Water damage · 7 min read
There's a water stain on my ceiling. What now?
A brown ring overhead is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Here is how to work out whether you need a repair, a plumber, or just paint.
First: is it still wet?
Press gently. If the board gives, it is compromised and it needs to come out — swollen gypsum never regains its strength. If it is hard and dry, you may be looking at a repair that is mostly sealing and painting.
Find the source before anyone finishes the ceiling
Closing a ceiling over a live leak just hides it until the next one. Common culprits above a stain are a bathroom seal, a supply line, a dishwasher, or an ice dam at the eaves in February.
Why the stain bleeds back through paint
The tannins and minerals in the water sit in the paper face of the board and travel straight through ordinary latex. Without a stain-blocking primer the ring reappears within months, which is why people repaint the same spot three times.
Not sure what you're looking at?
Send a photo. We will tell you honestly whether it is a repair, a plumber, or just paint.
Keep reading
Why the same drywall crack keeps coming back
You filled it, sanded it, painted it. A year later it is back in exactly the same line. Here is what is actually happening behind the paint.
Texture matching, explained without the jargon
The reason you can spot most drywall patches from across the room has almost nothing to do with the filling and everything to do with the finish.