We have water stains on our bedroom ceiling from a roof leak that's now fixed. Do we need to do anything special before repainting or can we just roll over it?

You absolutely need to treat water stains before repainting, otherwise they will bleed right through your new paint within days. Simply rolling latex paint over a water stain is one of the most common mistakes homeowners make.

First, ensure the source of the leak is truly resolved. In Metro Vancouver's climate, with our heavy rainfall from October through April, what seems fixed can reappear during the next big storm. Wait through at least one significant rain event before proceeding.

Once you're confident the area is dry, check for mould. Vancouver's humidity means moisture damage often leads to mould growth behind or within the drywall. If the drywall feels soft, spongy, or shows dark spotting, that section needs to be cut out and replaced rather than just painted over.

For stains on solid drywall, the process is: sand the area lightly, apply a shellac-based stain-blocking primer like Zinsser BIN, let it cure fully, then topcoat with your ceiling paint. Oil-based primers also work but shellac is the gold standard for water stain blocking. Latex primers, even those labelled as stain-blocking, often fail on serious water marks.

For a single room ceiling with moderate staining, expect to pay a professional painter $300 to $600 for the prep and repaint, or $800 to $1,200 if drywall patching is involved.

A good next step would be to have a painter assess whether the drywall integrity is still sound before committing to a repaint approach.

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