Rafter Cracked
A severely arched, bulged, cracked, or sagging floor joist can only get worse over time, eventually deforming the floor above it. Correcting a problem joist is an easy repair and makes a big difference in your finished floor. It’s best to identify problem joists and fix them before installing your underlayment and new floor covering.One way to fix joist problems is to fasten a few new joists next to a damaged floor joist in a process called sistering. When installing a new joist, you may need to notch the bottom edge so it can fit over the foundation or beam.
If that’s the case with your joists, cut the notches in the ends no deeper than 1/8″ of the actual depth of the joist.Tools & Materials4-ft. LevelHammerChiselAdjustable wrenchTape measureRatchet wrench3″ lag screws with washersFraming lumber16d common nailsHardwood shimsMetal jack posts How to Repair a Cracked or Sagging JoistStep1: Identify the cracked or sagging joist before it causes additional problems. Remove any blocking or bridging above the sill or beam where the sister joist will go.Step2: Place a level on the bottom edge of the joist to determine the amount of sagging that has occurred.
Rafter Cracked Roof
Cut a sister joist the same length as the damaged joist. Place it next to the damaged joist with the crown side up.
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If needed, notch the bottom edge of the sister joint so it fits over the foundation or beam.Step3: Nail two 6-ft. 2 x 4s together to make a cross beam, then place the beam perpendicular to the joists near one end of the joists. Position a jack post under the beam and use a level to make sure it’s plumb before raising it.Step4: Raise the jack post by turning the threaded shaft until the cross beam is snug against the joists. Position a second jack post and cross beam at the other end of the joists. Raise the posts until the sister joist is flush with the subfloor. Insert tapered hardwood shims at the ends of the sister joist where it sits on the sill or beam. Tap the shims in place with a hammer and scrap piece of wood until they’re snug.Step5: Drill pairs of pilot holes in the sister joist every 12″, then insert 3″ lag screws with washers in each hole.
Cut the blocking or bridging to fit and install it between the joists in its original position.
Cracked Rafter Repair
If you are able to post a couple of photos, using the Answer This Question button, it would make it easier to see what is happening.Here is a similar recent question about the same sort of problem, with a bunch of response on possible causes - peruse that list and see if it helps.If you can access the area over the top (attic?) to make sure you do not have water damage or heavy frost loading, that wouldeliminate a lot of the possible, and probbly most ofthe most serious, possible causes. Make sure to only step on wood framing - the ceiling drywall is nailed to the bottom of that framing - you step on it or the insulation over itand you can being a piece of your ceiling down, or even fall through. While up there also look for any sign of rafter or truss distress, or of the joint between the top of the rafters at the peak opening up at the bottom of the joint, as if the roof was trying to flatten out, pushing the walls outward. This would be probably the worst case, but also probably the rarest. Thank you for the picture - six possibilities I can think of now I have seen it.If you do the lift-up test I suggested - pushing gently (maybe 5-10 pounds) with both hands near but not at the edge, using a board with a blanket over it to spread the load so you do not crack it - if it will lift up, then it is coming loose, which tells us something.
(May take two people - one lifting, one watching to see if the gap closes up).1) possibly due to water in the attic, weighting the insulation (but water has not made it through the insulation to wet and stain the drywall yet). This is rare with fiberglass as it does not hold water real well, so by the time it starts getting heavy, you generally have water staining, though not always - sometimes the vapor barrier holds a fair amoutn of water before letting it wet the drywall. However, with 'cellulose' - the gray shredded newspaper that is blown in, it packs quite well and absorbs water like crazy so it can get quite heavy before the water drains through it enough to stain the drywall - especially if there is a vapor barrier on top of the drywall, which there should be. A foot thickness of blown-in shredded newspaper can pick up as much as about 20-30 pounds of water PER SQUARE FOOT - far more than enough to bring an entire ceiling down long before that much water gets into it.
Obviously, if you can access the area above, you should be able to confirm or rule this source pof the problem out.2) possibly due to inadequate number of screws or nails along the edge. Another possibility, especially with an angled intersection like that, is that instead of cutting a bevelled edge joist or sill to nail to they used just a rectangular one, or did not even put one there - so if they nailed near the edge of a flat piece, they may have totally missed going into wood. May be it needs to be nailed further back where there is a rafter - hopefully not more than a few inches back - a stud finder and metal finder (some have both capabilities in one) would tell if the nails or screws are going into wood to not.If it does NOT lift up, then three possibilities I can see:3) water in the attic (see #1) getting to the paper tape at the joint, causing it to peel. If the paper is peeling but the drywall is NOT coming loose, then removing the tape and retaping it (with fiberglass tape) would be your solution, with of course touchup repainting afterward.4) moisture in the house getting to paper drywall joint tape, causing it to peel - see #3 solution, above.5) that they used an edge strip at the corner, which is a metal perforated strip that is plastered over - usually used on vertical drywall corners so if you hit them drywall does not break off. I don't think that is the case here, because it would have required custom bending a strip to the angle you have - not something a normal contractor would go to the trouble of doing. IF there is an edge strip (probing with a nail would tell that) and the nails are rusting, it could come loose.6) one other possibility, who a drywall contractor might be able to assess, or it might take a carpenter unless you can get up there yourself - if your flat roof section is suspended from flat joists but the sloping A-type or cathedral ceiling is supported from sloping joists or rafters that are independent, then joist lift could be causing it - lifting the sloping drywall off the flat piece.
I can't really see how this likely be happening, because where the crack is wouldnormally be a beam across there (paralle to the crack) to hold the end of the flat joists - unless you have one of these screwy double inverted trusses that structurally supports the roof at a higher level, with drop-down bottom chord that supports the flat cediling below the main truss like the double invesrted truss image here -in which case truss lift could be the problem. This would be much more likely if the A frame ceiling was truss supported, but the flat ceiling was on separate joists supported only it, like is done with a dropped-ceiling kitchen.This is so hard to assess without actually being hands on - maybe your best bet is to find a good general contractor who specializes in roof framing and roof/ceiling joist and truss repairs to first determine the cause, then fix it.
Raft Hacked
ANotehr alternative, if you would not trust a contractor to give you an honest answer, would be to pay $250-400 or so for a structural engineer familiar with roof truss and drywall cracking issues to assess it.Your other alternative is to, after making sure water from above is not the problem, is make sure the drywall is secured tight to the joists above it, and put a nailing joist along above that edge, and rescrew the edges of both sheets to that, then retape. Looked back at this question as a possible reference for someone with a similar question - write me up with a total FAIL on my response. First time around I missed that you said 'joint is cracked on both edges of tape' - rather than a crack down the middle of the tape.Assuming you mean a nice straight crack along the tape edge, this almost always means the tape is coming off - which could be due to moisture in the overlying joist area, or picking up moisture from the house and coming loose, or maybe poorly bonded and stretching a bit as the A framing moves with age and open up the 'A' a bit. And not necessarily enough moisture to be a problem for the house.