Here’s How to Repaint Your Home After a Flood

Drying Your Home Before Repainting

There are several ways to dry out your home, although these can overlap depending on the weather outside and if you’re living there during the process. Before getting started, remove any low permeability wall coatings like vinyl wallpaper, gloss paint, and tiling as they will slow down the drying of masonry and wood.

Good Ventilation: It’s essential – open as many doors and windows as possible. Incoming air will help evaporate moisture and remove dampness from walls and ceilings. On cold or wet days, try to leave the windows open a little as your home can only dry if moisture can get out. Portable fans will also help to circulate air and draw humidity out of your home. Be sure to face them toward windows if you’re able to have them open. 

Heat: You can also add heat to speed things along. A central heating system will help if you have one, but you should supplement this with electric heaters which produce moisture-free heat. Propane heaters are also effective, although the gas does produce a little moisture and they could pose a hazard if you have kids in the house. Take care not to place heaters too close to walls as heat can cause plaster to crack and doors to warp. 

Dehumidifiers: You can also use dehumidifiers to extract water and moisture, but you’ll need to close all doors and windows for them to be effective. Dehumidifiers are a good tactic to use after much of the drying has already been achieved through heat and ventilation. They’re also a good choice if it’s too cold to leave your windows open.

Drying Tip

Use a moisture meter to help determine if your home has dried out enough to paint. Drying time depends on the type and thickness of material, and the degree of water saturation.

Materials Assessment

Most building materials are porous to some extent. The deeper and longer the flood, the more moisture they’ll absorb. Here’s a rundown of how to tackle the most common surfaces you’ll need to repaint.

Drywall or Plasterboard

If drywall or plasterboard is exposed to flooding for more than a few minutes, it will absorb a lot of water and begin to distort. Here’s some easy repair steps to follow: 

1. Cut out and remove all damaged areas up to the height of the water mark.

2. Allow the timber studs to dry out before installing new drywall.

3. For minor damage, use a paint scraper to remove any loose paint or peeling drywall.

4. Repaint the scraped area with an oil- or alcohol-based interior primer.

5. Use feather strokes with a near-dry brush around the edges to avoid leaving raised areas on the undamaged paint.

6. Allow to dry and then recoat to help seal away any residual dampness. 

7. Once dry again you’re ready to match colours or repaint the room for an entirely new look.

Plaster

Plaster is much more resilient than drywall. If the surface is intact and dry, it’s ready to be repainted, though make sure to thoroughly clean it first. However, plaster can also be damaged by floating debris and floodwater pressure. If you notice any cracks, you’ll need to wait a few weeks to ensure the cracking process has finished. Then you can repair the plaster and repaint. You may also see a white salt growth appear on your plaster during the drying process. Wait until the crystals stop forming before removing.

Brickwork

Wet bricks will stain or lift off oil-based paint and can also shrink or crack as they dry, so adequate drying time is essential (this can take several months). Here’s a few tips to address your damaged brickwork once it’s dry: 

• Be sure to fill in any cracks before repainting 

• Remove salt growth with a bristle broom

• If your flood occurred in the fall, you’d best wait until spring to repaint as wet bricks can suffer frost damage

Wood

Wood will decay if it’s not dried out within a few weeks of flooding. Check the various wood materials in your home as follows: 

• Expose any wood-framed walls up to the highest level of flood water 

• Check wooden window frames for warping and peeling paint 

• Check the moisture content of all wood with a moisture meter to ensure it’s dry enough to repaint 

• Damaged chipboard cabinetry cannot be repaired or repainted and will need to be replaced with new kitchen cabinets

Mould Removal

Good ventilation is essential to prevent the growth of mould, mildew and algae after a flood. Here’s what to do: 

• Feel your walls for dampness and do a visual check, especially around nooks and crevices 

• Remove any mould you find with a mould remover or fungicidal wash 

• Sterilize the surface with a diluted mixture of water and chlorine bleach 

• Wash the surface with clean water to remove all residue before repainting

Mould Tip

You may also want to have an inspector take wall samples to be tested at a lab for black mould spores which can be invisible to the eye.

Water Stain Removal

Painting over water stains with regular paint rarely works because the stain will bleed through. This is especially true of ceilings where water stains keep coming back no matter how many times you paint over them. A stain blocker sealer should be applied first to help seal in the stain before repainting. Even before this step, you should still try to remove as much of the stain as possible by thoroughly cleaning, scraping and sanding the area.

Preparing to Repaint

1. Proper surface preparation before repainting is essential to ensure a good result. Here’s a list of prep steps to perform before you start painting: 

2. Scrape any damaged paint or wall coatings back to a firm edge 

3. Remove any efflorescence (white salts that appear on the surface) or stiff nylon brush 

4. Repair any cracks, holes, or imperfections 

5. Sand down your repaired areas (be sure to wear a dust mask) 

6. Wash the repaired areas and allow to dry

7. Apply a primer or sealer over the entire area to be painted and allow to dry

Consider New Colours

Matching colours in damaged areas of a room to the undamaged area can be tricky, especially if the paint is several years old. Why not make the best of a bad situation and update the whole room with new paint colours? If multiple rooms are damaged, it’s also an opportunity to refresh the interior of your entire home.

Repairing the damage to your home after a flood takes time, and repainting is the final step. Use the time to your advantage. Thinking and planning about new paint colours, new décor, and new furniture will help keep you and your family looking forward through a challenging experience.