[Greyhound88]

Hello all! After struggling with a plaster issue, I am starting to find myself somewhat lost regarding ways to fix the recurring bubbles appearing in my paint finish.

My home was built in 1915 and has plaster walls. All of the walls are in great shape without any significant cracking, but I am having problems in a single room. My wife and I moved into the house about 6 months ago and, at that time, there was supposedly a leak through the chimney. A bedroom on the second floor, which shares a wall with the chimney, developed bubbling at the ceiling and on the walls in a specific section.

The roof repairman diagnosed the issue and stated that the leak was due to the seal around the chimney. Apparently, the flashing gave way at some point, but they fixed the issue with new flashing.

To fix the bubbling, I scraped away all of the damaged areas, which inevitably pulled out significant chunks of plaster. I repaired everything with joint compound and repainted with latex paint to match the rest of the room. Unfortunately, a few months later, the problem recurred and I had bubbling in the same region. Fortunately, the plaster damage was not as bad during the scrapping process. I was concerned that moisture was seeping through the walls, so I filled the voids once again with joint compound, primed with original kilz, applied a skim coat of joint compound, and primed again with kilz. Thereafter, I used the standard latex paint to match the room.

Now, I am getting bubbles again, and I am very, very frustrated. Since this wall borders the chimney, I tried to research some other issues such as condensation, since the chimney is most likely mortar. To search for condensation, I climbed into the attic storage area to find the exposed chimney. To the touch, it was bone dry. I was also unable to find any moisture seeping down the chimney from a potentially failed flashing job.

At this point, I am wondering if it is even a water issue. The chimney above the second floor fails to demonstrate any moisture/water issues and the first floor below the problematic wall proves to be fine.

Any suggestions? I am wondering if I am doing something wrong with the repainting process. It was very dusty in the room from sanding the plaster when I was painting, and I do not know if this would cause bubbles weeks thereafter. Or, maybe I should have allowed the plaster to dry better before repainting?

Thank you for the help.

 

[griz]

Three possibilities or a combination of them.

Has the chimney been sealed? It can wick moisture.

You mention dust. Were the walls wiped down & tacked?

Was the plaster dry? This could be an issue if you have even brought it up.

 

[Greyhound88]

I'm not sure if the chimney has been sealed. I know that it has not caused any issues with moisture on the third floor or the floor below.

I did not wipe down the walls, and I am not sure what tacking is. I think I tried to get the dust off the wall with a vacuum, but I didn't scrub them or wipe with a damp cloth. There was dust on the floor and around the room from the removal and sanding of plaster.

When I removed the old plaster, the areas behind felt cold and slightly damp. Should I have waited a certain amount of time before working on the area? I was not sure about this and I have been told that plastic breathes in a sense. Therefore, I was uncertain if I should have done something to dry it out before patching and painting. It seems to be recurring in the same general areas, but less severe each time.

 

[joecaption]

Did you go in the attic to make sure the insulation did not get wet and remove and replace if it did?
Paints not going to stick to sanding dust or a damp surface.
I've had better luck on plaster with oil based primer, then latex paint.

 

[ToolSeeker]

Original Kilz is oil based and takes longer to dry. I would wait 24 hours before painting and also did you wait before you put the mud over the Kilz on the patch.

 

[Greyhound88]

I am not positive as to how long I waited before putting the Kiltz over the patch. I probably waited long enough to believe that it was solid. The entire wall is not bubbling, but certain spots are. Most bubbles are rather tiny, dime size or smaller, but there is one larger bubble forming.

I checked in the attic all around the exposed chimney. It seems very dry - no water running down the outside a failure in the flashing and no condensation coming through the brick.

I will note that the bubbles all returned in areas where I was originally working, which is about a six or seven width area of wall. Nowhere else. However, they are not in the precise areas where I had bubbles forming after the last repair. They appear to be in new spots and not in the areas where the previous damage was the worst.

I know the room was definitely still dusty from plaster removal and sanding. I did not really completely clean up until the entire project was finished (i.e. the floor and other areas has a healthy coating of plaster dust). If I recall, the mud may have been slightly moist to the touch, yet solid, in certain areas when I began to paint.

 

[Greyhound88]

Update:

I took another look at the attic situation and checked the insulation around the roof by the chimney. It does feel moist to the touch almost like condensation through the room. I did notice that there were a few nails that were driven very deeply through the roof into the attic and they have developed rust. All of the other nails, which are not placed so deep, are fine and appear to be the nails driven when the roof was installed. I am guessing these deeper nails were done by the guys who repaired the flashing. Is it possible that moisture is seeping in through the nail holes?

I am still confused as to how the moisture is getting down to the second floor, as the chimney looks dry and this discovery only affects the roof around the chimney. I guess the insulation discovery gives me cause to call the roof repair guys? They did give me a 3 year guarantee on the flashing job.