What?! Your house actually broke! What about the rest of the house?

It split all the way to the outside?

Wow! That's terrible. Violent winds here too but so far the house is fine.

I can't seem to wrap my brain around the concept of a house breaking.

Holy Crap! is all I can think to say. Holy Crap!

Wow....that sounds...expensive. Glad you don't own the place. Hope it settles down over there.

Wow. Pictures? Good luck!

Oh my.

Our rental had part of an eave fall off. Apparently water was getting in there until it formed a big block of ice that basically expanded the wood and nails off the house. Plus side, it'll be easy enough to fix. Also a plus, water isn't getting directly inside the apartments (but there was some in the wall).

Nothing like your thing, though! Good luck!

Bloody hell!

Well, we have a window on the outside that was never bricked up for mysterious reasons, even though there is drywall over it in here.

The window smashed today in the wind. The pressure from the wind going through the broken glass ripped the drywall open along the wall.

We closed off the room, used duct tape to seal the doors on every seam, jammed blankets under them, and it seems ok now. The damage looks worse, though, since there's now vertical cracks moving down from the original one. Hard to tell since I'm looking in through wavy 100 year old glass. (the joke was it's like visiting the nuclear cleanup site, you can look into the room but can't enter).

Ideally what should happen is the drywall removed, the window bricked up, insulation put in, and then new drywall.

I'd settle for boarding the window up since it's just on the outside, and repairing the cracks in some makeshift fashion just to get us through the next week or so, or even the winter. If the major work waits until spring it would be easier on us, too, since it wouldn't involve freezing our asses off for however long it takes.

I know it'll get fixed, though. Our landlord is good about things, and we're the fourth tenants she's had since she bought the building... about four years ago. We've been here a year and a half. (we also don't sell drugs, get the cops called on us, and other charming things, which means we're her best yet, and I suspect she doesn't want to take her chances again.) Plus, I used the magic words "pipes might freeze" and "I don't want to pay a $1000 gas bill because the wall cracked!"

Our first patch attempt when this started. The crack just got a lot worse and took the tape with it... we were hoping to cobble it together until Wednesday. Hard to tell, but the drywall is actually 6" out from the molding here.
≡ Click to see image ≡

The first horizontal crack, just before I shut and locked the doors.
≡ Click to see image ≡

I took the pictures earlier just to email them to my manager. I was thinking "oh shit, they're going to fire me... calling in on xmas eve with this craziness, they'll doubt it for sure!"

Yeah, that sounds like a fairly minor fix. Drywall was never meant to be exposed to wind.

I'm hoping so. The problem being, there's old bars on the "window" part outside, and they're rusty as all get out. Not sure how they can board it up without having to literally cut those off.

I just want it done by, oh, three-ish so I can at least drag the desk, printer, and twentythousand keyboard stands back in there so my living room is habitable when my folks get here. The room is normally my roommate's office/music studio... none of that stuff could be left in since, well, there is a dusting of snow in there now.

So long as neither the foundation nor the framing was compromised...

eeeeeeee kellydamnit!

Oh, that's a relief -- it isn't structural. And if there's a window, there's a place to put plywood.

Though I have to say it ... I can't imagine that meets code. The window should be sided over.

Isn't it? I dunno--if a wall breaches all the way through, to the point where there's snow inside and winds cause drywall cracks, I'd generally say that the outer structure is at least somewhat compromised, which may necessitate looking at cladding (at least) and maybe studs and general integrity. Kellydamnit, holy crap! And on the night before xmas eve! Congrats on dealing with it so efficiently and sensibly, and best of luck on the repairs. Thank whatever gods there may be for good landlords.

Ack!! It will make for a great story in the coming years, at least. Here's to hoping it holds until the landlord comes to the rescue. Stay warm!

Amazing story kellydamnit. It sounds like you have the situation temporarily patched. I'm guessing from the pics, that the broken window is behind the cracked drywall. If so, there may be no structural damage to the integrity of the wall. In addition, if the window is near a corner, that is an area more subject to shear forces. With the window broken, the wall can flex, therefore pulling loose the drywall. Hope that's all it is - think you're lucky to have a good landlord. Congrats on being a good tenant too!

Minimally, the window/glass will need replacement. Be sure they maintain good moisture control so you don't have a future source of mold. Drywall is good food for mold spores if there is adequate moisture and heat - mold will propagate. Hope it's looked after in a way that is the least stressful for you with the holiday upon us!

BINGO! They drywalled over a window in a fit of what I'm sure was 70s drug induced home improvement horrors. The building itself is old brick, built in 1910, it'll take more than a little wind to bring this place down. :)

They drywalled over a window in a fit of what I'm sure was 70s drug induced home improvement horrors.

*SIGH* wOWZA.