don't want to have to repaint all the ceilings, but it's looking that way :-(.
So what fun things are happening to your house because of this super cold winter?
We had an inspector out, he didn't find anything. I was reading online that cold can cause cracks. It seems like a plausible reason since they are showing up after we get a warm up and then a super cold spell.
The house was built in '57.
I no longer have a house, which is frustrating, among other reasons because I can't do some of the weatherization I otherwise would do on my own if I could. I agree HIGHLY with Wild Woman about having the inspection done before you list the house. In part, because you don't want to stiff a buyer.
G Pete aka Dad-Mom
We are having new siding (Hardee Panel) put on our home instead of the T-111 wood siding...our heating bill has gone up because the work is NOT done yet...so we have exposed walls....yeah...it has the vapor wrap or insulation wrap - but it's not the same as having the siding up...
if you are having cracks in your ceiling??? I would inspect the attic and find out what's missing up there that is causing the cracks...how old is your home?
I think people told you to get a home inspection done BEFORE you put the house on the market....I would get an inspector out there and get it done...find out what's going on. I realize that it's been farking cold in Chicago...but this isn't the first winter it's been this cold...something is going on...you need to find out what!!!
our sliding glass door.. refuses to slide when it gets below zero.. so instead of staying nice and toasty warm inside.. I put on arctic gear and take the dog out the front door and walk her around to the backyard.. 6 times a day!!!... as soon as the sun comes out and the temp gets to 20 the door slides like butter.. ... arg..
Your plaster should not be cracking just due to the cold, you have something else going on that you need to address. Definitely check the attic for leaks.
Also, you had to repair it again because it had pulled away from the lathe, and unless you get someone in there to do a proper fix (including knocking out plaster around the crack) this will keep happening. We have a 110 year old house and many days of 10 degrees or less this year, and I haven't noticed ANY new cracks. An inspector will not catch something like this, please get a properly-trained professional to address your plaster issues. We have one, and he's worth his weight in gold. He has fixed every crack we found after we moved in (in 2004) and not one has reappeared.
What I have to deal with this year is that the guy we hired to replace our gutters and downspouts did a really awful job. I have ice all down the one side of my house from leaking gutters, which he did not properly install so there is a gap between them and the house, allowing the water to roll right off the roof and down the side of the house. I took pictures. I am considering legal action since he won't return our calls.
Our heating bills go up to almost $300/month in cold weather like this (I think our highest bill ever was $245, except for 2009 because my bill was around $400 for 3 months, it must have been really cold that year). We have balanced billing, so I just pay about $100/mo year round.
The only thing it has done to my house is shoot he utility bill up by $300 this month.:/
Our gas bill went up to $250. because we use the gas fireplace a lot. We have gas heat and gas water heater but those don't run up the bill too much. It was not a surprise though, I actually expected the bill to be higher.
We have 1 outdoor faucet that began to freeze but hubby nipped that pretty quickly.
Other than that, all is well around here. We had temps in the low teens with wind chills below zero on Thursday with snow, finally got over 32 yesterday and expecting up to high 50's today and high 60's tomorrow. Our weather is all over the place... freezing one day and 70 the next. I'll take the 70-100 any day over this cold....
The cold has been horrible for us too. We also have plaster in most of ours. We have a 2 flat and have the 1st floor. The paint in the hallway has peeled off--completely to the plaster--where the outside brick would be most exposed to the wind. The area where the wall and ceiling meet about our middle window in the living room has a crack that looks a lot worse than it is (also a pressure point) and below the window there are 2 cracks. My husband wants to paint and just saw these cracks yesterday. They have been there since Dec.
Our place was built in Nov 1913.
It's putting off a TON of work we need to have done. I'm also seeking flood insurance (we live in a high risk zone-and didn't need it because we own, but need it for the loan to get the work done). Apparently this is the busy season for flood insurance-because I'm having a terrible time getting anyone to call me back.
I had an awesome home inspector who urges people to hire professionals as advisors-when getting work done, etc. It makes sense. He has several stories on his blog about homeowners who hired him as an advisor and he found contractors trying to cut all kinds of corners! When he found a crack in the ceiling he immidately climbed into the attic to find the cause.
Because we have had to run the heat and the fireplace here so much this winter , the moisture level in the house has really dropped. It is uncomfortable to us and also dries the wood out in the house too (like baseboards). So we have a few humidifies in the house trying to add extra moisture.
We get cracks every fall/winter, especially the last few years because we have had dry summers, which causes a lot of shifting in the foundation with our clay soil. It is just something we are used to. This winter has been so cold that many people have had pipes burst if the pipes are on an outer wall.
nothing dire (yet.....knocks on wood:::::::) but we are blowing through the propane, even though we keep the house in the mid-60s and aren't even cooking that much with the boys gone. it SUCKS!
i like winter, but i'm really really really over this one.
:/ khairete
S.
Our friends had burst pipes in their master bath. So far we are OK.
It has made staying in a room or two a bit cooler than usual. The dining area is a bit larger and open and sitting by windows you can feel the difference more.
Hubby has bumped the heat up to 77 or 78 because of the cold and his health issues. My heating bill is usually around $85 but will probably be $130 this month due to the cold. We have gas heat, water heater, stove and gas starter on fireplace. Sometimes I welcome the warmer home and other times I wish it were cooler.
I definitely would get to the bottom of the problem before a sale otherwise the sale may not go through until all the issues are resolved on the home.
Have a good day.
ALL houses get cracks like that no matter what the weather is, they all settle with time. Just fix them and repaint there is nothing else you can do.
I would rather see repairs done to a home when looking to purchase then no repairs at all. And even brand new built homes can get cracks like that as well, not just old homes. I own homes in PA and FL and it happens in both places.
If the inspector says they are nothing, then you don't have to put them on the report when you list the house. But you DO have to fix them because no one will give you a decent offer on the house. They'll think that the cracks mean trouble.
So sorry...
