enclosed front porch

[Chris]

I live in an 80 yr. old house that has had it's front porch enlosed. The original front porch is still there, covered in a vapor barrier and ratty carpet (that I am soon going to replace with linoleum tile)

So, the floor is still slightly slanted towards the front of the porch. The walls are drywalled.

Right above the front door frame, in the center of the frame, a big visible crack has formed. One slide of the crack is slightly elevated, and it goes in a straight line upwards and then cuts across to the side a little and then continues upward. Is this a foundation problem? or is it because this area, which is seperated from the rest of the house by what was originally the front of the house, is totally unheated, and the winter weather is taking it's toll?

[Chris]

[Big_Jake]

Really hard to see from where I'm sitting... Let me stand up... Still can't see it. :-)

Probably wallpaper. Hard to believe you are peeling the face paper off the drywall, but it could happen. The changes in temp, coupled with the fact that the house probably has footings below the frost level while the porch does not, will cause shifts and wall cracks.

JK

[dreamchaser]

Well, now is probably a good time and an excuse to by a good laser level or bubble level and check that old porch foundation out. I bet it needs levelling. Not difficult to do either. Just by a 12 ton jack, get some 2x4 blocks and probably a 2x8 block for the jack to sit on and have at it. Don't jack up and shim more then 1/8" at a time. Shim

1/8" and leave it for a few weeks then do another 1/8" or you will start cracking drywall. Just find the highest point along the perimeter of the porch and that's what everything else should be levelled to, a little at a time.

[Big_Jake]

Why? It's a porch. Could be pitched 1/4" / foot for drainage. Also, since it isn't likely that it has footings below frost level, the porch can shift around every winter with the freeze / thaw cycle.

JK