dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
628

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired

Member

Wall crack - wintertime

Click for full size
Click for full size
I have a crack that forms at the corner of the door frame that leads to a bathroom at home. It opens up every winter and closes up in the summer. Also, in the winter, the door frame shifts just enough to keep the latch from hitting the hole in the plate.

This room is a first floor bedroom and bathroom on top of a crawl space and is standard 1960s construction with dimensional lumber joists. Above is the attic, ranch style house.

Inside is kept at 70F and humidity is about 30%. There are a few other cracks (trim joints, etc.) that open up in the winter too, but this wall one is the most noticeable.

Any tips for addressing this without major work?

mityfowl
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX

mityfowl

Premium Member

Welcome to my world
mityfowl

mityfowl to PSWired

Premium Member

to PSWired
It's a foundation issue.

Good luck

SparkChaser
Premium Member
join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA

SparkChaser to PSWired

Premium Member

to PSWired
Mine does it at the ceiling - wall joint in the bedroom. Has for 34 years. I believe mine is called truss uplift.

Icarus
CHAOS RULES
Mod
join:2000-11-08
Off Center

Icarus to PSWired

Mod

to PSWired
Do you run a humidifier in the winter? Could just be the house dries out and it shrinks a bit. Even at 30% thats alot lower than during summer months.

How much snow is on your roof? Also possible the weight stresses the framing enough under load.

PSWired
join:2006-03-26
Annapolis, MD

PSWired

Member

I don't use a humidifier in the winter, but as I get older and my skin dries out, that might change...

Good observation, though. This is Maryland and I'm only a few hundred feet from the Bay. It's swampy and humid here all summer, so the winter/summer humidity delta is pretty high. I use the A/C all summer, so indoor humidity is down in the 50-60% range, but the attic and crawl space definitely get swampy.

Suggestions for whole house humidifiers? Hydronic heat, so no forced air for distribution in the wintertime.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

»www.homedepot.com/p/Essi ··· Z1z0u4xj

That is likely what you will end up needing, Or a similar style.

Just remember as the season for it winds down to make sure its completely emptied and the wicks dried out... Though they really suggest new wicks for each season anyway.

As a heads up as well the "bottles" in those things are rarely light when filled and that is the main headache with large units is keeping them "watered". afaik the only bypass to the bottles would be some kind of McGyver job with a ice machine float valve.