peeling drywall (floor, paint color, sink, ceiling)

[jujub529]

I have some drywall (unpainted from the previous owner) that is now peeling. What is the best way to repair it? I think this is the right picture

[Coldjensens]

Make sure the water leak is resolved.

Sand, spackle, sand, spackle, prime, go over it with a bright light, spackle (if needed), sand, paint. You wil probably have to repaint the entire wall or cieling or maybe the entire room if you wand a really good match. If it is a cieling, and you get the same color paint it is unlikely anyone will ever notice the differencve in paint colors. Who looks at cielings?

[RayinAK]

Agree with the poster above. There seems to be a water stain in that area, so maybe there is a slow leak above. Solve that problem first, then you can take care of the rest.

However, most times the easier way to find out where the water is coming from is by opening the ceiling at the water-damaged area (shown on your photo), and using that opening to look UP for the source of the leak.

By the way, if the ceiling is located under a bathroom, for example, one can look for water leaks while somebody does the following, but only one at a time: first look around the toilet, the floor underneath the sink, etc. Then flush the toilet a few times too see if the problem is there, later try the shower, and the sink later. The idea is to use one of these components at a time, and to wait long enough before you try the next.