Timber Frame Settling - or something else?

tails_naf

Hi All,

Just a quick one -
Do timber-frames shrink/settle slightly after move in?
In one room in particular I have floor-to-ceiling cracks at 3 of the 4 corners and a similar crack along the chimney breast (blockwork with plaster-board around). there is also a crack along the joint of the wall and ceiling along one wall.

The cracks look to be the result of the wall pulling away/back by a few mm.

i don't mind a whole lot, as it's just one room, I can chip away the cracked plaster and fill/sand, but I just want to check if this is normal - or an indication of something more serious....

Note: house was dried out for a few weeks after plastering, but maybe it was not enough?

FesterBeatty

So you have a timber frame connected to a masonry chimney breast? Timber and masonry have different rates of thermal expansion so they will naturally tend to pull apart. They should however be resisted by some form of designed connection (even expanded metal would help) however I doubt your builder installed anything by the sounds of it. You can spend your life patch repairing the crack and it will keep opening up due to the different coefficients of thermal expansion. You could however introduce a movement joint - but it might look cat!

With regard to the other cracks this could be due to a number of factors, perhaps the timber was lying in a yard uncovered, absorbed moisture and is now fully drying out and shrinking? It could be settlement, it could be thermal expansion, or as you suggest could be more serious. If you're concerned hire a structural engineer - unfortunately the correct answer wont be found on the internet.

dazzlermac

having similar issues myself.....where in cork u at?