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My wife and I just moved into a “new construction” house in Philadelphia. A few weeks ago I noticed a hairline crack on the kitchen ceiling. A few days later when working from home I saw the spot in a different light and noticed how raised the area is around it. What I want to know is if it’s water damage or just a crappy drywall job by the builder. There are other raised portions in the vicinity, but this is definitely the worst/most noticeable. It’s not soft, and the crack doesn’t seem to have gotten any worse after rain/snow the past few weeks, there’s also no discoloration.

I’ve included pictures of the spot at two different lighting situations

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Sean H
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Appears to be a very substandard mud (drywall compound, thus, drywall joint) job, probably put on without waiting for each layer to cure, possibly also poorly reenforced, thus the cracks. The "Visible hump" is from lack of skill or care in properly feathering the joint.

Question will be whether this is the best the builder can manage, so having them do it over is pointless (as that's certainly sub-par for new construction) or whether you say the heck with them and fix it right either yourself, or by hiring someone actually competent. You might also want to take a harsh, glaring light to other drywall surfaces in the home to see if this is really the only bad spot.

Ecnerwal
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