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I have paint that's not sticking to the ceiling. This all occurred during a cold spell last month when the temp was below 10°F. Everything seems to be dry under the paint. No water damage or mold is evident.

I had one contractor that said he could scrape, skim coat, paint etc. Another contractor wants to rip out the entire ceiling and put up drywall. This is a plaster ceiling. I'm not sure what the best option would be.

enter image description here

isherwood
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Jake J
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  • Was any prep work done to ceiling before painting? Prep work is 90% of a good paint job. Was the paint applied in warm temperatures(above 50)? – crip659 Jan 30 '24 at 23:42
  • I just recently bought the house and am not sure. Looking at some areas of the house I wouldn't be surprised if it was half assed. – Jake J Jan 30 '24 at 23:49
  • Same thing happened to us in our first house. Was an older couple and they were so proud to say that they repainted the bedroom ceiling so it would be fresh when we moved in. Did not require any plaster work, though. Just vacuumed/scraped off the while ceiling (easy because they didn't use primer), cleaned, primed, and painted – nuggethead Feb 01 '24 at 01:26

2 Answers2

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Patch it.

Given the size of the patch I would just scrape the loose paint and plaster it with a plaster patching compound. Make sure to wear a dust mask, anything pre-1978 could have lead based paint.

This is rather simple DIY project and could be completed rather easily.

As far as why this happened, given the location I would assume poor prep work although there could be a myriad of reasons as to why including moisture, painting over glossy surfaced without sanding and painting over a dusty surface.

plaster patching compound

matt.
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  • The part showing and affected is no longer part of the attic. The bathroom transitions to the roof from that point. I had a roofer come out and inspect with no concerns. – Jake J Jan 31 '24 at 00:01
  • Include that in your post. As stated in the answer, if not moisture then it was likely poor prep. Paint doesn't stick to dusty surfaces well. Regardless of why it happened the fix could go either way. Patch and skim or replace the lid. The size of the patch is hard to tell from the photo. That would give better direction as to which route to take. – matt. Jan 31 '24 at 00:05
  • Sorry about that. And it's about 2 feet across. – Jake J Jan 31 '24 at 00:11
  • Oh, yeah, I would definitely just cut it out and patch it back. That is simple and can be done in a day! – matt. Jan 31 '24 at 00:17
  • Okay thanks Matt – Jake J Jan 31 '24 at 00:20
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You can see 3-4 different colors under the peeling paint. 30-40 years ago someone painted and/or skim coated without doing proper prep, now the weight of all of those layers is pulling everything down.

The contractor who recommended replacing plaster with drywall does not know what he's talking about.

Plaster repair is harder than drywall, no doubt, but it looks better, feels better, and has different acoustic properties.

Just scrape off the bad layers, use a plaster prep compound to make sure the skim coat sticks, then prime and paint.

Only paint when the surface will be at 50F or above for 24hrs.

Cheery
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