A MOSTLY VERTICAL CRACK appeared in mid-January in the newly repaired and painted interior plaster surface of the south wall. It’s in a portion of the wall that did not have cracking previously: at Row 15 of the seats. For a couple of weeks, I could not account for what caused it.
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Below the jump, this post discusses the problem.…
As the crack has grown during the past month, a cause has become evident. The evidence is that one side of the crack sticks out from the wall. This swelling of the plaster is a telltale sign of moisture damage (as opposed to a crack’s being caused by physical shifting from slow settling of the foundation, or a sudden earthquake).
This crack is within a foot of a window well. In recent years, the windows have been unable to be closed fully and tightly, due to corrosion. That problem was made worse by excessive caulking by the contractor that waterproofed the exterior wall surface. (The crew caulked generously around the outer frame, without apparently realizing that this would interfere with the operation of the windows.)
It appears that rainwater has come through the window openings. The interior (blue) paint at the inside edge of this window well is already cracked, apparently due to moisture damage.
So it seems that some moisture has made its way to an opening in the paint and plaster, and seeped down the wall, perhaps at a joint in newly applied drywall. Hence the crack.
When we raise enough money to remove rust and restore the ability of the window frames to close fully, this problem should go away for good. But in any case, we will need the waterproofing contractor to remove the excess caulk around the frames. That would improve the near-term situation.
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