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I’m looking at 60’s raised ranch in good condition. Needs general updating but it’s solidly built. Somebody went crazy with texturing a while back, though, and I’m worried that I’m underestimating the amount and extent of work required to cover up this heinousness. My ideas thus far are to knock down the high points with an old chisel or taping knife and skim coat with compound, OR to use Porter Cable’s powewr paint removal tool (basically a vertical snader/grinder fitted with an attachment that allows precise depth/angle adjustment of a carbide coated metal disc of 24 to 46 grit). A user who posted a comment in Tool Crib/Amazon said he used it to remove texturing from an old plaster wall and it worked great. I think it would work well in my case, too, although I know I’d still need to skim coat for a final finish.
Assuming I rig up good dust collection and wear a good respirator, am I kidding myself? Should I worry about asbestos – most everyone I’ve asked said they aren’t aware that it was used in joint compounds, but then how come all the buckets you buy now proudly state that they are “asbestos free?” Was there a time when they advertised “Now! With Extra Asbestos!”
Appreciate your insight,
-John Kerin
Replies
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It seems as though after the war they put asbestos everywhere except over their cereal. You can take a small sample of the texture material and send it to a lab for testing. The cost is under $50. In my area there are half a dozen firms in the phone book under "asbestos removal". When you call, they might be able to give you some free advice as to whether there is a possibility of asbestos being in this stuff.
In my basement there was joint compound (I think) textured over drywall. I took a 6" taping knife and it scrapped cleanly off the drywall. No problem!
*John, I just delt with this very issue. Here's what I did. 36 grit and a pole sander. It is every bit the trainwreck you imagine it is going to be. I did not skim out the walls because it's blow and go work, but afterI sanded off the spikes and knocked a coat of paint on it, the look wasn't too bad. You may want to use a slightly finer grit than I did, and keep your sanding pattern even. You could test in an inconspicuous spot to see if the stuff will fall off if you get it wet. Good luck. Matt
*Just saw someone do this on a ceiling by spritzing it with water and then scraping it off with a 6" scraper. Worked like magic.good luck.
*Try a steamer used for removing wallpaper and a wide taping knife. Works for some textures very well.
*If all else fails, and the sanding is more than you anticipated, go over the offending walls with 3/8" drywall, and get the smooth look your after.
*John, the house was built in the sixties? It was propably textured then. A lot of them were. If this was a recent texture over smooth you might scrape it off. I have a Porter Cable drywall sander and it is great. It hooks up to my shop vac and with a HEPA filter I don't get very much dust. The foam back sanding disk can be purchased to a 60 grit. If you are in a real hurry crank up the speed. Be careful, this jessie will eat right through the board in seconds. I believe I've seen them in rental stores around here. My only complaint is that either my hands are two small or the tube is the wrong shape. After an hour or so of operation my hands and forearms start to cramp. I'm working on designing some auxillary handles for it. At over $300 renting is the way to go. I do a lot of remodels and this is one piece of equipment that has paid for itself in time saved and customer complaints about the mess I make. Oh, you still need to work the all-corners by hand, with a 10" disk you can't get into those small spots. Good luck. Dave
*i think that j.r. forgot to tell you that if there are any doors or windows in the wall that you cover you will need to put in new jambs and re trim, unless you just "but the rock" to the existing trim ( looks horriable, have seen it before)
*Thanks all for your thoughts and comments. I did do some additional research on the web re: asbestos in textured paints and compounds - went from osha.gov and linked to some information at epa.gov. Anyway, I would give it a 50/50 chance that this stuff has asbestos in it, which means grinding and sanding would be unwise. If I put in an offer, I would have to make it subject to a negative test. I'm a rational, thinking guy and know that if I rocked over everything and extended the jambs, I would be just fine (as I would if I just left the walls as-is)....but I would have to disclose to future buyers what I knew. Better to pass, I think.-JK
*Wet or dry scraping popcorn ceiling is a piece a cake. trowel texture might need the wet process...near the stream,aj
*Someone knows. I have 2,000 board feet of hundred year old montery cypress milled to one inch by twelve inch, by ten foot, stickered every two feet in an eight foot pile in my garage. Everyone I talk to says just wait a year to use it for flooring, once the moisture content is down around 15% I should be good to go. Anybody have any ideas about how to maybe dry it out faster? I'd sure appreciate the info.Thanks
*Rick, do a search for woodweb or solar kilms. alot of the wood producung states have forestry dept. web sites that will link you to university studies on solar kilms. good luckDave
*I bought a 1970, 4 BR, 2 Bath, 1700' house with texture on every available surface except the fridge, which i had to toss anyway. I used a 1/4 sheet sander with 80 grit paper, the kind used for wrapping drum sanders, then applied one skim coat, and it looks darn good--well, B+ for a smooth finish. I could do a 10x16 bedroom in 2-3 hours with < 10 changes of paper. Let the dust fall where it may, and used a regular blue plastic mesh 3M dust mask, and goggles for overhead. Not dainty, but it worked great. Asbestos, what asbestos? A "carbide coated metal disc" seems like it could do a lot more damage to drywall than to plaster if it got away from you...
*If you really want smooth walls with the minimum work overlay with 1/4" sheetrock. This will solve the problem of decreasing the reveal on the casework that you would get with 3/8" it's also a lot easier to work with.
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I'm looking at 60's raised ranch in good condition. Needs general updating but it's solidly built. Somebody went crazy with texturing a while back, though, and I'm worried that I'm underestimating the amount and extent of work required to cover up this heinousness. My ideas thus far are to knock down the high points with an old chisel or taping knife and skim coat with compound, OR to use Porter Cable's powewr paint removal tool (basically a vertical snader/grinder fitted with an attachment that allows precise depth/angle adjustment of a carbide coated metal disc of 24 to 46 grit). A user who posted a comment in Tool Crib/Amazon said he used it to remove texturing from an old plaster wall and it worked great. I think it would work well in my case, too, although I know I'd still need to skim coat for a final finish.
Assuming I rig up good dust collection and wear a good respirator, am I kidding myself? Should I worry about asbestos - most everyone I've asked said they aren't aware that it was used in joint compounds, but then how come all the buckets you buy now proudly state that they are "asbestos free?" Was there a time when they advertised "Now! With Extra Asbestos!"
Appreciate your insight,
-John Kerin