Supermatt best for ceiling under loft?

[Adaptor]

I have washed off distemper from my ceiling which is below the insulated loft space of victorian townhouse.

The plaster skim is white, sub plaster is dark grey; seems sound but there are very very fine cracks in the skim

Due to the distemper i will be sealing with Dulux super grip primer (as suggested on forum)

I was thinking that as it's a period building and also there may be potential for condensation in the roofspace above, whether a more 'breathable' final paint coating would be advisable such as supermatt without vinyl.

Or I was wondering whether to use a flexible specialist ceiling paint.

Any comments appreciated

 

[joe-90]

If you have condensation in the loft you need to sort out the airflow.

Inside your house it doesn't really matter what you use.

 

[opps]

I agree with joe that the airflow in the attic should prevent condensation. The coating on the ceiling should make little difference. Infact I would guess that a non breathable paint would reduce the degree of moist warm air that ends up in the loft.

A number of years ago I flirted with supermatt as a base coat etc but had a number of situations where applying other finishes over it resulted in crazing. On one such occasion I rang Dulux who rather unhelpfully just said "yes that will happen" without further explanation.

Other than unpredictable behaviour it is a mare if you accidentally get dusty finger prints on it, you are forced to repaint as you cannot wash marks off.

It does have the advantage of being usable before standard matt would be (over new plaster or render) but 9 times out of 10 I would ask the client to wait another week or two. It also has the advantage of being easy to obtain a consistant sheen- given that it is very matt

OneTime filler by red Devil will be fine for the hairline cracks. Apply it after you coat with Super grip. It is very easy to sand back (180 grit silicone carbide or a finer grade of ali oxide) and the dust will hoover up with out risk to the vacuum, assuming that you are not machine sanding with a dust extractor in the first place.

Good luck

 

[Adaptor]

I don't actually know that condensation is a problem. If I can prolong the life of the ceiling in any way then I would like to make the right decision about the paint

I've just been reading quite a lot that breathability is important in older buildings, but wondered what experienced decorators think.
So thanks for comments

From what you are saying, I will probably pass on the supermatt !

I think the cracks are so fine that paint will mask them. I will be able to tell after the supergrip coat.