What did you find under your popcorn ceiling?

17 years ago

I have been contemplating scraping my ceilings for a while and will have a full week off from work soon and want to try then. My question is for those who have done it yourselves, what kind of shape did you find your ceilings in after the popcorn was scraped off?

I know this is a very general question and all builders do things differently. I am just looking for a general concenses. I am wondering what my odds are of having a ceiling needing nothing more than a little patching and not a full skim coat after the popcorn is gone.

My house was built in 1992 so it is asbestos free.

Thanks.

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Comments (7)

woodbutcher_ca
17 years ago
Hi, Popcorn texture will cover a multitude of sins. Poor Tape jobs and poor coverage on nails.Start with a small room first for your education.
Good Luck Woodbutcher
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mysterymachine
17 years ago
I found really poor drywall work. My house was built in 1981. Spent forever fixing the drywall under it - pretty much attempting to redo all the seams. Most rooms I was able to make it look good. A couple rooms there were sections of ceiling that were uneven and exposed tape - I was not able to make those look good, acceptable, but not good.

I hope it goes better for you than me... it came off easy enough after making it all wet but that was only the beginning. However I am sure glad to have it gone (other than above the stairs and a few other places that were hard to get to or not worth the trouble like insides of closets)
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You are right it probably is asbestos. It is legal to encapsulate it. However, during manipulation, seal off the room with plastic and wear P100 respirators. Re-cover up where the newer parts fell and use a HEPA filter on your shop vac when cutting the holes for the cans. Before installing the cans, caulk the cut edge so that it is sealed. Clean up room well. Honestly we are all exposed to abestos here and there. People that got cancer worked with it daily, usually floor installers (felt backed vinyl and VAT), drywallers (sanding mud), and factory workers (exposure during production). Your exposure during renovation with proper PPE will be close to nil. If you are worried and want it removed, test it first, then hire someone. It is not legal to remove it yourself, its such a pain to remove anyhow and the waste is regulated also. They will come in and be done with it quickly.
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brunosonio
17 years ago
We did it on a rental house we own that was built in 1968. The drywall work throughout was pretty exceptional, and we lucked out with the ceilings, also. Smooth, no mistakes. All I had to do was to really clean it well after the removal, prime it, then paint it.
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gardenspice
17 years ago
Last house, we were able to go with a totally smooth ceiling after removing popcorn, although it took a little bit of mudding in a few spots.
In this house, last week, we were able to go with a medium sand added to the celing paint - not the totally smooth ceiling I would have liked, but MUCH better than popcorn!
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sierraeast
17 years ago
Generally the nail spots and mud joints will be a little rougher and need attention,(light sanding,possible mud touch up), and you will probably dig in a few places while scraping that will need a little TLC.Pretty rare to have to do a full skim coat,i would think.Good luck,Have fun, wear a dust mask even though you are wetting, and goggle up!
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mainemary
17 years ago
My ceilings were in pretty good shape. The bulk of the mudding that had to be done afterwards was due to my overzealous scraping- you need a light hand to remove the texture! Once they are primed and painted, you would never know that popcorn had been up there. It's important to use a damp sponge to remove as much of the adhesive as possible right after scraping the texture off so that you have a minimal amount to sand.
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Kimberlyinva
16 years ago
Mine wheren't all that bad. They did a terrible job on the ceiling edging tape so I had to redo a ton of it before I just decided to put up some crown molding. Once you do one room you'll get the hang of it & the rest will be a piece of cake. You'll love it so much the other rooms just might drive you nuts until you get that stuff down! I found that adding Febreze to hot water in a spray bottle made things easier & it smells good too!! :)
Mine had been painted several times so in the end I had to switch to a wallpaper remover thingy....has a nice sharp razor on the end.
KAT
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What did you find under your popcorn ceiling?

Comments (7)

woodbutcher_ca

mysterymachine

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