Joints are opening in our ceiling.

There are several factors that need to be addressed such as,do you have vaulted ceilings?, is the cracking isolated in just one area? are there any cracks that run vertically down the walls in corners?, particulary at points where there is a load bearing wall. Have you experienced a storm with high winds? As far as your Contractors opions go, I would ask for a more specific answer other than "You have structural damage". You may or may not have an issue of a cracked foundation, assuming we are talking C.B.S. construction. Thats about all I can tell you at this point. If you have someone who is qualified that could get in to the attic and have them observe the general area that is in failure looking for things such as gaps between the drywall and the truss or rafter that it is supposed to be attached to, you may find that the problem is the drywall simply just didn't get screwed in properly. NOTE-Ceiling drywall should be SCREWED not nailed...Check it out, find someone who does not have an interest of financial gain. if you find something that is similiar to the above-mentioned problem's, Post it and perhaps I can help. Good luck.

Have someone check your house for being square. if your house is out of square especially if the outside top is farther away from the foundation than the bottom. Either your foundation has settled due to poor drainage, and, or insufficient footer size. Sometimes a builder will build the bare minimum and not what is needed, his only concern is to pass inspection.

cracks in drywall ceilings are usually caused by  shifting in framing due to heating or cooling ,expantion and contraction, if your framing is trusses check for catwalk bracing 2 by 4's nailed across the truss bottom cords to lock them together it may require more or actual blocking to lock them into the walls sometimes setting the bracing to far apart is common ,remember building codes are the minamal the state will allow ,sheeting the bottom cords with 1/2 inch osb is fairly inexpensive also just dont over load as storage if is tgi's it will need cross blocking some states allow cross straps of metal structural damage is probably an over statement poor attention to basic framing principles is more likely its usually in the of smallest details i've been doing repairs for more than 30 yr's this is all to common to production homes and yes i have done work for Beaser in my home state of ohio knowing what the causes are is importantant you must arm yourself with knowledge unless you purchased an additional warrenty most states only required to give a 1 yr warrenty if that is the case dont be duped into thinking this is  a major repair it should'nt cost more than a few hundred to a couple thousand worst case senarial depending on size of and material cost also something more than retaping and finishing the drywall is probably required ...hope this helps

The above answers are very good information and assume a somewaht worst case scenario. A few other (cheap) things I'd check is the quality of the drywall, joint compound ( previously frozen, old, improperly mixed) and taping job. Is the joint compound and wallboard hard and brittle like, or is it soft and powdery? Also, is there a vapor barrier behind the drywall? What time of the year was the unit being built during the drywall phase, and was it heated during? You didnt mention what type building construction your home is... so that makes it a little harder to say what to check first. Concrete block on a grade slab with stucco is easy to check for foundation problems in that the exterior walls will show obvious cracks. Plaform framing with siding on a slab is a litle harder to check. Crawlspace or basement foundation is simple to check for cracks also, indicating a foundation or soil problem. The above answers are excellent things to check...framing or fastening issues could be the problem. Some local codes also require the ceilings to be glued and screwed. Also check screw spacing requirements for perimeter and field areas for the wallboard. Removing a sheet of wallboard may be necessary to give clues to some issues. I'm not a fan of trac built homes, because they are usually built under a compressed timeline with not much regard given to the elements. For instance in Michigan, they will build a home...start construction of foundation in the winter, and expect an ideal outcome knowing they are unable to keep the masonry above 50 degrees...they just simply dont care. In Florida just the opposite, contractors will place a grade slab in the middle of the summer and provide no protection whatsoever for the concrete slab, or the concrete block walls from the extreeme sun and heat. It is simply wrong! Your problems are probably due to construction error. thanks Randy licensed since 1991 training since 1974