Thanks for the help. The actual roof leak was successfully repaired over a year ago, but not before damage was done to the ceiling in the form of the hole. It was indeed a problem at the eave of the house. The cracks and hooving along the rest of the ceiling are from industrial blasting done nearby in the 1970's. The cracks were repaired then, but have since opened up again. We have had an estimate for a dropped ceiling or suspended ceiling to be installed over the old one, but it was pretty expensive. And, to your point, the contactor first investigated whether the old roof leak was indeed repaired properly. We may just have to bite the bullet and have the new ceiling installed, but we wanted to investigate other options first. Thanks for your advice.