strange white bumps on wall
Does anyone know what this is? How to fix it? What may have caused it so I can address it?
As said before it is the staircase on the first floor leading up into the main area.
It is on the porch area and is an exterior wall. What I mean by this is if you were to punch a hole into the wall you would be hitting the exterior wood siding. I didnt really know how else to explain it.
Help?
Is there a chimney by this? That could be water damage coming down the chimney
@Tim Johnson No the chimney is no where near this, but you are thinking it is water damage? I have only known water damage as that yellowish stain.
@Mitchell Litam if it's an exterior wall like I gather it is, it looks to me like condensation? Is there a heating vent in this room or a door that shuts it off from the rest of the heat source? I've seen outer walls do this if the room is a lot colder than the rest of the house. Like an entrance room or something.
@Merle Brubacker Correct it is an exterior wall. It is right behind a door that opens up into the covered outside porch. It is a duplex so this is where the two doors are. I wish it was condensation so I could just wipe it away but its hard and bumpy. Could it be water intrusion from the outside at all? The siding is starting to show its age a little.
@Mitchell Litam yeah the paint or wall can harden after it drys up. My guess is it is damp a good part of the winter then dries during the summer.
@Merle Brubacker I dont know how I didnt notice it. I typically go in through the back door and rarely use the front so that makes sense. Can I just sand it down and repaint it? Or is there a better remedy to fix it?
@Mitchell Litam yes you can sand and repaint but longterm I would look into fixing the issue of condensation first. Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge can chime in. Is there a door that blocks it from the primary heat source?
@Merle Brubacker Yes there is a door between the front entrance door and the heated areas of the house. I have lived here for five years and it just happened sometime last year which is weird.
Originally posted by @Mitchell Litam:@Tim Johnson No the chimney is no where near this, but you are thinking it is water damage? I have only known water damage as that yellowish stain.
I thinking thats water damage, do you have a moisture meter, they sell them on amazon for like $75. Hate to see you just paint this and have a mold pit behind the walls. Test it with a meter to be safe.
Its must be coming from some flashing damage or something. Usually when its yellow the water is following make yellow streaks, this is holding water like a towel. Might be in the insulation.
@Mitchell Litam yeah that would cause it, I would assume you had a colder than normal winter like we did in Wisconsin?
If this is an exterior wall, is the exterior EIFS?
@Mitchell Litam
Looks like efflorescence. Harmless but unsightly.
@Randall Weatherall the exterior is a wood siding. Is that what you were asking?
@Tom Gray The material it is on is drywall. Or whatever they used back in the day? A cement maybe? I read efflorescenec is more on rock?
Some of it looks to have a horizontal pattern with fairly regular spacing, and I would guess that those widths match up with the slats that go under the old plaster and lath walls (what they used before sheetrock).
I’m also going to guess that wall has no or little insulation in it (as the entrance to a duplex, it wouldn’t be living space that needs to be heated)
So I would guess it’s being caused by moisture that’s condensing on the interior surface of the wall.
Stain color isn’t always a good indication; the yellow comes from contaminants the water acquires and/or moves. Use a white towel to wipe up relatively clean water from a relatively clean surface and it should dry white.
That works as an answer! I agree with checking for mold just to be safe, but otherwise moving on assuming no larger issue. How long until it comes back?
I've seen this both inside and outside, it is efflorescence most likely. You have to know the different historical construction materials for it to make sense. In the past it was much more common to finish interiors with a plaster type material over a thin drywall type board. Locally I've heard an old school contractor refer to it as plaster over button board or rock plaster. The reason not as many people are as familiar with it is it wasn't around too long. Old old wood lathe and plaster was here for a at least a hundred years in the NE, and then drywall has been around since 1970ish. Button board was a transition material from say 1940-1970 so your post WW2 housing boom areas, but that's about it.
So the plaster is a material that doesn't behave like what we're familiar with which is gypsum drywall. So when it gets wet it stays hard and doesn't sag or yellow. Instead the calcium dissolves and begins to seep out as efflorescence. Much more like what you see on concrete walls with water issues that what you would find on drywall. So first you need to address that water issue, then you can simply sand and paint ect to 'fix' the damaged area.
Few things things to consider. This is the interior of an exterior wall.
1. Looks like a plaster interior wall with moisture present. There may be cool air seeping in from the outside reaching one side of the wall and the warm interior air on the interior side of the wall resulting in condensate. Vice versa in the summer time. If there is an electric outlet close by, take off the cover to check if you can feel the outside air.
2. There may be some water infiltration from the outside and it can't escape resulting in this.
3. Was the wall recently repaired and this came back?: Scraped, prepared with compound/plaster mix the primed & painted? Its also possible that the plaster never fully dried before applying the primer.
Make sure the outside is sealed and all window sills are tilted away from the house. I see this in a lot of older bathrooms that aren't properly ventilated and also behind old radiators under a window.
You may be able to get away with scraping all bubbles, light sanding, prime then paint. If not, the fix is easy if your good with a taping knife. Scrape off all bubbles, mix joint compound with a little plaster and spread thinly with a 6" taping knife. Let dry thoroughly before giving a light sanding then prime and paint.
If the problem that caused this is not solved this will eventually return depending on how bad the problem is.
@Mitchell Litam i had this recently at my property, scraped sanded and painted and it came back, turned out a hole in the gutter was leaking onto the wall. Look where the moisture is coming from outside then do the repair so you actually fix the cause not the symptom.
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@Mitchell Litam can you post a picture of the exterior - same spot and maybe show what's above. Is it the west side of the house? Something is leaking..
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@Tim Johnson I’ll buy a water meter thanks! If there it is mold. How do I address that? Do I have to knock the wall down and addrsss it?
@Carl Fredrickson all those assumptions you made were right. I can’t wipe it up with a towel because it has already dried. Not sure if you were telling me to do that or if you were teaching me about yellow stains
@Matt Devincenzo matt I think you nailed it with this. I’m going to have to check the outside and the gutters for blockages or anything causing water
Agree with an earlier poster it sure looks like efflorescence, which is kind of a salt that is pulled out of masonry and other walls by water evaporating on the surface - very common in older basements - not a super serious issue, but evidence of a moisture problem. I'd look to see if there is any water running onto the front of the wall or at the grade and make adjustments there first. Then I'd scrape it off and hit it (paint the wall) with Drylock or similar.