Roofer let it "rain" on old plaster ceiling (long)

[k conover]

Hi, it's me with the 1923 bungalow again. I had the roof replaced and because of a badly placed tarp left on the unfinished section of the roof during the replacement, it rained and I had water all over my wood floors underneath the attic opening. Called roofer, cleaned up mess, went to dinner. Came home, it had rained again, had more water on wood floor underneath attic floor. Called roofer again and he finally came out and recovered roof, but there was a lot of water soaking the wood and insulation in the attic and the ceiling started staining immediately. Long story short, there are now brown stains on the ceilings of three rooms, but the main hallway has ominous looking places where there's a kind of a veining or road map look just under the paint, it hasn't cracked open yet, a couple other places have cracked open and look an eggshell on a hard-boiled egg when break it open. The roofer says its just paint and wants to patch it, I hope he's right but I don't want him in my house again for lots of reasons that I won't bore you with here, and I want the whole ceiling done since the damage is so extensive and not just a "patch up job" by someone who does roofs and not 80 year old ceilings! For those experienced with plaster, do you think I can tackle this on my own? Since I have an old house and I'm not rich, I know I need to learn how to do this stuff on my own. I'm not afraid of plaster on walls, but ceilings make me more nervous--I don't want anything crashing down on me. The plaster is dry and has been since the 2nd day after the rain. Should I sand or scrape the paint off so I can see what's happening and then starting patching and Kilzing or do I need an experienced plasterer painter? Thanks, Kirsten By the way, I can't get money for this out of the roofer because I stupidly gave him his check before this happened (I know! I know! I thought all people were good and he was referred to me by someone I trust!) and he basically picked up his equipment after the job was done and haven't heard from since. I think since I refused to let HIM patch it, he's basically not going to give me any money to repair it. I do have his home address, though, so if this proves really expensive, maybe I'll just go camp out in his front yard!

[mark Ransley]

Court , actually Small Claims , File a claim against him and demand his ins co name if he actually has one, he sounds like a hack BSer Its his fault. Contact the city see if he has a license and ins . Photograph and document problems and conversations for court

[Colbyt]

First make sure everything is dry. You may need fans or even have to pull the insulation to get it dry. This is a very important first step.

If the plaster was sound and securely attached before the rain you may not have any major problems.

When everything is dry (maybe now) make sure that the plaster is still attached to the lathes. Common signs of failure are sags, loose sections, blistering or crumbling (don't confuse paint blisters with plaster blisters). The hallway "veining" might just be paint failure commonly called alligator skin. Scrape any blister areas to remove loose paint and skin coat with mud to level. Wear a quality respirator mask and avoid sanding if possible. There might be lead based paint.

If you have no plaster failure (entirely probable if it was sound before).

Use the alcohol based version of Kiltz and paint everything one or two coats. Wait to see what bleeds through and recoat those spots till it doesn't bleed. Then apply your top coat.