Guide to Removing Popcorn Ceiling
If you live in a house more than 15 years old, chances are you have popcorn ceilings that went out of style as soon as they started. It can be a lot of hard work to get them down and may even be dangerous, but if you're updating your home, it's a necessity.
Follow this DIY guide to removing your popcorn ceilings, or call a UMNOFF INCORPORATED professional to get the job done right.
Equipment
Most paint jobs require quite a bit of equipment, and this is no exception. If you’re a big fan of DIY, then you most likely have some of these items already on tap.
- Plastic sheeting
- Rosin paper
- Painter’s tape
- Rags
- Putty knife
- Pump up sprayer
- Liquid dish washing soap
- 6” or wider floor scraper
- Sanding pad (with handle)
- Drywall joint compound and tape
- Protective equipment
Preparation
Removing your popcorn ceiling can be a messy job, so proper preparation tactics are important in order to refrain from damaging your walls or floor.
- Cover up or remove all furniture from the room.
- Cover up any vents with plastic.
- Cover wall outlets and switches with plastic, sealing them with painter’s tape
- Cover the floor with plastic, going up the wall about a foot and sealing with painter’s tape.
- Lastly, line the edge of the ceiling with painter’s tape.
Taking it down
Actually scraping the texture off the ceiling is the hard part; be sure to wear protective equipment and don’t do anything if you think your ceiling might have asbestos.
- If the ceiling isn’t painted, fill a pump sprayer with warm water, adding 2-3 tablespoons of dish soap per gallon of water.
- Heavily spray a 4-6 foot square section of the ceiling with the solution; wet enough to loosen it, but not so wet that it sinks into the drywall underneath.
- Let it soak for 10-15 minutes.
- Use a floor scraper, or similar wide blade tool, to gently scrape away the popcorn texture. Make sure not to tear the drywall below the texture.
- If the texture is more difficult to remove, spray it again, let it soak, and try scraping again.
- Use a putty knife to scrape away any residue and get into the corners.
Finishing Touches
No job is perfect, so you’ll probably need to do some repair and finishing touches after the texture has been removed.
- Replace damaged drywall tape and smooth out the joints with joint compound.
- Once the repair work has dried, sand the ceiling with a long handled sanding pad. Only sand the spots that are uneven, because too much sanding can damage the ceiling.
- The final touch is to prime and paint the ceiling, and admire your hard work!