Drywall and ceiling repair in Millbrae

Two faults, soft soil and Millbrae drywall cracks

Millbrae's Housing Element places the San Andreas Fault within a mile of the western city limit and has the shorter Serra Fault crossing the city north to south. Soils in the eastern part of town have very high liquefaction susceptibility. A crack that keeps widening deserves an engineer's opinion. The common hairline kind, running off a door corner or along a ceiling seam, is a patch job.

Text a close photo of the crack and one from a few feet back so we can read the texture. We cut out loose tape, re-tape, feather the compound wide and sand between coats, then prime and paint. Sanding makes dust, so we mask the room and vacuum as we go. Expect two or three short visits, since each coat has to dry.

Worth knowing about Millbrae

• The Housing Element dates Millbrae Highlands and Marina Vista to 1900 through 1929, Bayside Manor and Lomita Hills to 1930 through 1949, and the western hills to 1950 through 1969.
• Roughly three in four Millbrae homes (76.7% of 8,705 units) predate 1980; more went up in the 1950s than in any other decade, 23.0% of the total.
• The San Andreas Fault lies within a mile of Millbrae's western edge, the Serra Fault crosses the city, and soils in the east have very high liquefaction susceptibility.