How to Repair Moisture Damage to Bathroom Plaster Ceilings

Plaster walls or ceilings can become damaged by water, resulting in bubbled or brown surfaces. If the damage is left unattended, bits and parts of the wall or ceiling will start to disintegrate and crumble. Therefore, it's a good idea to start repair while the damage is still somewhat superficial. But as with any damage, first fix the problem causing the water damage before making any repairs.

Joint compound
Putty knife
Joint knife
Hand sander
Sand paper, 120 grit
Wet rag
House paint
Shellac-based primer or alkyd primer
Primer sealer

Instructions

- 1
  Remove damaged areas. Using a putty knife, scrape off the loose bits and parts including bubbled areas, peeling paint and cracked plaster. Be sure to scrape off the surrounding areas, too. Dust off any excess debris.
- 2
  Apply primer. Apply shellac-based primer sealer or alkyd wall primer to the entire scraped area or areas. Shellac primer will dry in about one hour, whereas alkyd primer will dry in about 12 hours.
- 3
  Apply joint compound. Fill out any holes or cracks that occur after scraping by applying thin layers of joint compound. Use a joint knife to smooth out the surface. Apply several skimmed layers after each layer dries. The compound or mud will take 30 minutes to an hour to dry.
- 4
  Use a hand sander with medium-coarse sand paper, such as 120 grit, to sand out rough patches. Then clean with a wet rag and let dry.
- 5
  Apply primer again. Apply primer-sealer to protect against moisture damage.
- 6
  Paint the newly repaired area using the same color as the rest of the wall or ceiling.

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