I bought this house (single story, finished two car garage-modern). I noticed cracks and found online that there were 8 earthquakes the last two days, in the lower state I live in . Asking neighbors, only one had a few things fall off the wall, most didn't realize it at all. Maybe house settling?? Cracks along the wall/ceiling joint, coming down the wall near the electrical panel, and new joint cracks on the ceiling. this is all texture and paint. OK, can I Spackle and paint now?? or will it just keeping on cracking?? 4 foot level is not finding anything wrong. fun being a homeowner.
Typically a drywall crack needs to be reinforced or it will re-crack in the same place. Usually this involves putting something like Creeping Crack Cure in the crack, and covering the crack with drywall tape. Then it needs to be re-mudded, sanded and primed. With texture, things get tricky, as it is difficult to repair texture without it looking obvious. Sometimes your drywall mud can be textured with a damp sponge. Texturing would take place of sanding. Or you could just say screw it, fill the crack with a paintable caulking compound, like painter's DAP, let it dry, and touch up with paint. It may or may not recrack, as the caulk is flexible. I was a teenager/early 20's when I worked as a drywaller, so things may have changed with better repair materials and techniques. Good luck.
Hi, I remodeled and sheetrocked homes in two earthquake active areas for 15 years. Caulking may help but it definitely depends on how big the crack is. Our standard repair technique was to come in with fiberglass tape. It has a light adhesive to hold it in place before you go back over with topping compound. This makes it perfect for home repair. Also it is stronger than the paper tape that was originally used. Chances are if it is done moving this should fix the problem but if it shifts again there is nothing that is going to hold it together. Just a quick technique on taping corners. Either use a 6-inch knife or a corner knife for the initial coat. Come back with a 10-inch knife to float out the transition. Only mud one side of the angle at a time and let it dry. Otherwise, you will fight trying not to leave marks on the opposite edge. It may seem like it adds time but the finished product will look better. Best of luck
New cracks in the middle, that is new. Going to jump up in this attic and see, because these looks like joint cracks. Everything I Spackled looks good.
New cracks are joint cracks. Temps are down to the high 30's now, Winter coming in. Will paint in the Spring if nothing else changes. Garage is not insulated, I imagine that is part of it.
