Ceiling repair questions


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Old 05-10-04, 04:04 AM
rick_m
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Ceiling repair questions

We had a slight mold issue in our bathroom, which I resolved by spraying the area with a bleach mixture then leaving the door or window cracked when I took a shower. No more mold!

The ceiling in this bathroom is textured. Not popcorn, just what looks like a brushed based texture. It's cracking in a lot of places but isn't falling down. I could remove little bits of it with my fingernail if I wanted to but it won't come off easy.

I want to prime and paint the ceiling as I'm about to paint the walls. Should I put down a "heavy" primer, then paint (hoping that the cracks will fill in) or should I put up some thin sheetrock then prime and painting.

The other question is fixing a water damaged ceiling. In one of the closets the ceiling suffered some damage (it's cracked down the lath/plaster/whatever) really bad. I was going to cut some sheetrock to fit this area then prime and paint. The problem that caused the leak has been fixed. Would putting up some drywall be ok, or should I remove the old stuff first? This area isn't too wide getting up there to hammer and chisel the ceiling would be very tight unless I can drop down to about 100#.
 
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Old 05-10-04, 07:44 PM
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Hi Rick & welcome aboard!

For the closet I'd say by all means, go over it with a piece of drywall. Locate & mark the studs first & use screws long enough to into the studs at least 3/8"-1/2".

For the main bath ceiling, I would say first if it's feasible, install a vent fan in the ceiling. If there's an attic above this & a light in the ceiling, it's a snap to do, & you don't have to leave the door open when you shower anymore. Then you can hang new drywall, should be regular rock, (no greenboard on lids, unless joists are on 12" centers). Same deal applies as with the closet, locate studs & screw into them, run the drywall lengthwise across the studs. I always use 5/8" rock on bathroom ceilings, for the added strength, but the book says you can use 1/2" with 16" centers, if more than that 5/8" rock is required.

You could also repair the cracks with the thinned joint compound or could also use vinyl spackling, then primer & paint. IMO, you'd be happier with the end result if you go with the first suggestion.

Good luck!
 
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Old 05-10-04, 08:19 PM
rick_m
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Close the door? There goes the last little thrill I have in this world. Actually it's handy, if I'm in bed and see steam rolling in then I know the mrs has been in there long enough, which encourages me to go flush the can. Gets 'em moving everytime.

The vent fan is something we've been considering for a while, routing it outside is the tricky part. This bathroom is on the 2nd floor, we're on a slope so the actual drop out of the window is 3.25 stories. I thought about running the vent over to an eve (easy shot) then letting it exit down under the eve. The other way would be to run it to the northern wall and exit there. My problem with this is that there is nothing north of us but lots of air and eventually Canada...the winds from the N are nasty here in the winter (mountains of NC). Could I put the vent fan in from the inside w/o having to stand 3.25 stories up on a ladder? (if I can find one that long). I could access the roof but it's a 12/12 pitch. I'd rather climb up that ladder.

I'm going to try the spackling first since I've never sheetrocked and we're going to be selling soon. I checked the ceiling tonight, none of the texture is flaking at all, and nothing I chipped at with my finger nail broke loose. I'll test this on a small area over the shower, if it works ok then I'll do the rest of it. I'll run this by the mrs, I might just have someone come in who knows sheetrock and do this for me.
 
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Old 05-11-04, 08:00 AM
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Have you got a vent in the gable or soffet vents? I've run alot of exhaust vents over to those & attach the end of the hose to the vent with a zip tie. Surely the attic of the place has some sort of venting to it. But I know what you're talking about with those 3 story houses with 12/12 roofs, I got a pretty simple rule about them, I pass on those jobs, there's lots of young eager beavers out there, let them make the big bucks (?) on those big jobs like that. I don't bounce up from falls like I used to.
 
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Old 05-11-04, 09:12 AM
rick_m
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There is a vent on the very top of the roof that runs along the ridgeline but there are walls and a ceiling in the attic, I'd have to make a mess to vent to that. I'll run it over to the soffit and vent downward, I'm sure Lowe's has a grate or something I can cover it up with so it doesn't look like a there is a big hole there. Luckily enough if I move the duct over about 3' I can get to that soffit with a 2 story ladder that's perched on the deck. If I don't reply to this it means that I, er, fell. :P (Next house will be a ranch!)
 
 

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