I've been noticing some strange things with my ceiling lately. It looks a bit like water damage, but when I touch the area, it's dry and crunchy. I posted some pics here: https://imgur.com/a/3A3anu2. The first two images show a wood panel in the basement with dark spots that are dry and crumbly when pressed. The latter images are of a sheetrock ceiling with some circular discoloration—what could those be? I also see some bolts that seem to be coming loose. Is this related to water problems, or just normal wear and tear due to temperature changes? By the way, I've noticed some ceiling bolts in the garage are also coming loose; any insight on that?
2 Answers
From what I can see, it looks more like wood sap rather than water damage. The stuff on the drywall seems like a poor repair job, possibly from someone trying to cover a hole. So, no, it doesn't really look like water damage to me.
Honestly, it doesn’t look like water damage at all. It seems like the dark spots are from wood sap and the round patches are just poorly done repairs. Those bolts coming loose might be due to your house settling, which happens all the time with weather changes. As for the rusting screws, that could be due to high humidity in your area—might want to check where it’s coming from.