Beadboard Cracking Help

[Otter11]

Hello,

Looking for some guidance. I just saw this crack today in our breakfast nook. The temperature dropped significantly in Minnesota this weekend into single digits which may have cause it. The room is beadboard all around and was an addition off the main house in 2001 (House was built in 81).

The crack and gaps are in the upper corner where the addition and main house meet. As you can see, there is a primary crack in the seam where two beadboards meet. Also above there are a few gaps around the trim and when I put my hand up to the trim I can feel air coming through making the area around it about 20 degrees colder than the rest of the wall. There is insulation behind the beadboard and I caulked the areas around the trim which has stopped the air moving in for the time being. Understanding this is just a symptom of something else going on, I wanted to get thoughts on how to be proceed.

Is this a normal crack for dry winters in Minnesota?
Is it a moisture problem behind the wall and water is coming in from outside?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Tyler

 

[nealtw]

Tell us about the foundation for the house and the addition.

 

[joecaption]

This is not "normal".
Something has to have moved for that to have bowed out that far.
Is that A picture of the inside?

 

[bud16415]

I’m thinking like Neal on this one. The bead board you have is not strips it is sheets and that is the seam of two sheets. I’m also seeing a few other cracks and all that together makes me thing of frost heaving. Might not be but is where we would start looking.

Did the addition start out as an outside unheated porch etc?

How cold did it get and how fast?

I gather there is no basement under the addition?

And welcome to the forum.

 

[user 4883]

Could be heaving on the paneling without allowance for expansion/contraction.
Of course sometimes when I see this, I immediately look for moisture behind the paneling as it could be warping from moisture.

 

[Snoonyb]

A panoramic photo from the "snow" to above the fascia at that corner may be of assistance.

 

[Otter11]

Tell us about the foundation for the house and the addition.

I dont know too much about it as we bought the house in August and this is our first winter in it. The foundation for the house is a concrete walk out. The addition was tacked onto the backside of the house on the outside and there is a similar room below it (basement walk out). Both the upstairs and downstairs of the addition do not have direct heating/cooling only returns.

 

[Otter11]

This is not "normal".
Something has to have moved for that to have bowed out that far.
Is that A picture of the inside?

Yes that is a picture of the inside of the house.

 

[Otter11]

I’m thinking like Neal on this one. The bead board you have is not strips it is sheets and that is the seam of two sheets. I’m also seeing a few other cracks and all that together makes me thing of frost heaving. Might not be but is where we would start looking.

Did the addition start out as an outside unheated porch etc?

How cold did it get and how fast?

I gather there is no basement under the addition?

And welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the welcome! I am not sure how the addition started out but it is a two story addition basically the same room down below (looks like they both do not have central direct heating/cooling. The room below is has a slider door that closes it off from the rest of the house. That room is very cold right now, not sure it that is part of what is cause the upstairs to have problems. The past few days the temp dropped from the 30s (F) to 0 (F).

 

[nealtw]

I dont know too much about it as we bought the house in August and this is our first winter in it. The foundation for the house is a concrete walk out. The addition was tacked onto the backside of the house on the outside and there is a similar room below it (basement walk out). Both the upstairs and downstairs of the addition do not have direct heating/cooling only returns.

At first look I thought it was frost heave, anything look wrong in the basement?
If finished space, new cracks down there too.
Unfinished look for new cracks in foundation or between old and new.

 

[nealtw]

I dont know too much about it as we bought the house in August and this is our first winter in it. The foundation for the house is a concrete walk out. The addition was tacked onto the backside of the house on the outside and there is a similar room below it (basement walk out). Both the upstairs and downstairs of the addition do not have direct heating/cooling only returns.

Does the photo show the inside corner of the addition wall and the housewall?

 

[Otter11]

At first look I thought it was frost heave, anything look wrong in the basement?
If finished space, new cracks down there too.
Unfinished look for new cracks in foundation or between old and new.

Thanks for the quick response Neal. The basement space looks ok and seams to be holding a good temp perhaps about 60 inside (outside temp is 3 deg F). I have added a few more pictures of the basement. There are some minor gaps where the addition and house come together at the trim. I also took a few shots from the side balcony where you can see the wood shake addition coming out from the house. Lastly there is a close up pic of that upper corner from the outside of the house. There appears to be a small gap where the addition and wood shakes meets the main house (picture is turned on its side)

 

[Otter11]

Does the photo show the inside corner of the addition wall and the housewall?

Yes it does. Here is a picture further back.

 

[nealtw]

We always expect the worst which would be the outside foundation not being deep enough for the frost in you area but it could be something much less.
Walls do shrink in height and that panel might have been cut just a little to long.
Wet 2x4s are as much as 1 5/8 thick and will shrink to 1 1/2" and you have three in a normal wall so the wall could shrink 3/8".
There is really not enough damage to know what is happening for sure.

 

[Otter11]

We always expect the worst which would be the outside foundation not being deep enough for the frost in you area but it could be something much less.
Walls do shrink in height and that panel might have been cut just a little to long.
Wet 2x4s are as much as 1 5/8 thick and will shrink to 1 1/2" and you have three in a normal wall so the wall could shrink 3/8".
There is really not enough damage to know what is happening for sure.

Thanks Neal. How would you suggest I trouble shoot this one. Is my best bet to take the paneling off to get a closer look? Or have a general contractor come out and take a peek?

 

[nealtw]

Thanks Neal. How would you suggest I trouble shoot this one. Is my best bet to take the paneling off to get a closer look? Or have a general contractor come out and take a peek?

I would leave it for a while and see what it does.
I am not sure there would be anything to see to get a good idea of what is happening.
Frost heaves take a fairly long deep freeze for the frost to work under the foundation. More damage would be on it's way and you would not consider a fix until spring.