6 Reasons Your Ceiling Cracks Along Drywall Seams and How to Fix It

Cracks along drywall seams between your ceiling and walls can make it seem like your house is about to fall apart at the seams. But cracks don’t necessarily mean the worst for a home, especially if you have natural hairline cracks. We’ve rounded up some of the most common causes of ceiling cracks along drywall seams and simple fixes that you can implement so you (and your home) can keep it together.

1. Water Damage

Water is essential, but it can wreak havoc on your home if it’s leaking somewhere. Ceiling cracks along drywall seams accompanied by discoloration are a telltale sign of water damage. Leaks can enter your home and damage your ceiling from the roof or through the floor above your ceiling. 

How to Fix It

To fix ceiling cracks along drywall seams caused by water damage, you’ll need to address the cause of the water damage first. If there’s a bathroom above the area where you see the crack or if you’ve just had heavy rain, be sure to get a professional in to investigate. 

Hire a local plumber to repair pipes and stop leaks before repairing the drywall. Other water damage problems may originate from your roof or leaky gutters. In this case, consider hiring a roofing or gutter repair company near you to inspect the roof.

2. Heavy Stuff

While floors support furniture and all manner of heavy items, if you have something especially heavy above the crack, it can put too much pressure on the ceiling beneath it. Bathtubs are often a culprit here as well, since they’re quite heavy and need extra support. If that support is missing, it can cause your ceiling and walls to crack one floor down.

How to Fix It

The best way to prevent further ceiling cracks along drywall seams from heavy objects is to remove the objects causing the strain. You may need to convert your bathtub into a shower, which is significantly lighter than a bathtub. 

Also, consider adding support to your ceiling so it can handle the extra weight. Doing this is a major renovation that requires installing reinforcements like joists, beams, or headers to your home’s structure to increase its load capacity. Work with a structural engineer in your area to help you plan your project. 

3. Improperly Installed Drywall

If installed improperly, drywall can crack pretty easily. The culprit, in this case, is improper taping. Basically, contractors install drywall in sheets and stick it together with drywall mud. Then, tape is put on over the mud before you paint. If that seam is between the drywall and, in this case, an improperly sealed ceiling, then you might experience drywall tape cracking in the ceiling.

How to Fix It

Cracks in ceiling drywall are usually not serious; you or a pro can patch them pretty easily. To repair cracks in drywall, you’ll need to remove the damaged drywall using a utility knife, fill it with drywall mud, apply new drywall tape, and then add several more layers of mud. Once it dries, sand it, add another thin layer of drywall mud, and then sand and repaint the wall. 

The average ceiling repair costs $1,100, while drywall repair costs around $600, with labor ranging from $60 to $90 an hour. 

4. Aging Home

It happens—humans get wrinkles on their faces as they age, while homes get cracks in their ceilings. As a home gets older, the foundation settles, which can cause cracks in ceilings, walls, and even flooring.

How to Fix It

When it comes to an aging home, any drywall repairs you make are superficial and won’t stop further cracks from appearing. However, you can still cover up the cracks in several different ways, depending on the size. For small cracks, apply drywall mud and slide a knife across the material until the crack is full and the wall is smooth, then repaint the wall. For larger cracks, you may need to cut out some of the cracks to widen them before filling, sanding, and repainting.

5. Foundation Problems

Don’t confuse normal foundation settling with foundation problems. If your foundation has been damaged somehow, whether by soil settlement, bad construction, water, or insects like termites, it can radiate through your entire home. Cracks more than a quarter-inch wide are signs of serious structural problems, and you should have a professional come and look at your foundation ASAP.

How to Fix It

It’s important to know the difference between foundation problems vs. settling when addressing a crack in ceiling drywall seams. Natural settling doesn’t require repairs, but problems with your foundation do require action. You’ll need to apply a strong foundation repair method, which should be handled by a trained foundation repair specialist near you. Here are the most common solutions for repairing a settling foundation:

• Carbon fiber strips

• Helical piers

• Polyurethane foam

• Poured concrete piers

• Segmented piers

• Shimming

• Slab jacking

• Spot pier 

• Steel piers

6. Truss Uplift

A roof truss is composed of wood placed in a triangular “webbing” to support the roof. The ceiling of the house is then attached to the trusses with screws or nails. Because the ceiling structurally ties to the roof, any time the pieces of wood get wet and expand or dry and contract, there’s the potential for the drywall on the wall to pull away from the ceiling at corners and intersections. These gaps are not a structural problem, but they can be an eyesore.

How to Fix It

Truss uplift is challenging to fix permanently because the issue is often caused by external circumstances, like your climate. The best way to fix truss uplift and prevent it from recurring is by disconnecting the drywall from the trusses so that they can move freely without influencing the ceiling and drywall. This is not a DIY project because it requires removing ceiling screws connecting the drywall to the trusses from your attic. 

For a cosmetic but more affordable solution, you can install crown molding and nail the trim to the ceiling to cover cracks created from truss uplift. 

When to Call a Professional for Ceiling Cracks

You should call a local drywall repair pro if you suspect termites, water damage, or foundational issues. Termites require a pest control professional and may require several treatments to take care of the problem. Water damage can permeate further into the structure of your home than you can see with the naked eye, so it’s important to call a plumber or contractor if you suspect water damage.

Foundation problems are the most serious cause of cracked drywall, so you should call in a contractor immediately if you think that’s the cause. If you don’t have a contractor you work with regularly, ask friends or neighbors for a recommendation or check online reviews and source several quotes before making your selection.