Painting a bathroom roof

[Quick Learner]

Half the bathroom roof in my PPOR is peeling badly the other half is perfect. The half that is peeling is right above the shower. I was wondering how do I go about repainting the roof myself. I am getting a revaluation of the house soon and I want all the little odd jobs around the house to be tended to theis is one of them.

Do I have to scrape the paint off the whole thing or just the half that is peeling or is there a way of removing it.

Thanks in advance,
Jarrad

 

[Kristine..]

Ummm, Jarrad

Do you mean bathroom roof which is outside the house, or bathroom ceiling which is the plasterboard side of the roof cavity?

I am guessing you mean ceiling.

Have you got adequate ventilation in the bathroom if the ceiling is flaking? Fix the ventilation first otherwise your work on fixing the ceiling will be wasted.

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do for peeling paint. Use a glass scraper and gently work your way over the surface with the blade, this will cut the flaky bits back very close to surface level.

Next, use a wide spatula and apply a generous but even coat of plaster skim coat over the entire area working outwards towards the smooth area.

When the skim coat is dry, use a sanding block and just sand lightly over the filling. Use more filling if necessary, the idea is simply to achieve a reasonably smooth surface.

Use a good quality primer and or sealer over the whole ceiling. I would suggest a long nap roller, as a slight texture to the surface will conceal the repaired area. Use at least two top coats to finish.

Any chance of painting in a colour not white? White will show all the irregularities, whereas even a light cream will be a bit kinder.

Good luck, remember, painting and decorating is addictive!

Cheers

Kristine

 

[plumtree]

Nothing more to be said! A very complete description of what needs to done by an obvious expert. As Kristine says get an exhaust fan installed and make sure the ceiling is dry and free of mould before skim coat or painting.

 

[Quick Learner]

Ventilation Problem

Yes Kristine I meant bathroom ceiling (thanx for the vocab adjustment).

Yeah the problem with ventilation is that four kids use the bathroom, so prob four showers a day and this has caused the ceiling problem. The bathroom already has a ventilation fan right above the shower. I think the problem lies in the frequency of its use. Thanx for your suggestions!

Jarrad

 

[Kristine..]

Hi QL

At Daughter's townhouse we had a problem in that the existing ventilated skylight needed to be replaced and the new one didn't have ventilation.

Quelle Horror! Mildew very soon appeared particularly above the shower.

However, we couldn't get power across to that spot, so a powered ventilation fan was no good.

I found a great alternative at Bunnings. This is a plastic non-powered fan in a sort of cage, and the impellors simply rotate when the hot steamy air is rising. The fan cost about $39 and simply clips into the plasterboard, probably the existing hole would be OK.

We also intalled a whirlygig on the roof, fairly close to the passive fan, in fact if you look upwards on the right angle you can watch the whirlygig rotating. If you have a tiled roof that should be self-ventilating but Daughter's roof is metal decking so needed some assistance.

This fixed the bathroom without creating a cold draught. The tenants weren't good at opening windows and ventilating the house so this meant there was passive ventilation drawing the stale air out of the place slowly but constantly and cleared the whole place, even assisting with clearing the air from downstairs.

So if the bathroom washees don't like turning the electric exhaust fan on while showering, or turn the fan off too soon while the bathroom is still steamy, install one of these passive fans and it should solve the problem - and it's ***** energy rated, too!

Cheers

Kristine

 

[johnnyb]

Good luck, remember, painting and decorating is addictive!

I used to feel like that about painting. It's a very satisfying job to start with something old and worn and finish with a nice clean surface. But then I got sick of preparation. I've done enough sanding to last me a few lifetimes. If I ever need to do painting now and the surface needs some serious preparation I'm quite happy to pay someone else to do it.

John.

 

[Aceyducey]

If I ever need to do painting now and the surface needs some serious preparation I'm quite happy to pay someone else to do it.

...Read as I listen to someone sanding the floor of our house...

Agreed

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[kissfan]

Hi Quick Learner.
When you repaint your ceiling, add some anti-mould mixture to the paint to help further mould build-up. See your paint provider for details.

Regards
Marty

 

[capitalist]

The bathroom already has a ventilation fan right above the shower. I think the problem lies in the frequency of its use.
Jarrad

Perhaps consider wiring the fan to the light - so that whenever the light is switched on, the fan also goes on. Just replace the switch with a single gang and run an active direct from the light to the fan. I wouldn't recommend doing this yourself - get a sparky in who'll do it for about $50.

 

[Quick Learner]

Good Idea!!!

Its a dam good Idea but thanks alot capitalist

I'm an electrical engineer its very tempting to do the wiring my self, dam these little things called licences and litigation grrr....

Jarrad

 

[bubbleroo]

Quick Learner,

I found this gadget in the Handyman magazine... check it out. I haven't use it but very tempted to get one for my IP. It's $86.90

http://www.vapotec.com.au/main.htm

My tenants have showers in the morning (& probably at night as well) so having the fan & the light connected to one switch didn't solve my problem since I suspect they don't turn on the light for the morning shower, hence the peeling ceiling.

cheers
Bubble

 

[XBenX]

Hi Quick Learner.
When you repaint your ceiling, add some anti-mould mixture to the paint to help further mould build-up. See your paint provider for details.

Regards
Marty

I used this soln on an IP with the same problems - worked a treat.

 

[plumtree]

I must be cranky to-night but please quit farting about...... to do proper job just make sure the ceiling is dry before re-painting. Check to make sure it is completely dry by using litmus paper or even just blotting paper taped to the ceiling, when you 'know' the ceiling is dry (1) use a good oil based sealer, (2) allow the sealer to dry say 24hrs, (3) paint the ceiling with an oil based paint, allow to dry for 24 hrs, (4) apply a second coat, allow to dry for a minimum of 24 hrs before the room is used. If after all this it continues to peel you must have leaky roof.

 

[DD1]

renos

The renos I do are on townhouses built 89/90. Since then sadly most havent seen a paint brush and look horrible with the standard no brain tenant who cant open a window.

As there was no undercoat/primer originally applied in the bathroom, 5 out of 6 so far have had flaky ceilings.

As others have said, its a must to get an exhaust fan, always add it to the light switch and not a separate switch(dumb tenants again) then follow reply 1.

I always get a rangehood too as it adds something cosmetic to the place and reduces repaints from kitchen stains. I bargain and now get a robinhood rangehood for $89 and an exhaust fan for $15 so the money I save is install cost. Getting all of your small jobs done at the same time saves money too.


Happy painting.

DD1

 

[agent 86]

Tenant Alert!
Watch out for dumb, no brain landlord/renovators.

A86

 

[Peter_Tersteeg]

Ceiling paints are generally a basic flat paint (hides the imperfections in the ceiling). For a bathroom or kitchen (if it's oilly and non ventilated), use a low-sheen or semi-gloss paint as it has better water repelant properties. Enamel paint is better still, but the may be a bit too shiny.

Both Dulux and Taubmans have paints with an anti mould agent in them, which is good for both ceilings and walls. I don't recommend adding an anti mould agent yourself, as it you add too little, it won't be as effective, and if you add too much, the paint may not cure properly - use the stuff you buy off the shelf.

Whatever you do, don't use the stuff they paints on pink and drys white. I've heard stories of that ceiling paint in a bathroom, turning back to pink when it got steamy, then running down the walls and ruining both the ceiling and walls.