Cover Me

About two years ago the apartment above ours had a burst pipe which led to water coming through our bedroom ceiling. Thankfully, it wasn’t bad enough to damage the plaster but it did take an awfully long time to dry out. Once it had dried, we were left with some very unpleasant looking stains on the ceiling so it was obvious redecoration was required, which was a bit of a bugger as it had only been done a few months previously, just before we bought it!
To cut a long story short, by the time we’d tracked down who was responsible for the pipe, and spoken to their insurers, it was well into the following year. Insurers confirmed they would accept a claim for redecoration (hooray) but because it was water damage related, the excess was £1000!! (boo!). Oh well, have to pay for it ourselves. As we’re not there all the time I tried to find a decorator, but no one could be bothered to quote as, presumably, one ceiling was not worth their time.
It all boiled down to having to do it ourselves, and I was all set to start in January but then damaged my back. By the time my back was better it was March and we all know what happened then!
Finally we are in a position to start redecorating, two years after the event. First job was to spray a stain concealer on the worst marks to stop them showing through the paint when that eventually goes on.
Not only did it cover the marks on the ceiling, the mist from the spray also covered my arms, my face, my shirt, the stepladder and any other surface not quite covered by the dust sheet! It certainly seems to have done its job, but it took twice as long cleaning up afterwards as it did to apply it!
Should all be dry by the next time we go down, so the ceiling can finally be painted!