Several years ago, water came through the ceiling of my house. Because of this, part of the wallpaper that was pasted onto the ceiling came off or became loose, because of the action of the water on it. I then pasted the affected sections of ceiling paper back on again and flattened it out. I thought the problem was resolved.

However, in November I went on vacation. When I returned to my house, which was unoccupied, the same section of ceiling paper was hanging loose again. The weather was cold and no heating was on in the room, which was the probable cause.

Short of replacing completely the section of ceiling paper causing this problem with new paper, what can I do? For example, can I re-paste it to the ceiling. But this time using stronger or special paste that means that it should stay on the ceiling under the same weather conditions?

Thank you. I live in the UK.

 

I would take a good look for what caused the paper to come loose. Most of the time it just doesn't come down and most people curse the opposite (that it's difficult to remove). If all the other paper in the room is still sticking you've got to identify what my be different and causing trouble in that area.

What is the ceiling made of? How was the ceiling surface repaired or treated after the water leak? Was there another water leak while you were gone? Is there any efflorescence, chalking, mold or other ceiling damage?

 

Wallpaper paste is water soluble so if the ceiling keeps getting damp - the paper will lift. Also any contaminants on the ceiling will cause a poor bond. IF you can verify that the ceiling is staying dry, I'd coat it with an oil base primer and then rehang the paper.

 

The problem is the moisture for sure. Unless you fix the source of the moisture, more than likely the paper will keep coming down