How To Remove A Popcorn Ceiling

I love using my years of experience operating a minor structure company to assistance guide people in completing their own DIY domicile projects.

How to Remove Popcorn Ceiling

Yeah, popcorn ceilings tin be removed afterwards they have been painted. Removing the ceiling is much easier if it has never been painted, but it can be removed either mode.

Here are a few simple steps to quick and like shooting fish in a barrel removal:

Remove all furniture from the work surface area.
Roll out plastic to embrace the floor.
Apply painter's record to record more plastic along the edge of the ceiling.
Use either record or spray adhesive to adhere the wall plastic to the floor.
Place water in a spray container.
Employ a finisher's knife to scrape off the texture.
Take time to clean up and let the ceiling dry out.
Place some spackle on any damaged areas.
Use a sanding pole to smooth whatever rough spots.

Step 1: Remove All Article of furniture From the Work Area

When you begin the process of removing popcorn ceilings, make sure you remove all furniture from the room. The concluding thing you want is pigment (and possibly asbestos) landing all over your furniture. You'll also want plenty of space. This will make the process get smoother.

Step 2: Gyre Out Plastic to Cover the Floor

You don't want your flooring getting muddy while removing your popcorn ceiling. Putting downward a plastic cover will protect your floors and make make clean up easier. Y'all also do not want to breathe in whatever of the resulting droppings.

Step 3: Utilise Painter'south Tape to Tape More Plastic Along the Edge

Yous'll want to protect your walls by letting plastic drape the walls.

Step 4: Use Either Tape or Spray Agglutinative

Apply either tape or spray agglutinative to attach the wall plastic to the floor plastic. You are basically turning your room into a pool liner. Be certain to wrap any ceiling fans or light fixtures yous don't want to clean later.

Step v: Place H2o in a Spray Container

You tin can use modest spray bottles, but the simplest solution is a pump sprayer, which you can detect at your local home improvement store. Spray an area of the ceiling until yous meet the popcorn plow a dull gray color. If the popcorn texture does non change colors, your ceiling has been painted. This requires boosted steps to remove.

Stride 6: Employ a Finisher's Knife

Any width will do, but keep in heed that the wider the knife, the more area you embrace with each scrape. Hold the knife apartment against the ceiling and button away from y'all. Be conscientious not to gouge the drywall.

Footstep 7: Clean Upward and Let the Ceiling Dry

Simply pull the plastic off of each wall and ringlet the edges up as you head towards the door. By the time you get to the door, you should have a big ball of plastic and a clean room. Turn on ceiling fans or lights and let the ceiling have a few hours to dry.

Footstep 8: Use Spackle to Flatten the Surface

If you made any gouges in the drywall as you were scraping, apply a sanding sponge to sand the expanse lightly. Place some spackle (also known every bit drywall mud or drywall compound) on the damaged areas, and feather it out shine with a finisher's pocketknife. Take a look at your ceiling and touch up any uneven areas, such as nail heads or seams, that may demand an extra glaze of mud. Let dry out, sand, and repeat if necessary.

Step 9: Use a Sanding Pole

If yous are applying a new textured finish, such as stippling or knockdown, this sanding step may be skipped. Otherwise, using a sanding pole and some 120 dust sanding paper, lightly sand your entire ceiling for whatsoever crude spots. Your ceiling is now set to paint.

Tool	Average Price
Plastic embrace/sheet	$x
Finisher's knife	$forty
Sanding sponge	$2
Painter's Record	$5
Spray Adhesive	$five

How to Remove Painted Popcorn Ceiling

Don't despair, your painted popcorn ceilings can be scraped and brought up to engagement as well. Begin by following steps one through four listed in a higher place.

There are a few things yous can attempt as y'all go through the rest of the process:

Mix 1 part vinegar to x parts water and spray it on the ceiling. The vinegar should help interruption down the paint.
Use a big pole-type scraper and more muscle. Moisture the ceiling, scrape as much every bit possible, and then wet and scrape again. Only the areas where the liquid has penetrated through the pigment will scrape away easily.
Use wallpaper stripper or other paint strippers (though some are quite toxic).


Tools	Boilerplate Toll
Vinegar	$2
Spray bottle	$3
Pole scraper	$30

What Is the Point of Popcorn Ceiling?

Popcorn texture was standard for chamber and residential hallway ceilings because of its vivid, white advent, ability to hide imperfections, and superior acoustics. Notwithstanding, when asbestos was banned in ceiling treatments by the Clean Air Act of 1978 in the United States, popcorn ceilings vicious out of favor. Of a sudden, there was pressure to set up damaged areas and remove asbestos rather than but roofing up the trouble.

How Much Does It Cost to Get Rid of Popcorn Ceiling?

In general, contractors charge per square human foot for removal of popcorn ceilings. On average, the cost is between $one per square foot and $2 per square foot. The average homeowner spends around $1,565 to remove the texture from the ceiling.

Why You Should Remove It Yourself

The removal procedure isn't very hard and removing the popcorn texture yourself volition cost only a fraction of the price of hiring a contractor. Even so, if in that location is whatsoever danger from asbestos, for your own safety., the expanse should be removed past a contractor.

If All Else Fails

If all else fails, or you are concerned about asbestos in the popcorn, laminate over the existing popcorn with a one/iv" layer of new drywall, or some decorative two x two ceiling panels from Armstrong or USG.

Should You Buy a Home With Popcorn Ceilings?

Whether or not you buy a house with popcorn ceilings really depends on your tastes and the cost of the habitation. Removing popcorn can be expensive through an outside source. These ceilings run the risk of containing asbestos, but this is a hazard associated with all older homes. It's likely that a habitation with popcorn ceilings is safety, simply the bumps can be a turn-off when decorating.

Testing a Popcorn Ceiling for Asbestos

Unfortunately, you tin't tell if a ceiling contains asbestos unless you test it. You can't tell by looking at it with your naked eye. Identification requires a microscope and a trained eye. You will need to obtain a sample of the ceiling and transport that sample to a laboratory. Information technology might cost you $50 or so to get the sample tested.

Wearable a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) mask for protection
Vesture gloves to avoid contact with the sample.
Fill a spray bottle with a teaspoon of lather and xvi ounces of water.
Spray a small area to dampen the ceiling.
Utilize a precipitous razor-bract knife, cut out a sample and seal it in the container.
Mail your sample to the lab and wait about a week for the results.

Is It Dangerous to Have Popcorn Ceiling?

The danger depends on if the popcorn is but covering upwards asbestos. Inhaled in big quantities, asbestos fibers can cause lung disease, scarring of the lungs, and lung cancer. However, not all popcorn ceilings comprise asbestos. Moreover, if left undisturbed or contained, asbestos is non dangerous, but many people however don't want it present in their home.

Sources

Today's Homeowner, "How to Remove Textured 'Popcorn' Ceilings"
Asbestos.com, "What Is Asbestos?"

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author'southward knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does non substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, fiscal, legal, or technical matters.

John McQ from Tampa on September 10, 2018:

Don't even think nigh removing a popcorn ceiling yourself, call a pro call - http://globaltextured.com/

E on March 17, 2017:

"If you are concerned about asbestos"? Holy shit! Anyone not concerned about asbestos is an idiot, putting themselves, their family unit, and future residents of the property at serious run a risk of an aggressive, deadly affliction. This site is promoting casual DIY in a situation where professional asbestos abatement should be a serious consideration.

val on January 24, 2016:

whatsoever thought how to remove popcorn ceiling that was primed with an oil based paint? Does the vinegar and h2o solution work on it?

Christina on May 21, 2014:

this is smashing info-i'1000 in the middle of doing a ceiling that hasn't been painted-and i was wondering how difficult information technology is going to be to do the ones that have been painted; sigh... i accept to say information technology has been, (knock on forest), really easier than i thought it would exist to do-i'thousand using a method i saw during my searches-using a spray bottle, wallpaper scraper, and a pigment roller pan-belongings it up as i scrape/what doesn't get in my eyes-pretty much has went in the pan!!

Jeff on July 04, 2013:

I scraped earlier I practical the h2o to knock downward the bumps so I soaked information technology downward with the water I waited about 10 min. Afterward some vigorous scraping I got it downwardly to the canvas stone

Charles Webb-it from Edmonds,WA on October 22, 2011:

awesome video practiced info....music! not so much. LOL just kidding thanks fr the upload

RussellLHuey on August 31, 2011:

New to me that water and vinegar are useful here.Great information.

AllSuretyBonds on March 24, 2011:

Not bad Hub. I agree that removing popcorn ceilings is much easier if it hasn't been painted before. Your steps that you have mentioned are very organized and easy to follow.

Eve on April 29, 2010:

Give thanks you! I would try that.

GoTo Gal (author) from South Carolina on April 25, 2010:

Eve, I merely finished a minor ceiling that had been painted and wouldn't budge. I used a tool called a 5 in ane, (expect in the paint section) if your ceiling is a big one I recommend a apartment caput shovel or spade to scrape. Utilize the scraper to knock the popcorn bumps off. Then spray with h2o. Knocking the bumps off will permit the water mixture to penetrate underneath the texture. Scrape once more, re-wet and keep scraping.

Eve on April 16, 2010:

I removed all the popcorn in the second flooring of my house merely in the start one it looks like it has been painted; I take tried the wet-wait-scrape method only doesn't work, I tried it with vinegar, another fourth dimension with lather and no results!

Any idea?

Holle Abee from Georgia on April 14, 2010:

My husband has done this before. Bully tips!

GoTo Gal (author) from South Carolina on March 23, 2010:

You will definitely feel information technology in your biceps and your neck. Also the upward and down the ladder is a great workout for the thighs and buns.

ConversantLeaders from Virtual U.s.a. on March 23, 2010:

Did not realize vinegar and water was so effective. Looks similar this would also be an effective workout.

Source: https://dengarden.com/home-improvement/Can-popcorn-ceilings-be-removed-after-they-have-been-painted

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