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Are there any easy ways to either remove or preferably cover dated popcorn textured ceilings. These ceilings may have asbestos, have been painted over and would require costly and tedious removal. Does anyone know of any techniques for covering them with possibly quarter inch dry walll either directly or with furring strips?
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When you find out, tell me. Bead board could be pretty depending on the style of your house.
Innovative solution? Spackle or drywall compound or something sticky that you can smooth over it, kind of like icing a cake. (Yes I know that isn't helpful.)
*It's usually best if you don't have brand new wall to wall carpeting when you do this. Get a garden sprayer, fill it with water (hot is best) and spray it on your ceiling. It takes a pretty good hosing if it's been painted, but the water should really soften it up. After all, it's just joint compound. Then get a 3" wide razor scraper for wallpaper removal and start scraping. It's nicer if the substrate is plaster rather than drywall, but either way you're going to have patching to do when you're done. The whole thing is a big mess but really not that big a deal. Whether you decide to have the material checked for asbestos is up to you. It's a shame someone painted over the gold glitter in the original ceiling.
Many popcorn ceilings contain asbestos, and in high concentrations. Do not remove such a ceiling yourself unless you've tested several samples from different ceiling areas at an approved lab. You can't tell by simple visual examination. Yes, it's true that many of the people filing asbestos claims (the ones still alive) had years of industrial exposure, but there are many documented cases of spouses and other family members getting mesothelioma (an incurable cancer specific to asbestos exposure) years later because workers contaminated their houses with the traces they brought home on their work clothes. I worked for the EPA for quite a few years in toxic and hazardous substances, and recognize that our society is over-reactive to many environmental risks, but asbestos is one of those things I have a healthy respect for, and think is truly dangerous. I saw many sad instances where people wanted to remove popcorn ceilings on the cheap and gave their whole family significant extended exposures. You can contaminate your house for months, the contamination isn't visible, and it is so minute that it goes right through conventional vacuum cleaners and is re-suspended for breathing. I'm not trying to scare anyone or be over-reactive. I'm just saying: know what you're doing before you do it.
Edited 12/5/2003 4:57:30 AM ET by ghaselbe
Any idea what time frame should be clear of asbestos in popcorn? My aunt and uncle died too early with mesothelioma and cousin has had leukemia. Aunt was teacher in Pa school system where they were taking out insulation and all workers wore nifty suits and gear but said there was no problem for teachers & kids. Kind of makes you sick does'nt it?
It's one of those things that depends on the situation. Were the windows open when this was done? Was the removal wet or dry? How high was the asbestos concentration? Was visqueen spread to keep it out of the carpet? Was the furnace or air conditioning going (which would circulate it to more rooms)?... etc. If you were concerned about a specific situation, you could have an asbestos removal firm take a few air samples. If they get any significant levels, they could clean the house with super-efficient (HVAC) specialty vacuums.
To put things in perspective, we all have some asbestos exposure. You can measure levels in the air, even in the country. It comes from things like brake linings and industrial emissions. In the home years ago, asbestos was used in vinyl tiles and flooring, boiler insulation, fireplace mortar, joint compound, and acoustical tiles. So any of us who have remodeled older houses have caused emissions/exposures for ourselves and/or our families. It's just that doing something like popcorn ceiling removal, or sanding old vinyl flooring to remove it can cause large exposures, which could cause health problems years later. There is no known safe level for asbestos exposure. Risk generally increases with concentration and duration of exposure; being a smoker and having high exposures creates a compound cancer risk that is much higher than the sum of these two factors. Some people also seem more susceptible, all other things being equal. I, for example, have an 80-year-old father-in-law who had years of exposure in the shipyards, as a metal worker, and as a fireman; he's also a smoker. He has some "shadows" on his lung x-rays, but he's still alive and well. I also know of a guy who spent one summer insulating tanks with asbestos as a teenager and he died at thirty. Who can figure? Unfortunately, we can't eliminate environmental risk in a modern, technological society. But we can do our best to be aware and to minimize unnecessary expoures.
Thanks for this timely post.
I'm starting to remodel a bedroom in my house. I plan on taking out all the old horsehair plaster on the walls so I can insulate. (I've heard that asbestos was used on occasion in horsehair too but I'm not sure if this is an old wives tale or not.)
While I was at it I was going to take the old ceiling down. The ceiling has a popcorn texture and since I do not know if it has asbestos I am now going to just add a layer of 'sheetrock' over the ceiling.
Thanks for posting!
-Mark
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Are there any easy ways to either remove or preferably cover dated popcorn textured ceilings. These ceilings may have asbestos, have been painted over and would require costly and tedious removal. Does anyone know of any techniques for covering them with possibly quarter inch dry walll either directly or with furring strips?