Repairing cracks in the ceiling

[johnm99]

Hello all...

I am trying to get my house in sellable shape and I need to or would like to fix my ceilings. I am suspect of some foundational issues but in my area am having a hard time getting someone to come out and check on this.

Either way the sheetrock is cracking in several rooms throughout the house, mainly on the ceilings but I have noticed a couple of walls that it is begining to apear on as well. On the walls it is mostly along the framing of the door or windows. (I was wondering if this was possibly just a joint that wasnt taped?) On the ceilings there really is no ryhme or reason for the location of the cracks. They are not neccessarily along a joint or anything and they are not just a straight line either. Most of these meandor across the ceiling.

I was once told I could hot patch the cracks on the walls and this would be good enough to conceal the cracks. Is this true, and if so could I do that with the ceilings as well. Would I need to apply tape over the cracks and treat it like a joint?

On a side note most of the ceiling texture is not uniform anyway and I am willing to scrape and retexture this in the end... I would rather not replace the sheet rock if possible...

Any suggestions????

Thanks

 

[johnm99]

the pics here are the foyer in the 1st two, the next 2 are in the front hallway and the last one is at the end of the hallway (thats the attic door in the pic)

 

[johnm99]

last of the pics

 

[gnostic19]

unless you or your guy is a real craftsman, you will just draw attention to the covered cracks, esp with the textured parts. I'm not a pro, just speaking from experience. Most of those aren't bad, at least compared to my house.

 

[handyguys]

I tend to agree with gnostoc19 (agree about the repairs anyway)

Dome of the cracks are caused by improper drywall techniques perhaps. Some may be cobwebs. Regardless - Think about a return on investment, since you are selling.

I would spend money cleaning and freshening up the place. Paint the walls and ceilings and do all the normal curb appeal stuff.

if this is a high end house in an expensive neighborhood then you MAY get a return on having a professional come and repair everything and repaint.

 

[johnm99]

Thanks... to both for your input...

The house is not high end at all and not in a very expensive neighborhood either. My wife and I are preparing to move, to start up an outreach ministry, and were trying to save as much equity as possible in the home so we wouldnt be strapped any further than possible during our transition.

If there was some work to revitalize these areas of the house I was going to attempt to do as much as possible before going on the market. (and yes there are a few cobwebs in the pics! We will gladly take them down!)

Thanks again!

 

[handyguys]

I sort of guessed that. You want to make your house better, more attractive to buyers, than the other ones for sale nearby and price it a bit lower. Your Realtor might be able to give you input on if the repairs would pay back or not.