Hello – I had my kitchen completely renovated about 3 years ago and had new cabinets installed. Over the past year or two I’ve noticed cracks developing between the crown molding and the ceiling. Pictures below. Is this a structural concern, like the cabinets pulling away from the wall, or is this aesthetic from settling / low humidity? Should I just recaulk it or is there a bigger concern here? Thank you!
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Its just aesthetic. If it bothers you, just recall. It's less work if you just stop looking up. Easier on your neck, too.
Haha, fair enough. Appreciate the response!
Just the caulk drying out and losing elasticity, while the wood moves just a little. I new places that show up every winter that I recaulk. Something else I should do tomorrow.
Yeah, it's the caulk reacting to the wood movement. Just like FlyFisher11 says.
A great solution is to spend a few extra bucks on the stretch type of caulk. The first stuff I ever saw like this was a product called Big Stretch. Worked fantastically, and I never got any call backs!
To refine the cause of the problem, it's not wood movement, note the crack on the long grain side panels, per se, but normal cabinet settling. Kitchen remodeling is my lively hood and this is something I know well. Wall cabinets, or even tall cabinets that touch the ceiling will naturally just settle a bit especially after they get loaded down with dishes and food. I suspect your contractor used a latex caulking over a quality 100% silicone caulk that usually has enough flexibility to avoid this.
I recommend scraping the old caulking off and reapplying a new bead of 100% silicone caulk if you feel you are capable of laying down a good bead. Since I've seen some godawful caulking done by contractors and homeowners alike if you aren't comfortable with a caulking gun you might want to let it be.
I appreciate all of the helpful responses here. I may just leave it be versus trying to caulk it since it's just aesthetic. One other question related to my cabinets is that I've noticed a cracking / snapping sound coming from a particular area of the cabinets. It seems to happen intermittently, maybe once every hour or two, and it's a quick snap/crack and then it's over. I've noticed it for 6+ months now, so it doesn't seem seasonal. I haven't isolated exactly where it's coming from, but I have attached some photos of the general area. I don't see any visual evidence that the cabinets have moved. Should I be concerned about this? Would it be obvious if the cabinets were coming off the wall or could they just fail one day? Also can't rule out the possibility that it's from some electrical/pipes behind the cabinets. FYI I live in an apartment in a high rise building from the 80s. Apartment itself was gut renovated about 2.5 years ago. Thanks for any thoughts and happy holidays everyone!!
Thank you for all of the feedback. I have decided to leave it alone for the time being. However, I did have one other question related to the cabinets. I've noticed a cracking / snapping sound coming from a particular area near the cabinets. It seems to happen intermittently, maybe once every hour or two, and it's a quick snap/crack and then it's over. I've noticed it for 6+ months now, so it doesn't seem seasonal. I haven't isolated exactly where it's coming from, but below are some photos of the general area. My big concern is the cabinets somehow coming away from the wall and crashing down. I don't see any visual evidence that the cabinets have moved. Would it be obvious if the cabinets were coming off the wall or could they just suddenly fail one day? Also can't rule out the possibility that it's from some electrical/pipes behind the cabinets. FYI I live in an apartment in a high rise building from the 80s. Apartment itself was gut renovated about 2.5 years ago. Thanks for any thoughts and happy holidays!!
I think if it was pulling away, you'd know it by now. My guess is the clicking sound is from a hot water pipe behind the wall. Expansion from the heated pipe expanding makes that sort of noise.
Given the regularity of the sound and no obvious signs of installation problems, I suspect the source is not related to the cabinets per se. Many things in the walls can make such sounds, hot water pipes, PVC drain pipes, etc. Commercial construction is not my forte but there may also be some type of selenoid opening and closing that may be causing such a sound. My suggestion is to ask your building maintenance department if they know anything that may cause the sound.
Thank you both again and Merry Christmas!
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