Said It Here

Ceiling drywall bubbling after rain above the shower

Bubbling drywall and failing patches after a rainstorm usually indicate a roof leak, often caused by a failing plumbing vent boot. This traps moisture behind the paint and prevents simple patches from adhering, meaning the exterior roof penetration must be fixed before repairing the interior ceiling.

Overview
People affected3 accounts across 2 forums
Workarounds found5 items attempted
Community agreement6 total upvotes

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

5 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Attempting a patch with normal paper tape and mud
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    Inspecting the attic for nearby plumbing vents or roof damage
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Cutting out the damaged drywall to inspect the area
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Climbing onto the roof to inspect boards and look for water entry points
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Calling a roofer to inspect and potentially replace decking
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/HomeImprovement2 people · September 2026

“About a week ago I noticed a small bubble in the ceiling above my shower. Poked it and discovered this little hole in the drywall (couple inches).”source ↗

“I attempted a patch with normal paper tape and mud. It seemed ok for a few days until a rainstorm last night. My "repair" was all bubbled up.”source ↗

Deadite_4_Life · r/HomeImprovement · 3 upvotes

“I had this same problem, and it was a plumbing vent with a failing boot around it (on the roof).”source ↗

binarycow · r/HomeImprovement · 1 upvotes
r/Roofing1 person · September 2026

“I cut a patch out of some drywall that was showing a wet spot, it would happen during heavy rains”source ↗

Own-Assistant7441 · r/Roofing · 1 upvotes

Where this came up

r/HomeImprovementr/Roofingdrywall repairhome improvementhome maintenanceleak detectionroofingroof leakwater damage

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