Flaking Paint on Bathroom Ceiling...

[Stephen]

It's a small bathroom with bath and shower and a high window with an air event strip across the top. The paint always flakes and cracks on the concrete (cement?) ceiling closest to the air vent. What do you recommend I paint the ceiling with and how should I prepare the ceiling before I redo it?

Also, there are a couple of small cracks that always appear on the ceiling around a stud wall behind the toilet. I've had water dripping from them a few times over the last 5 years but not consistantly. I've painted over them but the cracks always come back. It's a concrete ceiling. I'm reluctant to take the wall down but maybe I should to see what's going on behind.

And finally, the brickwork on the outside wall is always damp where the overflow pipe leaves the building. Maybe there's a crack where it exits the wall or water is running from further inside somewhere. Not sure what to do about that.

Thanks!

[Peter Andrews]

If you mean the toilet cistern overflow is always damp make sure that the fill level is not too high and the the inlet valve is shutting completely when full. Also make sure that the overflow pipe has a downward tilt so that even if the overflow has only a drip or two coming out it does in fact drip clear of the wall and not run back along the outside of the pipe and into the wall. If the pipe is horizontal a (very) temporary repair is to wrap an elastic band around the outside of the pipe to create a drip stop.

Not sure what to advise about occasional water from the ceiling except to try and find where the water is coming from - easily said I know!

Peter