Ceiling sheetrock edge does not rest on top of wall's sheetrock; plenty o cracks

Hello,

There is a "false" ceiling in my kitchen. The original ceiling was, let's say, 9 feet.
When they put in the lower ceiling, at 8 feet, they just had the ceiling sheetrock butt up against the existing wall's sheetrock.
Since they didn't cut the wall's sheetrock down, they also did not take the opportunity to create a new header or insert blocking. So, there is some flex in the sheetrock between the studs where the wall meets the ceiling.

I have a feeling that the "right way" to do this is to remove, at least some of, the sheetrock from the top of the wall and from the ceiling. Then build in some blocking. Then install ceiling sheetrock all the way to the wall studs. Then install the wall sheetrock. But, I need to switch my time and energy to my exterior project that has been dragging on for years, so, I'm looking for a way to patch things so it's presentable (for a while).

There are some cracks that may be as wide as 3/8".

Short of re-installing the sheetrock, what is the best way to patch this up?

Thanks in advance.

 

Where are you seeing cracks?

 

Is crown or other molding out as an option?

Another thing you could do is make a racetrack ceiling using wood instead of drywall for the borders.

 

@stickshift, the cracks are along where ceiling meets wall.

@Handyone, molding or "racetrack" (new to me) is possible. It would be a bit odd though, because on two of the walls, the kitchen cabinets already have crown molding that comes up to about 4 inches below the ceiling. I don't think I have enough room to work above those cabinets. The cracking (luckily, I guess) is not occurring on the walls where the cabinets are installed.

 

OK, so you're seeing cracks because the ceiling drywall is lifting up above where the wall painted?

Maybe I need some pictures.... http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...-pictures.html

 

I'll take some pictures when I get home from work tonight.

 

Nail trim board to the walls at the ceiling creating a collar around the room. If the trim board still has gaps because the ceiling is wavy, add a piece of quarter round trim to the collar trim board. It is flexible and should fill in the gap. Paint the trim before installing. Good luck

 

While prepainting the trim will save a good bit of time, the woodwork should be caulked after being nailed up and then the final coat of paint applied - makes for a nicer/neater looking job.

 

Thanks @beezlebob and @marksr and @stickshift, here are some pictures:

This is the long view of the problem area; where the wall and ceiling meet:


Actually, the ceiling seems more stable than the wall. There does appear to be a nailer above the sheetrock where the ceiling meets the wall. The wall, however, flexes quite a bit. The largest cracks are between studs. The cracks were not quite as wide as you will see in these pictures, but they opened up as I scraped away the caulk (yes, caulk, not drywall compound) that had been applied (probably to hide the cracks). This is a closeup from the NE side. A dime is taped over the crack for some perspective on the size of the crack:


Closeup from the SE side


If I were to add crown molding, I'd have to do the whole room and, I think, it would look "funny" especially where the crown of the upper cabinets comes so close to the ceiling, like here:


The rest of the cabinets give more room, but, still, I think that "double decker" molding would look "funny" over this:


Thanks again for your ideas.

 

I would pre fill with some 20 -45 min setting type compound, and then install paper tape like you would any normal joint. Then cover with two more coats of mud, sand, prime, and paint.

IMO I doubt any blocking is needed.

 

Thanks @Tolyn Ironhand. Is the paper tape a lot better than mesh tape for a job like mine (I have a roll of the mesh)?

 

Mesh tape should only be used with a setting compound. It's prone to crack when used with regular ready mix joint compound. Also paper tape comes with a crease [where you fold it] which makes it easy to make a nice clean crisp angle.

 

I know it's not what you want to hear, but I think remodel is called for. Pull off that sheet rock and re-install. Lots of work.

 

Yes, i would recommend paper tape over mesh.