Anyone dealt with peeling paint on the ceiling?

[gooram]

I've got sections of my ceiling where paint is peeling off. I understand to fix, one must sand right back, seal then paint.

Most likely though, none of the ceiling was sealed properly before it was painted and so it may only be a matter of time before the rest starts to go. It's a 25 yr old house, surprisingly, most of it is holding up fine.

Has anyone had any experience with fixing this problem? Did you do it yourself and how? Or did you get a contractor and how was the experience?

Thanks
Gooram

 

[RumpledElf]

25 isn't that old. I've had a 135 year old house with depressingly old paint on the ceiling and it was cracking, not peeling. Current house had a paint job dating back to the '70s (if not earlier) and again, no peeling. Looked pretty bad because the ceilings were beige, green and blue but ... no peeling.

First things first, I'd be checking your roof has no leaks.

 

[marg4000]

Agree with Elf, check for leaks, especially if the peeling is concentrated in one area.
Marg

 

[Pa1nter]

I've got sections of my ceiling where paint is peeling off. I understand to fix, one must sand right back, seal then paint.

Most likely though, none of the ceiling was sealed properly before it was painted and so it may only be a matter of time before the rest starts to go. It's a 25 yr old house, surprisingly, most of it is holding up fine.

Has anyone had any experience with fixing this problem? Did you do it yourself and how? Or did you get a contractor and how was the experience?

Thanks
Gooram

Can you supply a photo of it please

 

[chris01]

If there is a water leakage (e.g., roof leak) then you may see water marks on the ceiling. This time last year I was doing reno. I scraped off peeling / cracked paint off the ceiling in every rooms then used paint scraper to to scrape off all the loose or cracked paint, then use skimcoat to seal, then sand it back, and finally undercoat and flat ceiling paint. The result was OK (not perfect). Most of the peeling area were the joint between two plaster panels. The house is about 25 years old.

 

[ozsupra]

I have learnt this the hard way;
I purchased an IP early last year with peeling paint throughout. The story was that yes, the roof did have a leak however it had been repaired approximately six months prior.

I had two painters look at the house and both of them said that they would not give a guarantee that the paint would say affixed to the plasterboard. At that time I was advised that I should replaster the entire ceiling throughout the house, cost $1,500.

I chose to ignore the advise and carefully sanded back all peeling surfaces to the point that there was no peeling areas left, no matter how small. I then had the house painted.

Within six weeks of it being painted, the paint started peeling and within three months the peeling was back to it's original state.

I looked at what could be done and again stripped back the peeling areas and mixed in a large quantity of bond crete into the new paint. The house was then painted for the second time.

Six weeks later, same pattern, large areas peeling with no sign of the paint bonding to the plasterboard.

Finally, bit the bullet and had a new ceiling installed plus painting for the third time.
Very costly mistake both in time, money and tenant inconvenience. Next time I'll listen to advice.
A.

 

[gooram]

If there is a water leakage (e.g., roof leak) then you may see water marks on the ceiling. This time last year I was doing reno. I scraped off peeling / cracked paint off the ceiling in every rooms then used paint scraper to to scrape off all the loose or cracked paint, then use skimcoat to seal, then sand it back, and finally undercoat and flat ceiling paint. The result was OK (not perfect). Most of the peeling area were the joint between two plaster panels. The house is about 25 years old.

OK next question What's the best way to detect leaks? Get up in the roof when it's raining I guess. Or run the hose over the roof.

 

[gooram]

I had two painters look at the house and both of them said that they would not give a guarantee that the paint would say affixed to the plasterboard. At that time I was advised that I should replaster the entire ceiling throughout the house, cost $1,500.

This is also what I'm trying to avoid, but considering none of the ceiling would have been sealed properly, sounds like it could be the best solution, once any leaks are sorted out.

Was $1500 the total cost, i.e. rip out and replace exising ceiling, re-install lighting etc?

 

[RickF]

My first IP had this problem but it was due to the paint being slapped onto the ceiling without any prep work. I had a mate who is a painter look at it and after following his advice and only removing the paint that was already peeling then giving it a sand and a couple of coats of ceiling white it was fine. That was 1998 and it still looks good so it could be as small an issue as that.

 

[yadreamin]

I have learnt this the hard way;
I purchased an IP early last year with peeling paint throughout. The story was that yes, the roof did have a leak however it had been repaired approximately six months prior.

I had two painters look at the house and both of them said that they would not give a guarantee that the paint would say affixed to the plasterboard. At that time I was advised that I should replaster the entire ceiling throughout the house, cost $1,500.

I chose to ignore the advise and carefully sanded back all peeling surfaces to the point that there was no peeling areas left, no matter how small. I then had the house repainted


Within six weeks of it being painted, the paint started peeling and within three months the peeling was back to it's original state.

I looked at what could be done and again stripped back the peeling areas and mixed in a large quantity of bond crete into the new paint. The house was then painted for the second time.

Six weeks later, same pattern, large areas peeling with no sign of the paint bonding to the plasterboard.

Finally, bit the bullet and had a new ceiling installed plus painting for the third time.
Very costly mistake both in time, money and tenant inconvenience. Next time I'll listen to advice.
A.

I did all of the above over a 5 year period.
Each time l scraped back and tried yet another solution it began to peel within months.
I finally gave up on the fourth attempt and replaced the ceilings last year. I should have done this in the first place and saved a lot of money and time.
Do yourself a big favour and replace it now.
cheers

 

[yadreamin]

My first IP had this problem but it was due to the paint being slapped onto the ceiling without any prep work. I had a mate who is a painter look at it and after following his advice and only removing the paint that was already peeling then giving it a sand and a couple of coats of ceiling white it was fine. That was 1998 and it still looks good so it could be as small an issue as that.

I did this too. Didnt work though
cheers

 

[chris01]

Just for the clarification:
I did NOT sand back the peeling paint but scraped it off the ceiling by hand.
I still remember the weather was very hot (this time last year) and temperature near the ceiling was more than 40 degree.
I just went back to the IP (The tenent just moved out) and found the new paint was in good condition.

 

[ozsupra]

Was $1500 the total cost, i.e. rip out and replace exising ceiling, re-install lighting etc?

No just supply and replastering. I carried out the initial removal and reinstalled the lights.
A

 

[NBS]

Yep had the same issues at PPOR, I managed to scrap back to where the paint had a good hold, then I ran over the ceiling with a damp roller to see if any other areas wanted to lift.

I then sealed the bare plaster areas, and finished the ceiling as per normal that was a few years back. ceiling still looks great.

It took a few days and a number of stubbies just to keep the mind at peace .

Brian

 

[cheezal]

RE: OK next question What's the best way to detect leaks?

Inspect the roof space:
With no lights , if you can see sunlight through cracks in/under tiles, or pinholes in iron. Also look for stains on underside of roof and the top of the ceiling. Inspect the roof from the outside, silastic or new material (shhets of iron are obviously replacements) . Also mould on the ceiling. These points are all from my practical experience

 

[RumpledElf]

That's fine until you have a leak in a skillion roof caused by wind blowing the water up under joins in the iron and then it running along a beam for several metres before it hits the ceiling. Only leaks when its a strong southerly.

We gave up on our leak - which was apparently very old, got the damp damage in that room to prove it - and dropped $8.5k on a new roof. Roof was getting pretty dodgy anyway and we'd patched it in all sorts of places, got all the leaks except that one, and not for want of trying.