Holy Martha Stewart! What's wrong with my paint?

August 1, 2017 6:09 AM

The paint near a window in my bedroom has weird white splotches and stains that weren't there before. What is happening, what do I do, and who should I call? Photos on imgur.

The white parts have appeared within the past week. I live in a humid subtropical climate (zone 7b) on the East coast. It has rained a lot in the past week. My bedroom is on the second floor. The paint was freshly done before we bought the place less than two years ago. The wall is plaster over double brick. The rest of the wall is fine, just the area surrounding this small window is blotchy. The house is around 90 years old.

posted by donut_princess to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: Looks like water has seeped between the wood of the windowframe and the brick wall, and has soaked into the plaster. Repairing the internal side will temporarily solve the issue, but first you need to stop where the water is coming from.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:12 AM on August 1, 2017 [5 favorites]

Yes. Wayer finds a way in through so very easily. Talk to friends and neighbors to find several really good fix-it persons to investigate and provide suggestions and options.
posted by mightshould at 6:20 AM on August 1, 2017

N'thing you've got a water issue, not a paint problem. There's water coming through somehow around your window frame.
posted by easily confused at 6:25 AM on August 1, 2017 [2 favorites]

The place I'd look at first is the caulking outside at the top, and the sides, of the window frame. Water coming in that way will find its way across the framing, past the bricks and into the plaster pretty much the way the pictures show. If there is a window one floor above this window, check that one also. To address the seepage, scrape out ALL the old caulk where the wooden window frame meets the brick wall, scrape the paint off the top of the frame, recaulk with appropriate sealant (something made to adhere to both brick and wood, and is paintable). Then, prime the wood where it is bare, and repaint both the wood and the caulk. Check your other windows also.
posted by beagle at 7:36 AM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

yup, water damage. Could the the caulking around the windows, or somewhere higher up. The fact that it's at the curtain rods and the sill makes me think higher up (roof) - unless it was REALLY driving rain, it would be hard for water to get into the top the of window.

Though if you've got a brick exterior and no window overhang, then I'd also look at the lintels for your window to see if they are rusted/busted and such (caulk won't fix that) ..
posted by k5.user at 9:37 AM on August 1, 2017

Best answer: Besides the roof and lintels, look at the mortar joints above the window. A problem I'm dealing with in my brick veneer house is that a few lintels on the windward side rusted and expanded enough to lift the wall above them, opening cracks in long sections of horizontal mortar joints. During most storms it's no big deal, but when we have a lot of wind it drives the water sideways through those joints, towards the interior. Fortunately my house is constructed differently and there's an air gap between the brick and plaster, so I'm not suffering the same kind of interior damage.
posted by jon1270 at 10:09 AM on August 1, 2017 [1 favorite]

Check for foundation cracks below that window outside. Water seeps up as easily as down.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:50 PM on August 1, 2017