# Ceiling bubbles, no water damage



## daxinarian (Jul 9, 2008)

My wife and I are getting ready to paint the ceiling in or hearth room and while looking for nail pops we noticed 2 bubbles on the ceiling. They are almost invisible unless the light hits them just right (or now that I know they are there I can always see them)
I thought it was water damage, but when I finally found the spot in the attic the paper on the back of the drywall is completely unblemished (which I believe rules out water damage). The sheet rock is apparently just crushed there almost like someone dropped something on it when it was sitting in the stack waiting to be hung.
How do I repair this? Ideally without having to retexture the ceiling? The bubbles are about 2-3 inches wide and sag only about 1/16”


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Hard to say without seeing but the bubbles should be scraped off, the depression filled with joint compound and then texture as needed.


Just reread your post - is it a bubble or an area that has sagged down?


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## daxinarian (Jul 9, 2008)

I guess technically it is just a small area that has sagged down. I think it happened because the gypsum between the paper had been crushed prior to it being hung and over time it just started sagging because there is no structural integrity behind it


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Unless you can lay plywood over top of the sag AND push that portion up so it's held in place with screws you'll need to either scrape it down smooth and mud over it or cut out that section and install patch pieces of drywall.


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## finisher65 (Apr 7, 2019)

Sounds like the face paper on the drywall is separated from the core of the drywall. If that's the case you'll need to cut out the bubble and skim the area.


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## daxinarian (Jul 9, 2008)

If I am careful and cut the paper on the edge of the bubble, would I be able to stick the removed paper to the hot mud I use to skim the void before it sets? I am just concerned that I will not be able to match the texture well enough to not make it look worse than it already is.


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## finisher65 (Apr 7, 2019)

If I tried what you describe, I'd use regular ready mix mud.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I'd be surprised if gluing the texture paper over the repaired spot would work well.... and you'd still have the perimeter to deal with.


If you post a pic or two of your texture we can tell you the best way to duplicate it.


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## daxinarian (Jul 9, 2008)

Attached are the pictures, though it is really hard to make the texture show up in a picture. It is a sand finish with scalloped brush strokes? It’s hard to describe but it looks like they used a coarse brush and twisted it to make overlapping half circles











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## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

when it dries the bubbles pop?

maybe try an oil based primer like Sherwin Williams Problock HS, then paint it?


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