There is a very narrow crack in my living room ceiling, pictured below. My concern, as you can imagine, is not so much the crack itself but the discoloration on either side.
I am frankly not sure how long it's been there (possibly already when we moved in, around 8 months ago), but it was definitely like this a few months ago with no changes that I've observed.
If I'm measuring correctly there's nothing in particular on the second floor directly above the crack, but it's just a couple of feet from a rather heavy whirlpool tub.
My question is, does this need attention, and if so what kind of contractor (if any) should I be calling? (Flooring seemed right to me, but when I look for flooring contractors, they seem mostly to specialize in installation/refinishing, and it's not clear how to tell which of them would do a credible job assessing this.)
Best Answer
There is, or has been a leak - those come from plumbing or from the roof, or occasionally from a water spill on the floor above that was not cleaned up quickly.
If you are quite certain it's not expanding, and you never see or feel moisture near it after the tub is used, or after a rainstorm, you could hire a painter and hope that it was from a one-time spill event.
If it comes back a plumber (or a roofer) seems like a requirement, and for the plumber to see what's up you will probably need a drywall contractor to patch the holes the plumber will need to make to find out what's going on and fix it. You do not want to pay plumbers rates for drywall repair.
You'll still need a painter, but the drywall contractor might also do painting.