Newly painted ceiling is cracking, peeling and falling off

Question

Popcorn ceiling was professionally removed from our entire home, refinished and painted. The second story ceiling in the hallway is cracking and falling off. It was redone but it happened a second time. Every other room is beautiful. Any thoughts as to why this happened?

William · Answer

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/causes-house-cei...,***** https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/why-my-pai...

Janet Pizaro · Answer

That looks like damage from moisture.

Deanna Nassar · Answer

I agree with Janet.  Paint will often peel if there is dampness underneath.  Have you poked around the attic in that area to see if there are dark spots(mold?) or obvious leaks?  When was the roof replaced?  Any pipes running through the ceiling:?  Check a/c ducts if in that area.  Next time it rains make it a point to be up there to look for leaks from roof.   Where ever it comes in the water will run down rafters and drip from any place it slows down long enough to collect.

Dee · Answer

Thanks, Deanna.  We have done a little poking around, and so has our painter.  He is baffled, as well.  We found no wet spots in the attic, or mold, and no leaks.  There are no pipes or ac ducts running in that area either.   We will keep looking until we find what is causing the cracking and peeling.  Moisture must be coming from somewhere.

Cyndi Moore Tippett · Answer

There could be a substance on the surface that is causing the paint to peel.  Example:  when you try to paint latex over oil based paint.  Have you tried priming with a good grade oil based primer and then repaint.  The oil based primer will seal out anything that may be in or on the Sheetrock.  Just a thought...

Bobbi Young · Answer

this happened to us once when we painted over dry wall that was not completely dry! What a mess==scraping walls indoors???  I am a fan of bullseye primer--then repaint.  Good luck!

Don · Answer

I am a plasterer with 20 years experience and from my experience this looks very much like the new ceiling was not cleaned or dusted off after drywall was sanded. Also if your new ceiling was not sealed or undercoated then this is what happens.

Ray Phillips · Answer

As a retired builder  'always tired'    I agree with  don, maybe,  as you sat the other rooms are fine, then there is something on the drywall that you can't see.   have the painter clean all the cracks off and several inches out from them,  then sand lightly then paint with kills, I would put on two coats of kills then  paint  that should take care of your problem if the is no leaks as you say.

Sophia,M.,McConnery · Answer

A good quality oil based paint would help.You will have to scrape,sand,and clean any loose paint.There are oil based paints with the primer already in them.I would do two coats!

Leisa Yeager · Answer

You have to use oil base paint, the ceiling is oil base latex will continue to peel no matter how many time you repaint.

Jeff · Answer

All valid points...however I don't know what type of paint was used...Latex? Oil based?  When I did this type of work (bad job by the way-NOBODY wants to mist/scrape/sand/dust/kilz popcorn ceilings)I always primed, no matter what.  At this point, since it is a hallway I might consider hanging 3/8' drywall over old. Yes you will need to finish angles (the corners) and paint the walls too, but at least I would feel confident in my repair. Be sure and scrape loose areas and prime existing ceiling before covering with new drywall in case those stains, whatever they are, attempted to soak through. You did check for leaks above the ceiling, right?

Trudy · Answer

I was wondering about a leak too...

Kari Roberts · Answer

If it was a leak you would see gold or brown discoloration. I would follow the drywall guys suggestions.

Pamela Robb Huss · Answer

Check attic for water leakage

Cmo11437223 · Answer

too much give and take. use a flexible paint/ (http://flexsealproducts.com/shop/?gclid=CLXsnpOY_s4CFQQxaQodWhEK-w). paint both the attic side and a very thin coat on the side facing you. of course you are going to do it after you clean and scrape that garbage paint from the ceiling

Pcf · Answer

Is there a bathroom with a shower close by? Does it have a shower? Possible that steam from the shower is causing the problem. Check the exhaust fan and all the associated ducting.

JoLeen Bolton · Answer

Was primer used?  Oil based or latex?  And is the paint oil based or latex?  There are some combinations that will cause what you have.  It looks more like that kind of problem than water to me.

JoLeen Bolton · Answer

I just noticed more replies and see that I've repeated some of them....sorry!

Connie · Answer

If it's not a leak causing it u might check out the styro wall/ceiling tiles.  Very attractive easy to put up and paintable.

Carolyn Ball-Hanson · Answer

If this is an older home it might have been painted with something called Calcimite (sp?).Paint just peels off of it.  We have that problem in 1 room of our home and have pretty much decided that a layer of thin plywood or wall board it the only solution.

Ali · Answer

If they didn't vacuum the surface before priming and then painting this could happen. You should contact them. In order to fix it, it had to be scraped again, spackled, sanded, vacuumed, primef and painted again. Good luck!

Pamela Robertson Pullmann · Answer

It almost looks like it might be from condensation.  Considering where you live, the humidity may be a factor in 'wetting' the ceiling. 
I would either get a dehumidifier for your home - or just put up some styrofoam or metal ceiling panels. They would dress it up without the issue of peeling paint. 
Good luck.

1268409614 · Answer

There could be moisture in the ceiling, they have a primer for that. You'll have to buy a sponge sanding pad. But first find the leak that is causing the moisture in your ceiling & deal with that first.

Che7772414 · Answer

Maybe they painted latex over oil.

Lucy · Answer

My kitchen was painted professional and did the same thing. I live in Chicago and it was during the summer. The humidity was over 60% during the painting. The painter had to return and used a different paint.

Jackie Byrd · Answer

You said this was the 2nd story, does that mean the attic is above the ceiling? Have you check the attic for leaks or condensation maybe from the A/C cooling unit? Have you called the painters to come out and evaluate the problem?

Newly painted ceiling is cracking, peeling and falling off

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Newly painted ceiling is cracking, peeling and falling off

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