Removing 'popcorn' ceiling

[SC Minnie]

We have the terrible popcorn ceiling texture in our house. I plan on removing has I redo rooms. Well, DD wants to redecorate her room (it has been a couple of years and is really time) so her's will be the first one that I attempt to get the ceiling texture off. I have seen some of the home improvement shows take if off and they make it look so easy.

Anyone that has done this, how did you do? What 'technique' did you use and how difficult was it?

 

[Christine]

I don't have any advice for you. Just a word of warning: One of the reasons many home builders started to use the "popcorn" ceiling was so that they wouldn't have to properly finish the drywall ceiling. When you remove the "popcorn" stuff, you may fine that there is a "not-quite-nice" ceiling underneath it.

 

[susieq76]

If you're going to remove it- there's a 90% chance you're going to need a skim coat of spackle around the whole thing and sanding. Sometimes its easier to just cover it w/ 1/8" drywall & have it taped & spackeled right.

 

[Regina]

The only room I did this in was the master bathroom. I simply used a scraper. It was very messy and there were some stubborn sections that just wouldn't come off.

I'm a big fan of HGTV. When I saw how easily it can be done if you spray the ceiling with water, I gave myself the proverbial slap in the forehead.

 

[aprilgail2]

we actually sheet rocked over the pop corn ceiling to get rid of the darn thing!

 

[hiwaygal]

we have done this on a portion of a "ceiling"...it was actually part of a soffit that we were texturizing and the texture stuff wouldn't stick to the popcorn.

DH bought some stuff that you spray on and leave it for a few minutes, then scrape the popcorn right off. It was fairly easy, but messy. And be careful not to overspray that stuff on anything!! (I now have to figure out a way to "refinish" my mantle.)

We didn't have to worry about spackling or anything because we were putting the texture in place, but I imagine if you want something smooth, you will have to do some additional patching and sanding and all that.

I have this stuff on almost all my ceilings too...and I hate it!! We have decided NOT to try to remove it everywhere. We are planning to attache 1/8 inch plywood to the ceiling, then covering it with decorative ceiling panels from Armstrong. We will lose probably 1/2-3/4 of a inch of height, but it will look nicer!!

Good luck with that project!!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Doesn't some types of popcorn ceiling contain asbestos? If it does you'd want to be very careful removing it.

 

[Makdyn]

what is the popcorn ceiling?

 

[floridafam]

We are looking at replacing some of ours in the coming years. There is a company in our town that only deals with removing popcorn ceilings. We may just call them.

I've never heard about the asbestos but I will research it. Does anyone know when they stopped using asbestos in houses?

We are planning on having a somewhat textured ceiling after we're done because I have a feeling that what is under the popcorn may not look real nice.

 

[SC Minnie]

I house was built in '98 so no problem with asbestos.

I think I will try it is DD bedroom as it is a smaller room. We are planning on remodeling downstairs in a couple of years so I would want someone to professionally do those ceilings then as well as the foyer and upstairs hallway. I really like the smooth ceiling.

 

[SC Minnie]

what is the popcorn ceiling?

It is the sprayed texture ceiling treatment.

 

[marybet]

We have popcorn ceilings, our house is 4 years old. My problem was that I thought you couldn't paint it, but after Hurricane Ivan we had to have it repaired and repainted in all but 2 rooms. It painted just fine, so don't think I'll worry about removing the popcorn. I am not crazy about the look but I really don't look at the ceilings that much.

 

[mickeyboat]

We are looking at replacing some of ours in the coming years. There is a company in our town that only deals with removing popcorn ceilings. We may just call them.

I've never heard about the asbestos but I will research it. Does anyone know when they stopped using asbestos in houses?

We are planning on having a somewhat textured ceiling after we're done because I have a feeling that what is under the popcorn may not look real nice.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/popcornoff.shtm

This article says it was used heavily in the 70's. That is what I heard, too. The article recommends sending a sample out for testing, and gives some tips on how to remove it.

Good luck.

Denae

 

[floridafam]

I'll take a look at that article. Our house was built in the middle 80's so hopefully we're okay but I will definately look.

Thanks

 

[leafette]

I had a friend do this at his house, and there is a special ceiling scraping tool that you can get a Home Depot. It's made specifically for this job, and it's cheap. Good luck! My friend decided to do it himself after several outrageous quotes from various companies.

Here is a picture of the tool:

http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Popcorn_Scrapers.php

 

[LisaNJ25]

I had a friend do this at his house, and there is a special ceiling scraping tool that you can get a Home Depot. It's made specifically for this job, and it's cheap. Good luck! My friend decided to do it himself after several outrageous quotes from various companies.

Here is a picture of the tool:

http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Popcorn_Scrapers.php

I am so going to buy that.. I am tired of vacuuming the ceiling..

 

[Papa Deuce]

If you're going to remove it- there's a 90% chance you're going to need a skim coat of spackle around the whole thing and sanding. Sometimes its easier to just cover it w/ 1/8" drywall & have it taped & spackeled right.

That's what I would do.

 

[binny]

I had a friend do this at his house, and there is a special ceiling scraping tool that you can get a Home Depot. It's made specifically for this job, and it's cheap. Good luck! My friend decided to do it himself after several outrageous quotes from various companies.

Here is a picture of the tool:

http://www.all-wall.com/acatalog/Popcorn_Scrapers.php

Thank you! I hadnt seen this yet.
We were just talking about this yesterday. I have a lot of rooms that still have this horrible stuff and I really want to get rid of it!