Paint peeling away from wall

[chrispmartin]

Hello,

I'm looking for some advise... The paint at the bottom of my chimney breast keeps turning to powder and peeling away from the wall. I've attached a picture for reference.

Can anyone tell what the problem is and what can be done to fix it? The wall doesn't appear damp, so unsure if that is the issue.

Thanks in advance.

Untitled

• chrispmartin
• 31 Jan 2015
• 1

 

[Robbie uk]

Salts in the plaster are coming out. Needs a good rub down and a coat of sealer on it prior to recoating in your finishing colour.

 

[chrispmartin]

Cheers for the response. When you say rub down, do you mean sanding it down or rubbing it with some sort of fluid?

Thanks

 

[blightymam]

The reason the salts are coming out is because you do have damp.. you may find painting it is a short-term solution. Sorry!

And yes, rub down with sandpaper to get it smoother.

 

[Robbie uk]

Most likely rising damp, depends how long its been like that as the plaster will have to come off back to brick to start again, but the damp issue must be addressed first.

 

[misterhelpful]

Efflorescence (salts) is caused by moisture in the plaster escaping and drying out.

The best solution is to use scrape away the loose stuff and sand smooth. Do this without applying any moisture to the area, as it will only cause more of the same problem, and then apply a coat of Alkali Resisting Primer. Allow this to dry, fill and sand the surface smooth, and you are then ready to decorate.

However, if the efflorescence is caused by an active damp issue then the above, or anything else, will not really help until the source is rectified but if it's just from an old damp issue that has been drying out then it should work.

Chimneys are notorious for having damp issues so you need to ask yourself a few questions:

Is the chimney breast in use? If not, then has it been capped outside and if so, does the breast have a vent? If it hasn't been capped then does rainwater get into it?