[lydiajones94]

Hi all,

The below pictures show a deteriorating wall and ceiling in a bedroom on the upper floor. The house was build circa 1925. There was water infiltration from the roof at some point, but that leak is now fixed. No information is known about the type of paint which was used on the wall. The paint on the wall peels in large bits (as can be seen on the picture high up near the ceiling), which could a good clue for a painter. It looks like some type of (drywall?) mud was used to finish the ceiling. I am not sure what type of wall this is, I would guess cement, but the vertical crack makes me think that there may be a coat of plaster.

I would need to know how to restore the wall and the ceiling. Obviously I will need to scrape a bit more and sand — but what next? Is there a specific type of primer I should use? Will I be able to blend the new paint with the old one, or is this best left to a professional painter?

Your thoughts are welcome. I very much appreciate your input on any aspect of this project. Many thanks in advance.

Lydia

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Is there a chimney behind that wall?

 

[griz]

Certainly appears you have a moisture infiltration problem.

 

[lydiajones94]

Is there a chimney behind that wall?

No. There was a roof leak.

 

[Thunder Chicken]

This is something that you should be able to do, no problem.

Peel and scrape off all the paint that comes of readily, get it back to where it is adhering well. Sand the paint edge smooth. Wipe the wall clean with a slightly damp sponge, rinsed frequently, let it dry completely, then run a vacuum over the area.

The ceiling texture looks like Homax sand or stone texture mixed with ceiling white, applied with a roller. This is available in most box stores in the paint section. Applying texture is easy to do, though you might have to experiment with the texture size to match what is already there. You can buy a small piece of drywall, mix up a couple of sample textures and apply them to the drywall to figure out what matches the ceiling the best. Tape off the wall and paint the texture onto the ceiling first, and let it dry thoroughly before painting the wall.

Keep one of the paint chips (a couple of square inches is fine) and get the color and sheen matched. You will probably need to paint one entire wall, whether it needs it or not, just to ensure that it looks uniform.

I recommend going to a real paint store (Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore, etc) vs getting what is in the box stores as I've found their store brands to be very poor quality, and won't always stick to the wall no matter how well it is prepared. You're probably going to get some water based latex paint. Ask them about appropriate primer for this plaster. They may also have prepared texture samples so you can match the texture easier.

 

[lydiajones94]

This is something that you should be able to do, no problem.

Peel and scrape off all the paint that comes of readily, get it back to where it is adhering well. Sand the paint edge smooth. Wipe the wall clean with a slightly damp sponge, rinsed frequently, let it dry completely, then run a vacuum over the area.

The ceiling texture looks like Homax sand or stone texture mixed with ceiling white, applied with a roller. This is available in most box stores in the paint section. Applying texture is easy to do, though you might have to experiment with the texture size to match what is already there. You can buy a small piece of drywall, mix up a couple of sample textures and apply them to the drywall to figure out what matches the ceiling the best. Tape off the wall and paint the texture onto the ceiling first, and let it dry thoroughly before painting the wall.

Keep one of the paint chips (a couple of square inches is fine) and get the color and sheen matched. You will probably need to paint one entire wall, whether it needs it or not, just to ensure that it looks uniform.

I recommend going to a real paint store (Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore, etc) vs getting what is in the box stores as I've found their store brands to be very poor quality, and won't always stick to the wall no matter how well it is prepared. You're probably going to get some water based latex paint. Ask them about appropriate primer for this plaster. They may also have prepared texture samples so you can match the texture easier.

Thanks a lot for your post. I really appreciate your advice.

 

[Will22]

It would also be recommended to prime where the paint has peeled back to bare concrete /plaster, before recoating. Bin 123 or a good bonding primer.