Home Improvement Today?

I have the same on my doors, operates well and much quieter. Should serve you well.

 

Yep, plan to make a trip to the local army surplus store and get a shovel with a pick on one end and a small shovel on the other. I'll give that a shot until I run into rock... Then I'll just go buy a big hammer drill. I'll need one again eventually. Plus, the more tools the better.

@DCSBFTMFW If the paint is 7 months old, it could be due to lack of HVAC moisture control. Switching the heat on at this time of the year could cause that. I would say it is probably a leak but just a thought.

I've recently learned the importance of a good trustworthy roofer.

 

Thank god they are only 2 inch thick panels

 

So unlikely to be R19

 

Thanks for the reply.

We don't have any central HVAC and the crappy wall heater in the room hasn't been used much since it isn't being occupied.

Got an email from the property manager and a missed call from a number I've never seen before, so I believe that is the roofing company.

 

Try using your wall heater and keeping the door open. When I had my walls re-textured during remodel there were bumps that looked exactly like that until it dried. It was due to wet texture being applied over existing paint and causing a moisture issue. The bumps were underneath the old paint.

 

if it's a persistent leak, ...i'd imagine it would've showed a brownish stain... or worst, water start coming through the ceiling (ask me how I know! )... has that ceiling been recently painted?... I could be a paint adherence issue if priming was skipped, or perhaps ...moisture from a bathroom or perhaps less persistent leak, ..may affect adhesion on water-based paint...

...don't know where exactly your location, if you get ice dams in the winter, ..can cause moisture to get back into the ceilings/walls that might cause minor problem seasonally...

 

^

 

Paint is 6-7 months old, no new texture was sprayed so it's at minimum a few years old. These were converted into condos in the mid 90s, so I would safely assume it's at least that old.

The heaters in the bedrooms are electric baseboard heaters and are likely the cheapest models, or they're woefully ineffective. When we were painting, one of them got turned on and never turned off until a week later when I opened the door and noticed a temperature difference when I walked in. I've turned them on in the bedroom on purpose and over 3 hours on "high" the only difference in temperature that could be felt was within 6" or so of the heater itself.

Not sure if they're low wattage units, or these types of heaters just suck - but they're pretty useless. I have a ceramic heater in the bedroom now that I use for an hour or so at night before bed, but not in this room with the bubbling. It's a nursery for our daughter who is still sleeping in our room with us, so it's never been lived in. Generally the door to that room is open.

I don't think it's a huge leak (like the roof, especially after getting up in the attic myself) but more of an issue with the exterior siding having some type of fault that allows rain to enter the structure under a certain condition, maybe heavy wind or something to that extent. It's vinyl siding, assumed to be installed in the mid 90s when they converted but I could be wrong there. It isn't high quality or installed terribly well, nor is it in the best shape. My gut tells me that's the problem, but I won't know for sure until someone comes out and checks on that, with the holidays I'm not sure that'll be this week, but hopefully next. The roofing company will be out this week, but they're only checking the roof, of course. I found no sign of roof leak, myself.

 

Is there a wall penetration above or near that area to the exterior like a light or conduit ?

 

No pipes or conduit in the attic space.

@DoorDing
3/4 of the house has the same paint, as far as the pre-existing paint that I painted over. This is the only spot that has this problem, so I'd assume if there was an issue with paint interaction it'd be more prevalent.

Can't be 100% positive but seemed like the drywall in that area has a larger spongy area than it did Saturday when I first noticed it. Still can't get any actual water on my finger when I press the bubble that I poked a hole in, so if it's actually a leak, it isn't pooling. We had high wind over the weekend and lots of rain over the past week or so, so really wondering if some siding panels are opening up under heavy wind and allowing rain/water to blow behind the panel.

 

What is directly outside that area on the wall and how far up is the soffit or roof overhang above that area ?

 

Directly outside that wall is just siding, which is above the roof line of the attach single story unit (this ceiling in the nursery is on my second floor).

As far as soffits on that side I don't have a clue, I can snap a pic in a bit and post it here @OZ-T.

I have 3 foot soffit panels on the lower level (ceiling height) which extend out and basically keep the rain off of my entry doors on the front of the house. I know the upper level has no such panels.

 

If it only gets in during a wind event I was wondering if there isn't some kind of wall or parapet flashing in that area that water is getting blown under

 

wind-driven precipitation can find it's way in.... I recall a couple winters ago, ...one particular night we had high winds and some very fine powdery snow, ..the wind blew the snow up against the structure, and (me going up into the attic soon after, ..for a non-related reason) shined my flashlight around noticed that there were several little piles of snow that had fallen to rest on framing where the exterior soffits are, ...the wind had driven the fine snow up through the soffit vents...

 

Yeah , it can drive powder snow in through continuous ridge vents too , particulairly on lower slope roofs

 

yep, ..I tend to get vigilant about this when winter comes around!... last couple years have been really bad for this and ice damns...

 

The ridge vent I used on my house has a little flexible flapper on it that seals the vent if its windy

 

If it's an issue of rain + high wind, is that something that might be played down instead of fixed because those two aren't always hand in hand?

I'd hate to be told that the water only enters the structure when the planets are all aligned and then be stuck with a moisture problem every time the weather mix is correct. Seems to me if there is water getting inside then there's a problem that needs correcting, even if it's under certain conditions that are regularly occurring like wind and rain.

 

I need some input here:

In a fit of "what the hell can I do to make this room feel better" I started mulling over the idea of painting my fireplace brick. The pictures I find online seem to make a huge difference in the modern feel of a room and in making it feel bigger. I was looking at an off white color to whitewash the brick with, and if its still not to my liking afterwards, go with a full paint. In my house, the brick makes the room feel like it is kinda dated and stuck in the 80's, while everything else speaks to todays design features (all the rooms I have updated so far).

Anyone have any input one way or another? Thinking of doing it this weekend if I am game. Just hate to do it and realize that I hate it or that the style will become dated too quickly (although it seems the painted brick style has been around since the 80's).





We have de-cluttered the room and rearranged by getting the TV up on the wall, but these pictures show the general size of the room and the color of the brick against the wall. I would paint the trim at the ceiling white and painting the mantle either a dark grey to accent it or paint it white to blend in.