Gap between wall and ceiling?

Greetings,

our little house has now been standing for a year, and for the 2nd time, the wooden beam ceiling is lifting and causing an unsightly gap (about 5mm) between the drywall ceiling and drywall wall on the upper floor. Since this is happening for the 2nd time during the cold season, it is probably due to the temperature and the movement of the wood. This occurs especially strongly on one exterior side (gable side), where our bathroom is located.

My questions regarding this: should I be concerned or is this within the normal range of movement for a new build?

How long does one have to live with this, or in other words, does it settle over time?

Is there anything that can be done about the gap? (In summer the gap closes completely)


Regards, Traixes

Hello Traixes,
it is normal for the house to settle a bit in the first one to two years. Check your contract to see if the transitions between wall/ceiling were declared as maintenance joints; if not, the company should apply new acrylic and paint. If you had painting or wallpapering work done in EL, it will be more difficult to prove who is supposed to do it.

Thank you for the quick response. Hearing that this is still within the realm of normality already reassures me. As far as I can see, these are expansion joints where I will test my skills.

Best regards, Traixes

Well then, carefully remove the old acrylic with the utility knife (Be careful, you might have a vapor barrier on the exterior wall under the sheathing, but yours does not) Then brush off the dust with a brush. Apply new acrylic (e.g., Fugendicht 7, which is particularly flexible). Paint over it the next day (dilute the paint with water, so it doesn’t build up as much).

Thank you, I will start to tackle the matter. The joints do require some practice to look halfway straight.

Regards Traixes