How to Repair a Water Damaged Drywall Ceiling

Water damage isa serious problemfor homeowners. Not only does water damage cause severe structural problems, but it can also lead to the growth of dangerous mold throughout your home. Drywall ceilings are especially prone to water damage as water can soak into them easily and will stay there until removed and repaired quickly.What’sworse is if you have electrical outlets or light fixtures on your ceiling that water can get into. Once it gets into these, it could easily break your outlets or lights, or worse, start a fire. So, how can you repair your drywall ceiling after water damage? In this blog, we will discuss just that and how a restoration company can help repair any of the damage for you.

The water damage in your drywall ceiling can be the result of a leaky pipe, water heater, or water line from outside, etc. This may be the case for bathrooms on the second floor of the home,where a leaky pipe burst and eventually made its way into your ceiling. The water willseepinto the walls and ceilings of your home where it becomes trapped. Furthermore, this is especially true for areas with low-hanging rooflines or lots of cracks in theirroofing. Furthermore, a recent storm that dumped a lot of rain on your house at once, could easily have gotten into your roof, and then eventually the rest of your home and especiallyyourceiling. In any of these scenarios, if the water damaged drywall is not removed quickly and repaired properly, it could easily cause your ceiling to cave in.Not to mention that if the drywall is already damp, then mold will soon follow.

As westatedpreviously, once you noticed the water damage, it is in your best interest to stop the spread of the water as fast as possible. If the water reaches any electrical outlets, especially once it moves from the ceilings to the walls, it could easily spark a fire in your home. So, once you notice the water damage, the next step is to reach the source of it. Usually, for ceiling water damage, the place to check would be the atticas likely you have a roof leak.You can use a bucket to catch the dripping water from the source of the damage and you can use fans to try and dry out the area as much as possible. If the cieling water damage is extensive, grabbing towels to soak up the extra water is in your best interest. At this stage, also try to notice where the water is spreading to. This will bean indicationofwhere mold growth willlikely occurafterward. If you begin to dry this area, you are helping limit the potential of mold growth in general.

Now that you have stopped the source of the water from spreading to anywhere else in your home,it’snow timeto make temporary repairs. Why only temporary? For severely water damaged drywall, we highly recommend calling in a professional restoration company to repair the damage fully. If it is not repaired correctly or any area is missed, it could spell disaster for your home’s structural integrity and as we said before,give mold a chance to grow everywhere throughout your home.Therefore, we recommend making temporary repairs, such as filling in drywall cracks, filling in holes in your drywall, and trying to remove peeling drywall tape.All ofthese fixes will help mitigate the damageimmediatelybefore the restoration company arrives.

Depending on how big the cracks are in your wall, making drywall water damage repairs to these cracks before theybecome worse and spread to the rest of your wall, is something you can do before the professionals arrive. Using a joint compound, take a putty knife and fill and smooth out the area.For extra protection and sealing, you can always apply fiberglass joint tape on top of the putty you applied and then go over it with a second coat of the joint compound once more. At this point, you can choose to sand down and paint over the rest of the area, or let the professionals take it from here! Furthermore,it’s important to note that if there is a large hole in your drywall, then it may need to be replaced by completely new drywall with the same thickness, something a restoration company can easily do.

When it comes to damaged drywall from water damage, you do not want to mess around. As we said previously, there are some ways for you to repair drywall ceiling water damage before the professionals arrive, but what do the professionals do differently? For one, they have the equipment necessary to get the job done fast and easily. They know how to repair water damaged drywall the right way and prevent further disasters. Also, they will conduct walkthroughs of your home to ensure the water damage did not spread anywhere else. They can also inspect for mold and send spores off for testing to identify and remediate mold properly. Ultimately, when it comes to water damage, we recommend using a professional restoration company to restore any area of a home back to its prior condition, if not better than it did previously.

Hopefully, this blog was able to give you some new prevention tips and quick fix tips on how to repair water damaged drywall in order to ensure the damage does not impact your property. However, if you do have water damage and need professional services to restoreall areas of property affected by the water damage, do not hesitate to reach out to us! Our restoration services are professional, quick, and effective. We have been servicing Rhode Island for over 18+ years. If you need us do not hesitate to contact us or call us today! For any other type of service, you may need help with be sure to check out our services page. Call us today at 401-834-FIRE (3473) for a free quote and anyquestions you may have.