Hello Folks,
Observed a sag in a collar beam today causing a crack in the ceiling. How would you guys report it? Could snow load be a reasons. I am from Alberta we don’t get very high wind here but tons of snow every year.
Rahul, something has been removed on the interior, judging by the ceiling paint. Could they have done something that removed some support? I see a lot of amateur flippers remove load-bearing walls to open up a space, and things start sagging. Is there support under the mid-line of the attic, where the ceiling joists meet?
Morning, Rahul.
That home from the 1940’s or 50’s? The planks used for gable sheathing are fairly wide.
Are those collar ties in the top third of the rafter?
You have any images above the collar ties or further back to have a broader comparison?
The crack in the ceiling textured plaster is likely in close proximity to a ceiling joist or ceiling rafter tie.
There is split lumber.
The sagging collar ties lumber appears to be spliced. Likely a prior fortification repair.
While those collar ties do appear to be a problem, I have some questions. Are the collar ties in the upper third? Sorta looks it, but I can’t see above them. They kind look like they are in the middle and effectively not acting as a collar tie or rafter tie.
Why would the collar tie make the ceiling of the structure floor below have a crack? The collar tie affects the roof more than the ceiling below. I realize that if the walls bow out, it causes all sorts of other issues, but a bowed wall causes cracks at the wall seams, cracks in the drywall of the walls, not so much in the ceiling.
Was there noticeable sagging in the area of the cracked drywall?
My thoughts exactly. Collar ties prevent the roof from " flattening out". If the collar ties are defective, there should also be roof sagging in the same area.
Right, These collar ties help the roof for wind load and sag. The rafter ties(i.e. ceiling joists/attic floor) below help the walls. The sagging of the above shouldn’t have that much impact on the below until it gets into collapse levels of sag. Granted it’s all tied together, so a shift in one area can cause unpredictable results.
Frankly that crack in the ceiling at the joint looks like almost every garage I inspect in Florida. They all crack eventually because it’s unconditioned sitting under a super hot attic. The only reason I don’t say that here is that this appears to be a conditioned home and probably not getting Florida levels of heat delta from attic to living space.
Start by pulling back the insulation at that location and see what it looks like from the top.
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What Randy says.
Collar ties have nothing to do with the cause of drywall cracking. What Ben said and Randy’s solution to the cause.