How do I fix a warped or bulging ceiling in a bathroom?
A warped bathroom ceiling that isn't wet can leave homeowners dealing with falling dust and rough wood surfaces that make future repairs expensive and difficult. These unresolved issues can also make a home much less attractive to potential buyers when it comes time to sell.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using a scraper or utility knife to trim excess foam level with the wood
- 2Painting over the foam with a color-matched paint
- 3Adding a layer of drywall over the ceiling
- 4Using a ceiling sander with a built-in vacuum
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Needing to know how to fix the ceiling! We spray foam all of the cracks because the dust from the ceiling would fall when you would walk around.”source ↗
“It will never be truely gone and have made repairs infinitely more expensive and difficult.”source ↗
“We are wanting to sell the house in the next year or so. I don’t think someone will find the ceiling attractive when looking to buy”source ↗
“That would require us to sand first because the wood is very rough”source ↗
“It’s been this way since we moved in over a year ago… not wet, bulge hasn’t grown at all. Are these considered drop tiles? How do I fix?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2Why does my new ceiling fan keep wobbling after reinstalling it?
- 3How to fix an exposed HVAC duct after removing a drop ceiling
- 2Why is the paint on my bathroom ceiling peeling?
- 19How to fix an off-center toilet drain during a remodel