A property manager asked me to look at “peeling paint” around the windows in a dozen suites — every one of them was winter condensation soaking the drywall returns
A property manager at a mid-rise asked me to price touch-ups around the windows in a dozen suites before the board’s next meeting. Owners had complained about peeling paint and black spots on the drywall around the frames. When I walked the suites, the pattern was the same in every one: the paint was bubbled and loose at the bottom corners of the window returns, the drywall under it was soft, and the sills had grey spots in the corners. The paint wasn’t failing on its own. Winter condensation was running off the glass and soaking the drywall. This post covers how to tell, what the repair takes, and how to stop repainting it every spring. It’s for condo boards and property managers, not homeowners.
1. The damage always starts at the bottom corners
Condensation forms on the coldest surface in the room, which in an Ottawa winter is the glass and the window frame. The water runs down and collects at the bottom of the frame, then wicks into the drywall return and the sill where they meet it. That’s why the damage starts in the two bottom corners and works its way up and out.
A leak from outside looks different. It usually shows up as a stain that spreads from one spot, often from the top of the window, and it doesn’t care what the weather is inside. Condensation damage shows up after cold snaps and is worst in bedrooms and in suites with closed blinds.
What to look at: Check where the damage starts. Bottom corners in many suites points to condensation. One stain from the top of one window points to a leak, and that’s a different repair.
2. Paint over wet drywall comes off again
Once the drywall return has been wet a few winters, the paper face goes soft and the paint lets go. If someone scrapes it, spot primes and repaints in the fall, it looks fine until January, then it bubbles in the same place. I see the same thing on bathroom ceilings, which I cover in painting bathroom ceilings with mildew.
Press the drywall with your thumb at the bottom corner. If it feels soft or the paper tears, painting won’t fix it.
What to look at: Ask whether the same windows were touched up last year. If they were, the board has already paid once for a repair that didn’t hold.
3. The repair: cut out what’s soft, then prime it right
Where the drywall is soft or the paper is delaminated, I cut it back to sound material and replace it, often with a moisture-resistant board on the return. The new piece gets taped, finished and sanded like any other patch. Where the drywall is still sound but stained, I clean off any grey spotting, let it dry fully, and use a stain-blocking primer so the marks don’t bleed back through. I explain why stains come back through paint in water stains bleeding through paint.
The finish coat matters too. A flat ceiling-type paint on a window return holds moisture and marks. A washable eggshell or satin cleans up and sheds water better.
What to look at: Ask your painter whether the quote includes cutting out soft drywall or only scraping and painting. That one line decides whether the repair lasts.
4. Painting doesn’t stop the condensation
Condensation comes from indoor humidity meeting a cold surface. Blinds kept closed all winter, furniture against the window, humidifiers, and drying laundry inside all make it worse. Some of that is up to the owner, and some of it is building ventilation or window performance, which is outside a painting scope.
What I can do is make the surface hold up and tell the board where the problem is worst, so they know which suites or elevations to look at with their engineer.
What to look at: Keep a simple list of the suites with damage, by floor and side of the building. If it clusters on one side, that’s useful information for the board.
5. Do the repairs in spring, and do them all at once
The drywall needs to be dry before it’s repaired, so I’d rather do this work in April or May than in November. Bundling all the affected suites into one visit, with one notice to owners, is cheaper than sending someone out suite by suite as complaints come in.
What to look at: Start the list now, through the winter, and book the repairs for spring.
What to do if you’re seeing any of this
If owners are reporting peeling paint or grey spots around their windows, I’ll walk a few suites with you and tell you which windows need drywall replaced, which just need proper priming and paint, and which ones might be a leak your engineer should see. You get a scope and a number the board can approve, scheduled around the owners. I work with condominium corporations and property managers across Ottawa — Kanata, Nepean, Barrhaven, Orleans, Westboro and Stittsville — on interior painting and drywall. Call 613.325.3011 or email yasir@heims.ca.
— Yasir, HEIMS Construction
HEIMS Construction is an Ottawa-based commercial painting and drywall contractor serving condominium corporations, property managers and institutional clients across the Ottawa area. Fully licensed and insured, with $5M commercial general liability coverage.