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Original poster

Ceiling paint flaking off

18 replies

PragmaticWench · 11/09/2018 18:43

Noticed recently that our downstairs ceiling paint in the sitting room, hallway and kitchen is cracking and coming off in places. This is mainly around the edges but not totally.

I used a damp meter to check it wasn't a water leak and all dry and fine. Looking closely at a piece that flaked off it looks as though there's a wash of something under the paint that Google suggests might be distemper??

Any ideas what I need to do to fix this problem? It's a mid century ex-council property with all sorts of weird paint jobs if that helps.

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Original poster
PragmaticWench · 12/09/2018 21:41

Anyone?

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wowfudge · 12/09/2018 22:17

If it's distemper, it can be painstakingly scraped off then re-painted. Not easy and it stinks - friends had it in their house. Or the ceiling can be plasterboarded over and skimmed. Which sounds drastic but might be quicker.

It could be that the ceiling was replastered and wasn't mist coated or has had something put on it which means the paint hasn't adhered properly.

PigletJohn · 13/09/2018 11:43

How old is the house?

When were the ceilings painted?

Does anyone drape wet washing around your home?

Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 13:38

The house is mid-century, an ex council property.

Not sure exactly when the ceilings were last painted, but where it is flaking off it shows the plaster underneath with a 'wash' of a white substance on it.

Trying to add pictures to show it.

Ceiling paint flaking off
Ceiling paint flaking off
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Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 13:39

Oh and we have dried washing indoors but only in one room upstairs, with the door closed and a dehumidifier in there, and the ceiling isn't flaking in that room.

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wowfudge · 13/09/2018 13:44

Is it just a painted finish? On your first photo it looks as though a skim coat is coming away from the ceiling. That can happen if the ceiling has been coated with PVA glue them skimmed and papered then a steam stripper has been used to remove the paper.

daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 14:03

agree with wow fudge looks like been plastered and no watered down coat applied just neat paint which in tim will not stick in theory to wall and start peeling off all over the wall had same problem at home ended up scraping all paint off doing a watered down coat 50paint 50 percent water 2 coats of that then normal paint and its fine. luckily it was only one wall

Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 14:12

The walls and ceiling are just painted, never been papered.

I'm wondering what the best solution is? If I had it skimmed again, would it all come down? I'm dreading the thought of having to remove all of the surface somehow!

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PigletJohn · 13/09/2018 15:29

one of the pics seems to show paint coming off in a bubble. If you pull, it will probably peel off.

the other looks like a bit of skim cracked off, probably where the ceiling is moving. That's more serious. There seems to be a crack as well. Is it where two rooms have been knocked together and a dividing wall removed? Or have you got a weight-lifter in the room above?

Have a look at the upper surface of some ceilings. If you have no loose floorboard you can look down from the loft. Are they made of plasterboard, which is flat and smooth with a coarse paper coating? Or is it Lath and Plaster which has narrow strips of wood an inch or less apart with plaster bulging up between them? And loose bits of grey plaster broken off and lying on it?

PigletJohn · 13/09/2018 15:32

btw if the "bubble" is under the bathroom, somebody's probably let the bath overflow. It might be a trick of the light, but it looks like the paint on the wall as well as the ceiling is loose.

Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 16:03

Yes, the paint at the top of the wall is also loose in two rooms, none of them are below or near a bathroom above though. I'm some areas the flat ceiling is cracking and flaking off, and in some areas it's the top of the wall AND the ceiling.

Like this. Which I am thinking is where the building has shifted, and the loose paint is coming away from the surface.

Ceiling paint flaking off
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PigletJohn · 13/09/2018 16:22

has there been a loft conversion or walls removed?

daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 16:23

Is there any cracks anywhere else are they all on the same side of the house? Check outside drains where gutter goes down are these blocked? How old is the house?

Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 16:36

No walls removed, no loft conversion (cracks are only downstairs).

Cracks are on an outside wall but no downpipes nearby or gutter issues, and also on internal walls and ceilings.

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Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 16:38

Oh and we had the house repointed five years ago, so no issues there. Damp meter readings on all external/internal walls, floors and ceilings are normal.

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Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 16:40

Thank you for all the help by the way!

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daddy2kids · 13/09/2018 17:49

when was it re plastered?

Original poster
PragmaticWench · 13/09/2018 17:59

I've no idea if it was ever replastered, although I'm guessing so, but we bought it five years ago and haven't touched the ceilings since then.

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