Crack in a condo wall

RichmondCA wrote: ↑ First you need to run a humidity meter to see whether or not your unit is too dry. It is common to get small cracks in caulking in the winter. Need pics for context, it's possible (as mentioned in this thread) if the windows weren't installed properly/thermally sealed, allowing air leakage.

That said based on the cracks in the OP those look pretty big and would be of concern. Cracks from low humidity in the air in the winters don't cause 1/4-1/2" gaps (unless you are running very dry for prolonged periods of time, but then you'd have a lot more issues).

kangarooz wrote: ↑ Thanks, do you what humidity is acceptable? The cracks are almost identical to ones in the OP, they are located between the wall and baseboard. The cracks between the ceiling and the beams/vents are less pronounced and are under the paint, however you can see them quite clearly. Those cracks are similar to haircracks on a cracked phone but are significantly longer compared to the cracks between the baseboard and wall.

kenchau wrote: ↑ Baseboards? Just caulk it man. That's not a warranty issue at all.

kangarooz wrote: ↑ Thanks, do you what humidity is acceptable? The cracks are almost identical to ones in the OP, they are located between the wall and baseboard. The cracks between the ceiling and the beams/vents are less pronounced and are under the paint, however you can see them quite clearly. Those cracks are similar to haircracks on a cracked phone but are significantly longer compared to the cracks between the baseboard and wall.

kangarooz wrote: ↑ I thought about it, however the baseboard near my bathroom entrance is splitting like a Y and the gap is growing bigger. My inspector said since its under a year you should like the pro (builder) do it. It also protects me in case there are damages between the walls (they cannot blame me for DYI damage?).


Btw the builder just responded, they said they normally dont do it (i know this is BS), but they will do it if I agree for it to the status of "not warranted" which means i cannot further dispute this if it reoccurs. I guess its a no brainer?, my one year is up anyways.

RichmondCA wrote: ↑ Post a pic.

Some condos are more prone to this because of the way they setup the HVAC systems. If your supply ducts are high up on walls or ceiling level, it's not the most efficient way to condition a space which will lead to problems like this at the floor level. Also have to consider the position of the returns.

kangarooz wrote: ↑ Yes sirrrrr

https://ibb.co/vw6kbZF
https://ibb.co/0fLX70x
https://ibb.co/BVJgRLq
https://ibb.co/gg7GSYw

None of the cracks are wide enough to fit a coin in between it. I guess if I push it, it would probably give way.

RichmondCA wrote: ↑Those look pretty normal to me.

senasena wrote: ↑ Pic 1 is poor taping job, cosmetic issue.
Pic 2 is poor drywalling job. Around the windows and doors etc you should leave at least 6 inches of space between the corners of the window/door and the end of the drywall so it doesn't happen, but it's faster for drywallers to install it this way. I see it all the time, cosmetic issue.
Pic 3 looks like they didn't have a piece of baseboard that is long enough and the joint is poorly done, cosmetic.
Pic 4, wall not perfectly straight due to possibly uneven drywall, stud, etc, cosmetic, this is the easiest fix off all of them, just caulk it.