Ask the Carpenter’s Rob Robillard also tackles a question on shower leaks and hears a reader’s suggestion for used paint.
Q. We have swirl ceilings in our home. Are they still current, or should we think about refinishing them in some way? Also, we have another piece of property with popcorn ceilings, which I know are passé. What is the best solution to either cover or remove these?
N.S.
A. Swirl ceilings are still installed today because they are less expensive to do than a smooth finish. I’ve seen plasterers plaster over them with great results, and sometimes they re-sheet the ceiling with 3/8-inch drywall or blueboard.
To remove the swirl, use a 2-inch wide carbide-tipped scraper to knock down any small ridges that stick up above the main surface. Skimcoat the ceiling and then paint.
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With popcorn ceilings, we’ve used paint scrapers to remove the popcorn manually prior to skimcoating with plaster. If the space is large, we’ll use a drywall sanding tool and aggressively sand off the popcorn.
My plasterer always applied Silpro Weld-O-Bond Bonding Coat prior to plastering. The bonding coat is formulated for bonding interior gypsum mixes to interior plaster surfaces.
Q. I have an issue with the bathroom attached to my master bedroom. It is tiled halfway up the walls and completely (including the ceiling) in the shower. In the shower, the grout has developed leaks to the ceiling below. For a few years I tried the usual acrylic or silicon caulking, which worked for a while. I finally just put clear adhesive vinyl shelf liner halfway up the walls. It stopped the leaking, but eventually developed unsightly mold in the adhesive layer. I would like a less expensive alternative to hiring someone to remove and re-grout the walls. Would Formica or polyester sheeting cover the tile and not look strange? What would you suggest?
FRED COHEN, Newton
A. This is difficult to envision. First try to determine what is leaking. If the grout between all the tiles has failed, fallen out, etc., then that is probably the source. Most of the leaks I’ve seen like this occur at the joints of the tile/tub, tile wall intersections, or at the tub and floor-tile joint.
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It may be as simple as faulty grout or caulking, but if it has been leaking for a while, you’ve probably let it go too long. I wouldn’t put sheeting over it, because you may have mold growing in the walls. I recommend gutting the walls, killing the mold, and starting fresh. This would include a waterproofed backer board that properly overlaps the tub flange, new tile, grout, and joint caulking. I would then seal the grout afterward.
Dear Rob
Harry Bartnick in Beverly: I’ve used unwanted paint to back-prime wood for exterior house repairs. In fact, all of our house trim and clapboards are back-primed with that extra paint. Oil and alkyd work especially well to keep moisture from moving through the wood and pushing the exterior paint off. I’ve had no exterior paint peel as a result, and it keeps the unwanted paint out of the trash stream.
Rob: Thanks for the tip, Harry. Alternatively, to save time, you can now purchase cedar, mahogany, and pine that’s preprimed.
Rob Robillard is a general contractor, carpenter, editor ofAConcordCarpenter.com, and principal of a carpentry and renovation business. Send your questions to [emailprotected] or tweet them to@robertrobillard. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter atpages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp.Look for our special Fall House Hunt coverage starting Sept. 11.
