In the early eighties popcorn texture on ceilings was a very popular look, however today it is very outdated. In my work as a professional contractor I am seeing more people who want to remove the popcorn texture from their ceiling but don't know how to do it. In this article we will look at the best method to remove popcorn texture from ceilins.
1. Preparation
The first step is to move the furniture from the room if at all possible. If you have some furniture that is just too heavy to remove from the room, purchase heavy duty plastic covers to place over the furniture. Since you will be using water, go ahead and turn off the electricity in the room. Remove any light fixtures from the ceiling. Next, cover the walls and floor with several layers of heavy duty plastic. Place the plastic floor sheeting up the walls about a foot and then tape the edge to prevent water from getting under the baseboards. PLEASE NOTE: Some blown-on acoustic ceilings applied before 1980 contain asbestos (the use of asbestos in these ceilings was banned in 1978). Only a certified asbestos removal contractor should remove these ceilings. You can find out if your ceiling contains asbestos by sending a small sample to an EPA certified testing lab.
2. Popcorn removal
Use a garden sprayer and plain water to wet down the ceiling. Work in an area about four to five feet square. It's better to make several passes and then let the ceiling soak up the water. Be careful not to apply too much water because it can damage the paper surface of the wallboard underneath. Using a joint knife, scrape the moist texture from the ceiling. The water will do most of the work and the popcorn ceiling should come off easily. If you run into spots that required hard scraping, stop, apply a little more water, wait for it to soak in a bit and then try again.
3. Time to prime and paint
If you happened to cut or gouge the ceiling when you were removing the texture, just use some joint compound and your taping knife and skim a thin coat of compound on the damaged area, allow to dry and lightly sand. Next, prime the ceiling with a latex primer. Once you are finished applying your primer, apply a coat of latex paint. Once your paint has fully dried you may have to apply an additional coat.
4. Clean-up
Remove all of the plastic covers from the walls and floors. Start by removing the plastic from the walls first. Once you remove all of the plastic, you will usually have some texture that will find its way onto your floor, but the texture will come up easily from your carpet or hardwood floor. Keeping your shop-vac close by will come in handy during clean up.
Although removing popcorn texture is a messy job, the benefit of a updated room is worth it. Following these guidelines, you should have a smooth, freshly painted ceilins. Good luck!
