Homeowner Maintenance Tip of the Month – Drywall Acclimation vs. Stress Cracks

This is a weird year of weather we are having. As a homeowner you must do your part to maintain the integrity and finishes in your home. When it comes to the sheetrock and paint finishes in your house, they are all affected by climate and change. Drywall as a product expands and contracts with hot and cold. As a homeowner we recommend you set your thermostats at a comfortable temperature and only fluctuate them within a few degrees from season to season. If you think about it five to ten degrees inside your home is comparable to 20-30 degrees change outside because of how your body feels and reacts to temperature. Example: If you keep you home at 70-75 degrees in the winter it feels very warm compared to the 30-50 degree weather outside. So in the summer adjust it to 68-70 degrees and it will feel like winter in your home compared to the 100-115 outside. Keeping your home year round within a 10 degree difference will keep the sheetrock from expanding and contracting as much with drastic temperature changes and you will notice that you will have fewer stress cracks in you angles, ceilings, and trim woodwork. One mistake we have seen homeowners make is during vacation time. They are going to be gone for a week or two with nobody home so they figure lets save on gas/electricity and turn the heat/air off or way up or down so it doesn’t run while they are not there. During the summer this lets the interior of you home go up to 85+ degrees and then you come home from the trip and think man its hot lets get comfortable and turn it down to 65ish. This wreaks havoc on your interior finishes and your home will start to show it. We have seen this practice combined with slab maintenance (see next month blog) literally cause a house to start coming apart. So do your part as a homeowner and help maintaining the beauty of you home. Check back next month for another tip to maintaining your home.