Paint fading over electric supply cables

I'm staying at a relative's home, and she has a strange situation. The walls were stripped of their paper and redecorated some years ago. Now after some time, the paint has faded on the walls where I assume the cables were cut into the wall to supply the sockets. Please see attached pics.

We've had a couple of tradesmen take a look, but they've not seen this before... my only assumption is that the cables are warm and causing the paint to fade.

Please comment if you know what the cause of this could be, and whether it's anything to be concerned about etc. I also attach a pic of the main board, as this looks to be pretty old and of course could be part of the problem.

Many thanks for any thoughts!

 

Cables should not be that warm!

Even if they were, I'm not sure I would expect modern paint to fade with heat.

I assume the wall is plastered, but what is on top of the plaster?
Paper?
Paint directly on the plaster?
If so, what kind of paint?

The mark does not go all the way down to the socket in either case, so I'm struggling to think why.

 

I would be more concerned with the two adapters in the first pic

 

Yes, it's just a normal plastered wall, with standard emulsion paint on it. There's no obvious warmth if you touch it.

 

It's not something I've ever seen in quite that way, but I suspect it is probably down to the nature of whatever was used to fill the chases. However, as has been said, it's odd that the discolouration does not reach either of the sockets - maybe, for some reason, some different filler/plaster was used in the vicinity of the sockets?

I've certainly known plenty of filled chases that have shown through paint (due to different behaviour of the paint on different types of plaster/filler) (and which can often be resolved by extra coats of paint), but that is usually 'from the start' - and I don't recall such an appearance having arisen a long time later.

Kind Regards, John

 

Strange that no one's seen it, the clue is the wiggly shape where the plaster came off while being chased and refilled.

The plaster finish is different and affected the paint. Just needs another coat I'd guess.

Here's one showing through wallpaper.

 

As I said, that's a very common situation and, as we've both said, something that can usually be resolved by extra coat(s) of paint.

However, as I also said, I've only ever seen that problem existing 'from the very start'. However, if I understand the OP correctly, the chase didn't start showing through the paint for a very long time (years?) - which seems odd, and certainly is not something which I have ever experienced.

Kind Regards, John

 

Thank you JohnW2 and Sunray. This seems the most logical explanation, and of course the easiest way to prove it would be for me to paint over it properly. I suspect the problem has been there since the wallpaper was removed but just not noticed for a while.

I also just wanted to check that the consumer board is OK. It looks a little dated, but no reason for me to be concerned about it?

 

Fair enough. As I've said, I'd be very surprised if that would suddenly appear after 'years'. Depending on what it was filled with, further coats of emulsion paint may or may not completely hide it. If you have problems, you may want to try some oil-based paint over the area (such as a 'stain-blocking' undercoat) under further coat(s) of emulsion.

Extremely 'dated'. The main issue is that (unless it has been added elsewhere) there is no RCD protection - which, to conform with current standards/requirements, is required for nearly all circuits. However, there's nothing about that CU which could have influenced how hot cables got (not that I believe that was happening, anyway). That rather unpleasant/undesirable collection of adapters suggests that at least a degree of 're-wiring' may be desirable, not the least to provide more sockets!

Kind Regards, John

 

It took a good few years before the paper started discolouring we noticed it showing through.

 

I have a bathroom where the walls are painted, and when there is condensation the 'chases' appear much lighter, as does any screw holes that have been filled.

I think some kind of matt stain block or primer (probably oil-based) all over, then followed by the finish emulsion, should eliminate seeing any patches ever again.

 

That's rather different

Kind Regards, John

 

I agree with SW...

Paint over with an oil-based undercoat or stain blocker and then a couple of coats of good quality emulsion should see it right.

But if you do decide to add some more sockets, do that first!

 

I suggested it first ...

Kind Regards, John