We trace the leak, dry the ceiling and rebuild the plaster or drywall, so ceiling leak repair in Boston, MA leaves your triple-decker or rowhouse ceiling flat and painted again.
Ceiling leak repair in Boston usually starts one floor up, at a tub, toilet or radiator line in the unit above, or at the roof edge after snow. We trace the water, dry the opened ceiling and rebuild it, often in plaster, as we do for ceiling leak repair across Massachusetts.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Homes built in 1939 or earlier | 144,167 of 307,840, so lath and plaster is common | US Census Bureau, American Community Survey |
| Median year Boston homes were built | 1947 | US Census Bureau, American Community Survey |
| Building permits for larger repairs | City of Boston Inspectional Services Department | City of Boston |
Stacked bathrooms in triple-deckers and condo buildings
In a stacked building, a worn wax ring or a cracked shower pan on the second floor shows up on the first-floor ceiling, often a few feet from the fixture. We open the ceiling under the bathroom so the owner upstairs can see what failed.
Top-floor ceilings under the eaves
NOAA's Logan Airport normals give Boston 49.2 inches of snow a year, and ice that builds at the eave pushes meltwater under the shingles. The stain usually shows near an outside wall of the top floor, and we rebuild that ceiling once the roof side is stopped.
Pipes running between the joists over your ceiling
Older Boston buildings carry radiator and supply lines through the floor framing, and a weeping joint there wets the ceiling slowly until it bubbles. We cut a neat opening at the wettest point so the line can be repaired, then close it.
Boston ceilings are a mix of original plaster and later drywall, and we rebuild each in its own material so the repair does not show.
Water breaks the plaster keys that grip the wood lath, so a wet plaster ceiling can sag well after it looks dry. We check how much has let go, re-secure what is sound and patch the rest with plaster.
Soaked drywall rarely dries flat. We cut back to dry board, hang new drywall, then tape, mud and texture it to blend into the ceiling around it.
A dry stain needs a stain-blocking primer before paint, or the brown comes back through. We check it with a moisture meter first so nothing wet gets sealed in.
If you are patching a wet section of ceiling in Boston, you need no permit, but larger cut-outs go through the city's Inspectional Services Department and older paint brings in the state lead rules.
| Situation in a Boston home | What applies |
|---|---|
| Patching a section of wet ceiling | Ordinary repair under 780 CMR 105.2.2, no permit |
| Substantial cut-away, or work on a beam or joist | Building permit from City of Boston Inspectional Services |
| Repair done in an emergency at night or on a weekend | Permit application filed the next working business day |
| Home built before 1978, over 6 sq ft of painted ceiling per room | Licensed Lead-safe Renovation Contractor under 454 CMR 22.11 |
| Untested plaster | Treated as asbestos under 310 CMR 7.15 until a test says otherwise |
Tell us which ceiling is wet, whether the water has stopped, and whether a light fixture sits in the wet area.
Call If the Ceiling Is Dripping NowOur Boston crews also work the cities just across the harbor and the river, where the housing is just as old.
Cities near Boston
Cambridge homes have a median build year of 1948, close to Boston's, so most Cambridge, MA ceiling repair we do is plaster work too.
Quincy shares Boston's Logan Airport weather normals, so Quincy ceiling leak repair brings us the same winter ice dam and frozen-pipe calls.
Lynn's housing is a little older than Boston's, with a median build year of 1945, so Lynn ceiling leak repair often means rebuilding plaster.
Usually not. Patching a ceiling is an ordinary repair under the state building code. A permit from Boston's Inspectional Services Department comes in when a large section is cut away or framing is involved.
We open your ceiling under their bathroom or kitchen so both owners can see the source. In a building of four units or fewer, a condo owner who lives there counts as an owner under the state home improvement rules.
Rarely. We remove only the wet or loose section and rebuild it to match. A plaster ceiling that has let go of its lath across most of the room is the exception.
The size of the wet area, plaster versus drywall, and lead-safe work in pre-1978 homes set the price. The ranges for each type of job are on our Massachusetts ceiling leak repair page.
If the drip is speeding up or the plaster is bowing, call us now. A person answers and helps you shut the water off. You get a ceiling that is dry inside and painted to match the room.
Call a Ceiling Repair Crew