What's going on with my house? Joints are cracking in walls, random spots of paint are coming loose

The Coffee Shop
1

Since I bought back in October of 2007 the house (which is 60+ years old, but in great shape) has done some weird things, which all old houses do.

The most consistent oddity has been that random spots of paint will up and chip, flake and fall off. Other spots will bubble and show noticeably. And as I’ve painted in various spots, dull painter’s tape will pull paint off the walls.

Moisture levels? Temperature variances? I’m lost on that one. It’s not thaaaaaat frustrating, but due to the massive layers of paint when this happens it all comes off (seems to go down to the original wall) and I have to spackle to fill the hole (in some spots I haven’t as I think it is actually a nice texture to the walls, I’m weird).

But a few months ago things got a little more serious. I repainted our master bathroom months ago, things went fine except for a few spots in the ceiling where paint stripped.

Fast forward to about 10 weeks ago and I notice that a corner in the ceiling has a growing crack. Not huge, but the distance between the walls drywall and the ceiling drywall was approaching 1/3" in one spot. I take care of it, but some of the ceiling drywall was soft/loose. Not wet soft, but almost like it was stale or something. I cut that all out, spackled, sanded and painted.

Well 5 or 6 weeks ago it reappeared, and then I walked through the house upstairs to see if it was going on elsewhere. Lo and behold, there are a few other similar spots like that. There are also some cracks (not wide, but cracks nonetheless) in the office.

Then 3 weeks ago the cracks “disappear”, meaning the spacing diminished but you could still tell it had cracked.

WTF is going on?

The cracks/spaces in the MBR in 4 spots have the drywall tape coming off. So 1) do I have to replace the drywall tape? 2) should I maybe use caulk instead of spackle so it can expand and contract?

The weather has been fairly normal around here, nothing crazy (maybe even less cold than in the past, though it was cold last week till yesterday).

I have not yet asked my two neighbors (who are awesome, very helpful and very knowledgeable about stuff like this and the histories of the houses) about the issue, and think I need to do so as well.

Ideas?

Footnote: the house was originally three bedroom one bath, but was expanded on the back in the 70s with a master bedroom and a family room below (with half bath) by the owners two generations ago. The most recent owners put in a master bathroom about 8 years ago.

Part of the roof of the expansion is on top of the original roof. I have access to the crawl space (it’s less than that I’m told) in the addition through a MBR closet. I think I need to take a look.

The roof was reshingled just a short few years ago, and I’ve been up there a few times and it looks fine.

The front of the house faces south, I have two large trees that provide shade in the summer.

2

When drywall feels “stale” and kinda soft, and joint tape becomes visible/peels…it’s usually moisture.

3

You could hire an independent home inspector for a professional opinion. Usually the good ones are older guys who worked in the construction business beforehand for years. I don’t know what they charge, but it could be a good investment.

4

Have you heard any voices saying “GET OUT!” If so, pack your bags and leave!

Sorry, that’s the only advice I have.

5

I have a 1938 home 4500 sq ft home which I have renovated over the past 12 years. This is my 3rd old house. I know pretty much all there is to know about old house problems (learned the hard way). From your info it is impossible to tell what your problem is. First, you say there are renovations but don’t state whether the walls in question are plaster or newer drywall. For plaster walls they will start to leach salt after 60-70 years. That causes paint to peel and bubble. Cure is to wash the walls with TSP and then put a oil based primer and then top coat with the desired paint. Cracks in plaster can’t just be taped and patched. You can sometimes use fiberglass mesh tape but the best results are with “keying” the plaster.

I’d go on and on, but this stuff may not apply to you. More info and maybe I could help.

6

BTW, surely you aren’t putting latex based paint over the original oil (and lead)based paint are you?

Please no…that would be really, really bad.

7

Mid 1940’s build, so the original walls aren’t exactly plaster from what I’m told. The ceilings are are these prefab’ish panels made of plaster but have some element to the older style material as well (I’d have to ask for specifics, but I’m told it is this odd period of material). The 1970’s (estimated) addition is drywall, with the 2000’ish add in MBA being drywall.

The cracks in the MBA and MBR are in the drywall (so it sounds like I could tape and patch?), but I have other (smaller, less width) cracks in the original walls/ceiling.

As to “surely you aren’t putting latex based paint over the original oil (and lead)based paint are you?”

There’s just no way for me to know what I’m painting over. I’d have to say that somewhere there is lated on top of original oil. We’re talking numerous layers of paint at this point, several colors when things chip etc. It definitely sounds like the plaster walls are leaching salt, but I’m also having the issues with the drywall (per a previous poster, sounds like I could have moisture issues; however nothing has changed structurally since I bought the house).

When I have taped and the painter’s tape has pulled off several layers, sometimes it goes to the original wall, sometimes not. I’m using latex based paint, but I don’t think there’s any way to know what I have painted over. Especially not what the most recent owners used, which since it was 1999 till Oct 2007 I have to assume was all latex unless they somehow knew to use oil based and never mentioned it (which would be odd, because they were awesome and gave me all the manuals from the kitchen upgrade, drew a diagram of the landscaping they had done outside, etc; they gave me all the info they had).

Since I have at least 5, if not more, layers of paint on the original plaster’ish walls am I totally screwed? Sanding that down would be an immense if not impossible problem.

Sounds like I need to talk to my neighbors for similar problems.

And sounds like there is a possible moisture problem as well.

Thanks for comments, I very much appreciate.

8

Since I have at least 5, if not more, layers of paint on the original plaster’ish walls am I totally screwed? Sanding that down would be an immense if not impossible problem

If the paint is peeling in that old of a house it’s latex over oil. My last house was 64 yo, and had a similar problem. The good news is, plaster is tougher than drywall and can take a scraping. I had to scrap my entire kitchen with a 6" putty knife, complete pain in the ass, but it worked. In many areas, large sections of paint peeled off like blisters. I think I bought Zinser primer to seal the oil based paint, wait til’ spring it’s nasty stuff.

If you think it’s a moisture problem, get a couple of dehumidifiers and see what happens. You electric bill will go through the roof, but it might help.

What state do you live in?

9

Let me ask you a question since I had a similar experience. Are the cracks close to the transition between the original house and the additions? If so, you could be experiencing some differential settlement. Rains? If the soil get wet, it could expand and contract differently under the different foundations. Compaction under the foundation done in the 40’s will be different than the recent renovation. At my house, I solved the problem by hardsacping the areas adjacent to the renovations, and diverting all water away from the footings, and the house ceased to move. I also had paint spalling, which was due to moisture getting into the walls via the cracks in the exterior, plus from saturated. That went away after I replastered the exterior.

10

I’m with 1K here.

Have you had wither extrordinary wet or dry recently. If you’re in a drought area, I’d assume that the house is settling a bit and racking.

If that’s the case, wait it out. I haven’t read your posts enough to help with the paint issues yet, but will when I get back in.
Kai

11

Totally screwed is way too extreme. As others said you probably have some settling, and the moisture could be a product of the bathroom. Where do you live?

I found that a really good knowledgeable paint store can tell you about everything you need about how to deal with paint issues. Take one of your good sized peeling pieces with you. Don’t go to Lowes or HD.

My roof leaked during a hurricane and one plaster wall got soaked pretty good. The salt leached out and the paint bubbled up. I painted that thing for a couple of years before all of it quit peeling.

12

You can indeed lay modern water based paints over oil based paints.

Your paint issues are typical of problems associated with poor preparation. If you can peel older layers off with tape, they will have to be removed. Scrape, sand or whatever, it will have to happen until you get down to a sound substrate.

At that point, clean the wall free of dust, prime (Zinsser 123) and paint (please buy quality) with two coats. I use SW products and have been happy with Duration and Cashmere. If you feel the need, the GardenWeb Home forums include a Paint forum which will answer virtually all of your questions regarding prep and paint. It always boils down to prep.

Rotting sheetrock is usually a function of moisture (past or present). Cracks should be hogged out, adjacent point layers removed, taped if necessary, and filled. YouTube has some great sheetrock repair videos.

Yes, its a pain in the ass, and yes, the lead Nazis will scream (please protect yourself). Think of it all as cross training.

13

I’m with 1K here.

Have you had wither extrordinary wet or dry recently. If you’re in a drought area, I’d assume that the house is settling a bit and racking.

If that’s the case, wait it out. I haven’t read your posts enough to help with the paint issues yet, but will when I get back in.
Kai

Me too. My house is 60 years old and was built on very heavy clay; in winter it is wet and you could make pots out of it and in summer it hardens like concrete. Every home in the neighborhood has seasonal cracks, doors that suddenly aren’t plum or square and a week later they are again.

Old houses breathe.

14

Cracks are all over, up and down stairs, close to the addition and away.

Weather hasn’t been abnormal. It was fairly wet middle of 2008, but had no issues then. My house is one of the few where a lot of flood/water protection steps were taken a long time ago.

But the appearance of cracks, then getting bigger, then reducing drastically in size definitely made me think it was moisture at least in the MBA and MBR.

But the cracks in the living room toward the front (south) side of the house, as well as cracks in a guest bedroom (southside) and office (middle of house) all confuse me.

If I have to scrap off the old paint on all the cracking or “bubbling” walls, I may kill myself as that’d be pretty much the entire house. Original and addition.

Oh, so there’s that. Which leads me to think this is maaaaybe a moisture thing. Paint in the addition is having the random cracking and peeling off as well.

I guess I should be running a dehumidifier all the time???

15

Idiot (sic), would you post photos of both the cracking and the faulty paint. There may be an easy answer here, perhaps not, but its all interesting.

Scraping and sanding paint is not a big deal, just messy. go room by room with ventilation after having sealed the rest of the house off. Well worth the effort. But, we have to identify the issues first.
Kai

16

I would guess the combination of different type paints used, and a foundation that may be very slightly moving.

Depending on the type soil your house is built on, the moisture level can cause your foundation to contract and expand.

People in some parts of the country actually water the soil around the house to keep it a constant moisture level.

I would think the paint flaking is a latex over an oil based problem.

My house was built in 1964, and has some of the same type oddities.

17

Welcome to home ownership. Mine was built in 1952 and I have all the same cracks. they guy who sold it to you patched them with non-elstomeric patching compound and now the groud heaving has exposed the cracks again. You will want to fill them during the winter on a relatively dry day wit elastomeric patching compound. It stretches a little with the seasons and the cracks will not reappear as often or as bad going forward. Read up on how to do it, you can’t really sand the stuff so you need to be careful. I patch the cracks with elasto up to about 1/8" from the surface then top coat it with a blend of elasto and regular patching compound, which you can sand carefully. It’s a bitch, but its part of life in an old house.
The problem is compounded by 10X if your home is built on a slab.

Good luck.

Dave