A popcorn ceiling is an attractive ceiling that is created by blowing the material onto the ceiling of the room. It creates a beautiful texture and the popcorn effect also helps to dampen noises. As the ceilings, age people often grow tired of their look and wonder if they could possibly remove the texture without creating a huge mess.
I feel that I must tell you that there will be a certain amount of clean-up involved with the removal of these ceilings. The amount of clean-up that you have after the removal will be solely dependent on the method you use to take the popcorn effect off of the area.
Be aware that ceilings that were installed prior to 1980 can have asbestos in the compound used to create the popcorn effect. Removing asbestos can be hazardous. Your local health department may have tips on getting your ceiling checked for asbestos before you start the removal.
Some Cool Tips on Removing Popcorn Ceilings without Mess
Test Your Ceiling
Before you rush in and start trying to remove the old ceiling covering the first thing you need to do is test the area. The test will let you know how thick the coverage is and how firmly it is adhering to the ceiling. This information will allow you to choose the best removal method that will include the least work and the least mess.
Tools you Need
- Ladder
- Scraper or sheetrock knife used to apply joint compound
- Spray bottle of water
Begin your test by choosing an area in the room that will not be very noticeable. Then set your ladder up directly beneath this area. You will probably want to lay a drop cloth down under the ladder or lay down some old newspaper so the portion of the popcorn effect you knock loose will be easy to pick up when you are done.
Take the scraper or sheetrock putty knife and drag it across a small section of the ceiling. Apply slight and constant pressure while you do this. If the popcorn effect is no longer adhering tightly, you may be able to loosen and remove it with just the dry knife.
If the dry method does not prove easy to do then take the spray bottle of water and wet, not moisten, the small area. Allow the water to penetrate the covering for a few minutes and then take the scraper or sheetrock knife and drag it across the area. You want to hold your scraper at a slight angle while you are pulling it across the ceiling.
Preparation is Required
No matter what method of removal you choose the thing that will make the mess the least offensive is going to be how you prepared for the mess. The amount of effort you put into the preparation of the room is going to be apparent when it is time to clean away the debris.
Drop Cloths
Drop cloths, tarps, and plastic sheeting are going to be life-saving, or at the very least the time-saving items for this job. These coverings need to be placed over the walls in the room. Tape the drop cloths in place so they do not move. For the purpose of wall covering the thin disposable drop cloths will do a great job and they are light and easy to put up.
Furniture Covered With Drop Cloths
The best thing you can do is remove everything from the room that you can remove. That means all of the small decors that you have, the plants, and especially the furniture. Any furniture that is not removed will have to be covered with drop cloths and then uncovered later. You will want to cover furniture with thicker drop cloths that will not easily tear. You can use canvas drop cloths for this purpose unless you are wetting the ceiling and then you will want a plastic covering that will not allow the water to seep into the furniture.
Floors Covered
The floors will need to be covered with thick plastic or thick drop cloth that is secured so it does not slip or slide as you move across it. Heavy materials are less likely to tear when you walk on them or from exposure to the ladder feet.
Garden Sprayer
To remove popcorn ceiling material with the least amount of scraping you can employ the garden sprayer method. You tape the room off covering everything you can with plastic prior to starting.
Then use a common garden sprayer to wet the ceiling down before you climb up and start scraping. You wet the ceiling completely and allow the water to stay in place for about thirty minutes before you start to scrape.
The best advice I can give you about this method is for you to do sections of the ceiling at a time instead of trying to wet the entire ceiling and scrape it before it dries. Do 2’ x 2’ sections, or slightly larger if you like, and you can have one section soaking in water while you scrape the old ceiling texture off a previously dampened section.
Tips:
- Never force the texture to come off. When you get forceful you are possibly going to damage the materials beneath the texture. If the texture is hard to get off then you need to soak it with water again and let it set.
- Do not be in a hurry. This is going to be a slow process. Take your time and remember Rome was not built in a day.
- Warm water will be more effective than cold water.
- Adding a liquid fabric softener to the warm water can sometimes increase the ease of removing the texture.
- If damage occurs to the drywall beneath the texture do not be too upset. Repair the damage and move forward with your next ceiling treatment.
- Always let the material beneath the popcorn texture dry completely before you start trying to paint them or apply another treatment to them.
- Wider putty knives cover larger areas in shorter amounts of time.
Remove Popcorn Ceilings Using a Shop Vac
You can actually modify your shop vac so that it can help you scrape the popcorn from your ceiling and vacuum away the majority of the debris.
What You Need
- Shop vac with flat suction head
- 4” putty knife
- Duct tape
- Water in a spray bottle to wet the ceiling
- Ladder
- Eye goggles
- Face mask or respirator
Wet The Area
After you have prepared the room with drop cloths and plastic you will want to wet down sections of the textured ceilings just like in the other clean-away method. Get the texture really wet and let it sit for about thirty minutes before you start to try and scrape it away.
Fix Your Vac
While you are waiting you can take some duct tape and tape the scraper to the flat end of the hose attachment for your vacuum. Make sure the scraper sticks out about ¼” past the suction attachment.
Scrape and Vac
Climb the ladder with the hose in your hands. Have your protective gear in place before you begin to climb. Have someone turn the shop vac on and begin to work the vacuum hose across the ceiling. Apply slight pressure so the scraper can chip away at the texture. Move slowly so the vacuum has the time to suck up the pieces that get broken loose. You may have to go over one section more than one time to get all of the texture removed.
Clean It away
After you have scraped a section take a damp sponge and clean over the exposed drywall to remove any particulates or debris.
