Question: How can I fix my cracked Tongue & Groove ceiling board?

Ask The Contractors

Question: How can I fix my cracked Tongue & Groove ceiling board?

00:00 / 4:15

I have a Tongue and Groove ceiling and there is a crack in one of the boards.

Question from Josh:

Can I fix this? Should I be concerned?

This is a really, really good question. And a very important question. Josh actually sent me a picture and showed me exactly what was going on.

I want you to see the picture that’s been posted on the website. You might have the same problem.

ceiling crack — Close up view of split Tongue and Groove

Well, I looked at the picture and yes, you should be concerned. That’s not just a crack, you got part of your board missing. So, you want to make sure that you have a contractor come out and look at that to make sure that you’re structurally safe. Okay?

“Tongue and Groove is pretty difficult to repair because you have the tongue and groove from which the board’s interlock with each other.”
Todd Bird, Host of AskTheContractors.com

However, it can be repaired but when it’s repaired, the tongue is actually going to have to be cut so you can fit the board up there.

You won’t see the repaired ceiling. It’ll look like the original wood has been put back up.

Click here for a step-by-step set of instructions to repair a Tongue and Groove panel.

Josh, you may still want to have a professional do the repair because of it’s location on the ceiling.

But here’s the thing. That’s more than just a crack. That absolutely could be dry rot. I need to look a little closer at what you sent me. I can’t quite see all of it. But make sure you don’t have dry rot in your roofing materials, or that it’s penetrating into your sheathing. So, absolutely have that checked out by a contractor.

I want to know more about how this turns out because that’s more than just a crack, Josh. Thank you for sending your question.

Do you have a question for the Contractors? I can answer your questions.

I’m not so big on myself that if I don’t know the answer, I’m not going to make something up. We’re going to find out together. We’re going to go to my website, AskTheContractors.com and we’re going to go to a professional in that trade and we’re going to figure out your question together.

Ask me your Home Renovation and Home Remodeling question from the link on the homepage.

It’s a real easy thing to do and trust me. If you have a question, there’s probably a hundred people out there that have the same question, and you’re going to benefit a lot of people by asking me that question.

And guess what? It doesn’t cost you a cent.