Young House Love

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How To Fill A Wall Crack So It Doesn’t Come Back

Crack is still whack. I couldn’t resist breaking out that Whitney Houston inspired one-liner, even though we already used it here. Why? Because this is a serious hard-hitting blog about real life issues. Just kidding. This time my fifth grade crack joke is in reference to a giant crack that was running across the side of the ceiling in the laundry room. Here’s the craggy before:

Cracked Ceiling

Cracked Ceiling 2

And the much less craggy after:

Fixed Ceiling

We had them check that beast of a crack out during inspection and learned it’s nothing like foundation issues (just normal house settling). Whew. And it was nothing that a little paintable white caulk couldn’t fix. Double whew. Tip: always make sure it’s paintable for jobs like this or it’ll never blend in correctly – we like Dap’s white paintable window & door caulk. We didn’t use spackle (as opposed to caulk) because we’ve heard experts mention that it can shrink up and “fall out” of the crack over time, but caulk usually doesn’t shrink or crack as much. Anyway, it was a super easy process. I just:

  1. Squeezed out a line of it along the crack
  2. Smeared it with my finger to remove excess caulk
  3. Went over it with a wet rag for an even smoother look
  4. Let it fully dry (I waited around 48 hours, mostly out of laziness)
  5. Touched it up with wall & ceiling paint left in the basement by the previous owners

So if you have a crack in your wall or ceiling and are wondering if you can handle it, I promise you can. Even if you’re 5’2″ and have to stand on a chair while the baby naps and the dog looks questioningly at you as if you’ve lost your mind and gives you the stink eye the. entire. time.

Like this, but picture one bug-out eye and one sinister squinty one:

Burger Crazy Eye

My mom even recently caulked her bathroom all by herself (after calling me ten times from the hardware store to compare the merits of different caulk guns). So proud of her.

And so (almost) ends our second crack-related adventure. You thought I could keep it short? Do you even know me? Not in real life, I mean via the internet. Anyway, we’re actually sharing this mundane caulking detail since we’ve decided that it’s high time we tackled our laundry room makeover. Woo to the hoo. Cue the fireworks! Strike up the drum line! Watch out for those fire juggling clowns (don’t be afraid, they’re of the friendly and not freaky or nightmarish at all variety).

We’re planning to make a few one-project-at-a-time changes that hopefully add up to a nice refreshing difference when it comes to the look and function of our tiny 3.5′ x 8′ space. Here’s what it looked like when we moved in:

Tour Laundry Before

Laundry Shutters Before

Laundry Frosting Done

And here’s what it looked like after we 1) upgraded to some new (very on sale) front loading appliances, 2) took down the window shutters, 3) frosted the everybody-can-see-me-breastfeeding side door that looks into the kitchen, 4) removed the shelves behind the side door (opposite the washer/dryer):

Washers Installed

Laundry Side Window

Laundry Other Wall

Laundry Fuse Box

We’ve been meaning to add some built-in storage next to the stacked washer and dryer among a few other functional (and just plain purty) things, so here’s the to-do list as it stands today:

  • Paint the odd brown quarter round near the baseboards glossy white
  • Redo all the dinged up trim (also in semi-gloss white)
  • Paint the walls (we’ll be back with color details later this week)
  • Add adjustable built-in shelving in that nook next to the stacked washer & dryer <– we can’t unstack them and put them on the long wall since the room is only 3.5′ wide, so we’d only be left with seven inches of space between the front of the unit and the opposite wall if we moved ’em
  • Replace the hinges and knobs on the upper cabinetry
  • Get a new light fixture (see the old one in the first two pics?) <- DIY something?
  • Add a window treatment (maybe a homemade one?)
  • Add other functional storage near the door for shoes, Burger’s leash, etc
  • Hang some art to keep it cheerful and obscure the giant metal fuse box

And of course in the long term we’d love to rip out the vinyl tile to hopefully uncover hardwoods that we’ll someday refinish (we’re crossing our fingers that they carry into the kitchen as well). But that’s a waaay down the road thing since it’ll necessitate removing all of our kitchen cabinets to get to it (they rest on the vinyl tile and a layer of plywood with hardwoods underneath- oh the humanity). So for now the focus is on adding some everyday function and storage… and some cuteness while we’re at it. Game on.

Do you guys have any laundry room makeovers going on? Any projects or art or colors that you love in your laundry area? Do you think all clowns are of the terrifying murder-you-in-your-sleep variety? I think there are two kinds. Friendly and skeeeeery. It’s all in the eyes and hair.

Psst- Check out how we hid a big ol’ electrical box at our first house here and here, and how we pimped an old bi-fold laundry closet here and here.

Comments

  1. Kim @ Location27 says

    First off, all clowns are scary. The friendlier they are, the more frightening they are. Clowns should not be allowed to make balloon animals. Terrifying.

    Second, it’s amazing how fixing a crack can totally revitalize a small space. Our bathroom closet came with so many cracks, I was afraid to put my towels inside for fear of what might crawl in through the holes. Fortunately, after some Dap Spackle and some paint, I felt a whole lot better.
    http://location27.com/2011/04/09/holes-in-the-wall-or-the-story-of-the-bathroom-closet-revitalization/

    I didn’t know about the spackle vs. caulking issue. I have a few other cracks in larger rooms, also due to settling. It sounds like you’d recommend paintable caulking instead?

    I can’t wait to see your finished laundry room!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’m really not a caulk/spackle expert, so if spackle worked for you and you have it on hand I’d say go for it! Word on the street was some people prefer caulk, but if I didn’t have caulk laying around and had used spackle (and it worked) I’d totally go that route too!

      xo,
      s

  2. Annette says

    Our washer resides in the bathroom. A Laundry room would be nice to have.

    I’ve just added some laundry bags that can be attached to the wall tiles with suction cups. This one, to be exact. http://www.habitat.de/laundry-laundry-bag///fcp-product/969497

    Saw them in the shop for 12 Euros. I liked the idea but didn’t quite like the colors they had to choose from and I also found them a little expensive.

    And while I was still pondering whether to buy them or not, I sumbled across the same model in different (read: nicer) colors on sale for 50% off. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Now I’ve already got a yellow and a soft grey one and will probably add another one so I can split the laundry in black, white and colored.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Those bags are so chic! You Europeans have it made with all that amazing design. So glad you found them on sale! And yellow and soft gray sound so much fun.

      xo,
      s

  4. Whitney says

    Our laundry “area” is on my to-do list. Thankfully the previous owners of our home painted a lovely turquoise that makes the deed a little bit more bareable. *sigh* Oh and all clowns fall into the scary variety category *shudder*

    Reply

  7. Sophie says

    Can you use caulk to fill holes (from drilling)? Or what would you use for that? I’m looking for something super easy and fast.

    Reply

  9. Sarah says

    The laundry room was super scary when we moved in. So scary that if I accidentally dropped clean clothes on the floor, I had to wash them again. Part of the floor was cement and the other part was nasty vinyl. We placed peel and stick flooring over top the floor and added Elfa shelves and hanging rack (because I prefer to hang dry 95% of our stuff). Much better!

    Reply

  10. Heather Andrews says

    We have the same crack type issues in our house. The first time we used spackle, and now 3 years later the cracks have come back to haunt us. Uhg! I’ll try caulk this time. I’m a caulking pro. I just sealed every seam and every joint (baseboard to wall, shoe to baseboard, molding to wall & ceiling, etc.) in my nursery… while 6 months preggo. It’s a PITA, but it makes it look so much better.

    We’re somewhat stuck in a laundry remodel. Our laundry used to be a screened in porch, that was at one point turned into a giant enclosed room with a washer & dryer in it. We spent all winter removing ugly paneling (hubby wanted drywall), and acoustic ceiling tile. Yes. Acoustic ceiling tile. It was horrible. We rewired everything, split the room into my husband’s “man room” and an actual laundry room, and put up a real ceiling. His room is done, and we’ve stalled out on the laundry room. The walls & ceiling are done and painted, but it needs tile, new windows, and storage. With a baby on the way, we’re afraid to throw any more money at it, just in case. It’s livable, so it will be fine as is until the baby gets here. :)

    I can’t wait to see what you do with yours! Your last laundry room was a great inspiration!

    Reply

  11. Elle says

    We have an entire laundry room in the unfinished basement to plan and build. I’ll probably think about it for the next ten years and have it finished by the time the kidlet is in college. But I do already know that black and white tiled floors are a must.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah it’s not bad or anything. I just have a hankering for something kind of dangly and fun. Not too dangly (tall hubby says no), but just something that makes the laundry room feel kind of special.

      xo,
      s

  14. Rebekka says

    I just had to send you guys a little thank you for your wonderful tutorials! I scored a $4 solid wood bedside table at goodwill this weekend that had seen better days, but I just googled painting furniture, and followed your advice, and now it’s a GORGEOUS golden yellow that looks great in my room! And I’m slightly embarassed to admit, that at age 29, I just now discovered that if you get actual primer, and not just use some random white paint you have hanging around, painting is so easy! I never really realized that primer was for stickiness and not just to cover up whatever was under there (which doesn’t really work!) Thanks so much!

    – A very, very beginner DIYer

    Reply

  15. Carey says

    I’ve got some white trim around my kitchen cabinets that really needs some caulking around – this sounds like a good option. Will it still look okay if I don’t paint over it?
    Here’s my problem with caulk – once I cut the tube open, I never use it all in one sitting – how do you keep it from drying out to be able to use the rest? (My first 2 attempts at caulking didn’t turn out so great, if you can’t tell. And I’m with your mother – WAY too many options to choose from!!!!!!!)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We got some plastic “caulk plugs” from Home Depot that we stick in the top to seal it after use (and keep it fresh for next time). You don’t have to paint over caulk, but if it’s paintable you might want to to blend it in.

      xo,
      s

  17. Tim says

    My question actually goes back to the painting of the paneling. You mentioned you did not have to sand or scuff up the paneling. I painted a bath cabinet before and applied primer directly to the finish. As soon as it dried you could peal the paint off because it did not stick. I had to sand all the primer off and then sand all the finish off the cabinets to get it to work properly. Do you run into this problem with the paneling?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Nope, but it probably had to do with the glossiness of your bath cabinetry. If it was slippery and shiny (thanks to semi or high gloss paint/stain) or even sealed with some sort of poly over the stain, paint will never stick to that foundation, so it’ll peel right off. So annoying! So sorry you dealt with that. That’s why I mentioned that if your paneling is super glossy you’ll have to sand it first to rough things up. Ours was rough and chalky from the get-go, so the primer and paint doesn’t scrape off or anything (the primer did a good job “grabbing” on to the rough foundation of the paneling – probably thanks to so many coats- haha). Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  18. Nikki says

    Question for all you pininterest fanatics out there..as much as i am obsessed with it i have the hardest time trying to look around without getting frusterated. What i mean is it always takes forever to fetch pins and if i try and scroll down the hour glass will show up for like 5-10 minutes before it will scroll any further. Anyone else have a problem with that? It just freezes all the time and i have tried it on 3 different computers one being my iphone and the same result! We apparently have a love/hate relationship!!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, maybe try not going on at a high traffic time? I do most of my trolling at 11pm or so, and it’s super fast. The iPhone app doesn’t work for me though. Boo.

      xo,
      s

  19. Nikki says

    Do you have any interest during your big kitchen makeover to eliminate the laundry room and put it somewhere else in the house (maybe where your master bedroom has the sink now…since there is already plumbing)? That would give you a little more space in the kitchen. Just wondered if it’s something you ever considered. Love the ideas!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Nah- the kitchen is already a whopping 25 feet long, so we don’t need it to be any longer, and moving the wall of cabinetry with our cooktop and relocating the washer/dryer would have cost big bucks, so we’re happy to work with what we have. Our last house had a small laundry closet off of the den in a hallway and we actually liked it, so I guess we’re cool with small and cozy when it comes to laundry nooks. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  22. Cathy says

    If you need counterspace in there, I could see a fold-up counter going against the electrical box wall. Would just take plywood, hinges, hooks, and chains. Maybe with a nice stenciled pattern on it.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yeah, we’re not sure if we do yet. We used to fold everything in the old laundry nook (in our first house) since we had a big nice counter. But now we’re used to bringing the laundry out to the sofa or bed and folding it there- so we’re adjusting to not having a counter. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  23. Kim @ HousetoHomestead says

    We just have a laundry nook in a bathroom, and it has the most hideous homemade hack-job plywood shelving, and I would love to fix it up. It’ll be a while, though…finishing my irrigation system and filling the open
    trenches that criss-cross our property are slightly higher on the priority list right now!

    Reply

  24. Briana says

    Our laundry “closet” is located in our upstairs hall behind bi-fold doors — definitely uninspiring. I thought about taking down the bi-folds, but was like, “Then what?” Any tips?

    Reply

  25. Mary says

    We have a laundry room overhaul in our future, but not quite yet. Our house is only 13 years old, but previous owners installed a remnant piece of counter top, and it is mustard yellow, in what is an otherwise muted, contemporary room. Bad choice.

    I need some sort of DIY way of covering the yellow, but I’m not sure 12 coats of paint is up my alley…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’ve heard there are new systems at Home Depot and Lowe’s to “repaint” counters in a durable and lasting way. Maybe just check out one of those countertop refinishing kits?

      xo,
      s

  26. Mary says

    I also need to proofread. I think there were more commas in my last comment than there are pillows on your sectional. :)

    PS- LOVE the blog!

    Reply

  30. Natalie says

    I’ll be interested to know what light fixture you end up going with.

    The previous owners of my house hung a HUGE fluorescent light fixture from chains in my laundry closet. It’s not even installed in the wall or ceiling; the plug just hangs there and you have to plug it in anytime you want light in that dark closet. And most of the time the light doesn’t work! I want to install some sort of recessed lighting and a switch on the wall, but am interested in what you are planning to DIY!

    Reply

  31. Jamie says

    A friend’s father once told me that caulk saved his marriage. Now that I’m married and have renovated an old home of my own, I couldn’t agree more… Gap in the trim…caulk. Crack in the wall…caulk. Measured and cut the last piece of molding incorrectly, its midnight and you’ve been to Lowe’s 35 times that day already and you’d rather drive your car into a wall than go there again but you’re a perfectionist and you’ve cut this piece of trim 7 times already and now you’re crying uncontrollably because its just a smidge too short and you’re about to chuck your table saw and the trim out the window…caulk (<-not that that's ever happened to me before…). It's like marriage counseling in a handy little tube, plus you can paint over it and it's way cheaper!

    Reply

  32. Amanda C says

    So in reference to your old house where you painted over the breaker box…..ours is in our master bedroom!! We are renting so not a lot we can do, but I want to paint it so it blends in. The only issue is that we don’t have any of the original paint used in the house and can’t change it. We do have some paint that has chipped off the wall, can Lowes color match that?

    I know I could hang a picture over it but due to the location on the wall with the window, etc etc it is just not a great solution (but better than nothing for sure!)

    Thanks!

    Reply

  34. Laura says

    I’m surprised no one started a thread on here yet guessing the new laundry room color! I’m going to be the weirdo that starts that: perhaps a soft aqua (since the kitchen is green, and it would be like Clara’s first room, haha).

    Reply

    • KiTX @ The Big Grateful says

      That’s a good guess given the grellow kitchen! I’ll guess the laundry room is going to be straight up yellow (a nice one, not highlighter yellow) to go with all the glossy white trim and transition from the kitchen to the outdoors.

  35. Laura says

    What is caulk? Is it like polyfil? Or is it silicon based like grouting? In Ireland we don’t use this word just checked with my dad and he said caulk is using tar to waterproof your boat fairly sure you used something different.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hmm, anyone know the term for it in Ireland! Some is silicone based but some isn’t. It’s in a tube and you apply it with a gun that presses a line out onto the wall. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  36. Leslie says

    Just finished a 3-room makeover at my daughter’s house (of cracks). My hubby always says, “Plaster, putty, and paint makes a carpenter what he ain’t.”

    Reply

  38. Anne says

    I’m a big fan of a clothesline right above my washer/dryer. We bought and installed it as soon as we started using cloth diapers and it’s been a HUGE help. We got a retractable one from Lowes, and I loved it so much I bought a second and installed it on our front porch for when the dipes need a little sun. You can add as many hooks as you need in the wall and then zig-zag the line to give yourself more square footage :-)

    Reply

  39. Aron says

    Totally off subject (sorta) but I was recently driving down the street with my sister, on our way to pick up Chinese take- out and we pulled up right next to a car with a driver wearing a scary clown mask. I have never driven away so fast in my life. What the ????

    Can’t wait to see the mudroom :)

    Reply

  42. Lindsay@Tell'er All About It says

    We “re-did” our laundry room when we moved in the house. Stole your stripe idea from your old bathroom, put up cabinetry from Ikea and even bought new front loaders.

    Click here for the full remodel info:
    http://tellerallaboutit.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/airing-our-dirty-laundry-chapter-5-the-big-reveal/

    …and here for what it’s lookin’ like today:
    http://tellerallaboutit.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/front-load-washers-and-how-marriage-works/

    Hope it helps! Having a functional laundry room is SOOOOO nice :-)

    xoxo,
    Lindsay

    PS can’t wait to see what you do with it!

    Reply

  43. Vicki J says

    “Do you guys have any laundry room makeovers going on?” I almost spit out my coffee on that one!! lol Back in MARCH (yes I said MARCH) we decided to tackle our basement laundry area–move stuff around and add a small bath… hello July…still working on the space from h*ll– must insert a disclosure here–>>> 2 weeks after we started hubby tore the tendon off his bone –right arm ofcourse–not related to project but it sure stopped it in its tracks… nothing like seeing a woman take on reno chores! He can’t lift anything yet so I have learned to dig up the basement floor, drill holes in beams, hang drywall… you name it…

    Reply

  45. Nevin says

    Oh, have fun in there with color! When we moved into our house, I found a cute fabric with toparies and bees, so I made a stamp of a bee using sponges and stamped them randomly around the tiny laundry room. Then using a sharpie, I drew their buzzing trails. They really pop out against a light sand color wall. Whimsical, yet fun!

    Reply

  46. valerie J. says

    Interesting timing…I just started painting our laundry room on a whim at 6pm last night. I had a gallon of free paint staring at me and decided it was time for a change. (it was paint I’d bought 7+ years ago to paint my room at my parents house, but I’d bought too much. Yay for my parents being paint-pack-rats!) Now I’m going to paint the door to the garage with more already owned paint, stencil trellis or something fabulous over my free paint, paint the trim, by a rug…you get the drift. Can’t wait to see what you all do!

    Reply

  48. Kate S. says

    Have you guys ever considered opening up the wall between your laundry room and kitchen? I’ve never been a fan of the houses you often see now with a laundry area in the kitchen, but given the odd shape of your laundry room, that would be my first thought. Obviously, that would be another down-the-road project for you, especially with the location of the electrical box, but it would give you more usable space in that area.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Never really thought about that. I think we like a cozy laundry nook though, so we feel right at home in our tiny room. Our first house’s “laundry nook” was behind a set of bifold doors in a hallway, so I guess we’re used to it!

      xo,
      s

  49. Marie says

    Oh, my laundry room is currently being ignored at the bottom of my to-do list. Unfortuntaely, we’ve made ok progress on everything else so it’s now the worst corner of the house by a pretty serious margin. It’s got a nice-sized cabinet in it, but everything is dingy and the walls are kind of lumpy from what looks like a number of poorly done spacklings. We even have a light fixture that’s identical to yours.

    Clowns–my childhood best friend’s mother started her clown career when I was 5. We spent a lot of time hanging out in her Clown Room (a walk in closet where she stored all of her stuff). She was also really tight with my mom, so she would be over at our house pretty often, sometimes stopping by before or after a job. She even helped us move into our new place, then changed and put on makeup and left straight for a party, meaning our new neighbors saw a clown come out of our house on the very first day!

    Reply

  50. KiTX @ The Big Grateful says

    The rule on scary clowns is all in the facepaint- if they have a painted-on smile, they’re immediately terrifying. NO ONE SMILES CONSTANTLY, IT’S NOT NATURAL. (Ditto for frowns- no one should have a constant facial expression that STAYS there when they’re holding a conversation or expressing another emotion.) Carrie said it best in SATC when she went to Brady’s 1st bday party: “I’m only coming if there aren’t clowns. Nothing is scarier than a clown.”

    Reply

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