The previous owners of our old bungalow had a popcorn texture sprayed on the ceilings AND the crown molding. We would like it gone! How do you remove texture? Or, can we install new drywall over the textured ceiling (this seemed like a good solution, but wondering if it would ‘pop’ the screws due the irregular surface)? Any suggestions appreciated.
Shawn
Edited 6/24/2008 9:40 am ET by shawncal
Replies
you can scrape it off if it has never been painted,if it's had paint good luck. if you squirt it with a little water and it soaks in ,it hasn't been painted.
so you then take a garden sprayer and soak about a 3x3 area and scrape off with a putty knife. if all that fails i usally run around and scrape off the big nubs and get me some 1/2 sheetrock and cover it,in fact thats what i'm starting today,3 rooms. i try and put a dab of glue all around before i set it up there.
have fun larry.
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
You could also skim coat it.
Scrape off the high points, then prime with an oil based primer so the moisture of the skim coat doesn't cause it to peel away. Skim with 2 or 3 coats of Easy Sand 90, sand, prime (again), and paint.
Only drawback is if the plaster is bad and cracking, which is ofter the reason for a texture. In that case you're better off covering it with drywall.
Are there crown moldings?--------------------------------------------------------
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Get a roof leak and it will just fall off.
And that is basically all you need to do. If it has not been painted then get a garden sprayer with hot water. Spray a small section and after letting it soak for couple of minutes scrap.
If this was done before the 80's then you want to have it checked for asbestos.
If the texture was don'e "right" then there should not be any problem with going over it with 1/4 or 3/8" DW.
But I have seen some place where reapirs where done and they kept just layering on texture until it looked like cave formations.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
You can add a little liquid fabric softener to the hot water to reduce the surface tension.
Like everyone else said, wet it down with a garden sprayer and scrape away. If I can add one more bit of advice, COVER EVERYTHING. Put plastic down on the floor and tape it to the baseboards. It's an easy, but messy job. Also, a pair of booties doesn't hurt, so that you don't track the popcorn all over your house.
shawncal.
One of the advantages of living in the frozen north is we all have a tool that makes removing popcorn from ceilings easy.
Like others have said you sray it with a sprayer and get it reasonably wet.. then you take your Ice chipper.. (that's a long handled strong putty knife like device used to chip ice of sidewalks etc). Reach up and scrape off the popcorn texture.. slides off about like butter!
Now here's the catch,, I'm putting popcorn on my new ceilings!(gold flakes instead of the usual silver, matches the polished brass lights and fixyures in the house) my thinking is I have a lot of coffered ceilings and timbers here and I want to be out of cycle with the latest trends..
Textured ceilings are all the rage now with either knock down texture or some other treatment. I haven't seen a new home use popcorn in more than a decade..
Follow the herd and you'll quickly be outdated..
they are still popcorning clgs here.it's the first sign of cheap const. mid const gets a knockdown,high end is smooth,flat clgs.
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
As previously suggested, soak an area with a sprayer and use a shop vac with a large hose while you scrape to catch the scrapings . Then skim coat,sand,prime and paint.