HELP! Tips for repairing popcorn ceiling

[barbeml]

We are remodeling and redecorating, and it seems a shame to go to all the trouble to make things look great and not repair the water damaged popcorn ceiling in our livingroom.

The damage (from a clear water upstairs bathroom incident) is not contiguous, but the total area in need of repair adds up to about 5 square feet.

Looking for advice/tips from anyone who has been through this. Thanks!

 

[binny]

are you sure you want to repair it and not get rid of it?

Personally I would get rid of it, it isnt that big of a deal to scrape it. Someone posted a neat tool a few weeks ago that does it all.


I was just thinking about that this morning and wishing I had saved the site for that.

 

[barbeml]

Our contractor (who is also a close friend) also said it is not a big deal...just as you said, he says you just scrape it. But my online research says you have to wet the the ceiling down...ugh, that's what turned me off.

I think the tool you are referring too is made by Homax.

I guess we'll just take the whole thing off...huge area (townhouse with the long unbroken livingroom-to-dining room area) to deal with, unfortunately.

 

[Luv'sTink]

You can buy a can of spray that will cover it at Lowe's. I don't know how well it works but I have seen it there.

 

[ilovejack02]

Our contractor (who is also a close friend) also said it is not a big deal...just as you said, he says you just scrape it. But my online research says you have to wet the the ceiling down...ugh, that's what turned me off.

I think the tool you are referring too is made by Homax.

I guess we'll just take the whole thing off...huge area (townhouse with the long unbroken livingroom-to-dining room area) to deal with, unfortunately.

It doesnt take long I promise, just a bit messy with the falling popcorn. My dh did ours and used a little small pump up sprayer. Its the kind you use for spraying pesticides in the yard. It now much more updated looking.

 

[ilovejack02]

You can buy a can of spray that will cover it at Lowe's. I don't know how well it works but I have seen it there.

It doesnt lol, makes a big mess!

 

[tiggerlover]

I too, would love to get rid of my popcorn ceilings! But I really don't look forward to the huge mess.

 

[GoldenGate]

When was your ceiling applied? If it was between 1935 and 1978, it may contain asbestos so you should have a sample tested before trying to remove it yourself.

 

[Muushka]

We have popcorn ceilings and have 3 different areas that have had water damage. Picked up a can of Kilz and poof! Gone! But these areas were not very big. YYMV

 

[SC Minnie]

Our house was built in '98 so asbestos was not a concern.

I removed the popcorn ceiling from DD's bedroom a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't that hard but it was messy. The texture came off very easy. I used a garden sprayer (you will need safety glasses!). Scraped it off with a large putty knife. I went to Home Depot to look for one of those scrapers with the bag like was posted on the boards but they didn't have them. You must put pastic all over the floor and tape them against the wall on all sides.

When you scrap it all off leave it for a while and sand it very well. Then prime and paint.

Although it was messy and a lot of work the result were worth it. I plan on doing other rooms as I redecorate them.

 

[Muffy]

Please be careful!! Those popcorn ceilings often contain ASBESTOS. Hire a professional for this.

 

[barbeml]

What a MESS. DH took off half the corn last night (that HOMAX tool is a joke...don't bother). It came off pretty easily once he ditched the HOMAX for a large scraper. The HOMAX was just too awkward to use and took chunks out of the ceiling. Took us 45 minutes using two shop vacs to clean up the mess.

 

[cardaway]

What a MESS. DH took off half the corn last night (that HOMAX tool is a joke...don't bother). It came off pretty easily once he ditched the HOMAX for a large scraper. The HOMAX was just too awkward to use and took chunks out of the ceiling. Took us 45 minutes using two shop vacs to clean up the mess.

Make sure it doesn't contain asbestos before you go puting any of the removed material in the trash. You don't want to get busted for illegal dumping of hazardous waste.

 

[jenr812]

Just curious how large the entire area you removed the popcorn from is? We have an area that needs to be repaired in our ceiling but our popcorn ceiling is throughout the entire house . We would love to remove it (we HATE it) but are worried about it being a major PITA. And to think that my parents paid thousands of dollars to have professionals spray this crap in their house when I was little! Ick!

 

[barbeml]

Just curious how large the entire area you removed the popcorn from is? We have an area that needs to be repaired in our ceiling but our popcorn ceiling is throughout the entire house . We would love to remove it (we HATE it) but are worried about it being a major PITA. And to think that my parents paid thousands of dollars to have professionals spray this crap in their house when I was little! Ick!

I think the area is 30' x 12' approx. We are only removing the ceiling in the living/dining room, since it is in good shape in the other spaces. Doing the second half today, what fun.

Thanks for all the warnings about asbestos (first thing they tell you in any article on popcorn)...house was built in mid '90s.

 

[binny]

thanks for the reviews of that tool. Ill be skipping it.
My friend who is a contractor said it wasnt a huge deal just a huge mess.