Giving your home a trendy makeover would entail changes in your home’s interior and this includes your ceiling. If you still have those outdated popcorn ceilings from the 60s, you would need to either replace or refinishing those to achieve a fresher look. Although popcorn ceilings were used to add visual interest overhead at the time, those additions to the plaster ceilings or dry walls made it difficult to maintain. So, to make life a bit easier, it is better to start thinking of how to remove popcorn ceiling and add value to your home.
Remove all furniture and cover from the area you are working on so that the mess does not ruin your beautiful possessions. Take off ceiling fans and fixtures and cover any light fixtures and electrical outlets that are exposed with tape. Cut the power to electrical appliances before doing any work on the ceiling. Next, cover any oversized item in sheets of plastic. Cover the walls and the floors with plastic drop clothes, too. Secure these drop cloths in place using heavy duty painters tape. Be sure that you have other things you need to be safe like hand scrapers, a ladder, a garden sprayer, protective gear (eyewear, gloves, and a face mask).
Once you have those covered, lightly mist the ceiling with a garden pump sprayer. This makes the popcorn texture easier to scrape off. Work in small sections, preferably 4×4 inch sections. Let the water soak for 15 minutes or so and once the texture has softened, mist the area again for another 15 minutes. After that, start scraping being careful to work in long strokes. Hold your scraper steady so that you don’t leave any marks on your ceiling. Use a handy mud pan to catch all that mess. If in case the ceiling texture does not soften, that would mean the paint got mixed in so it is better to do some dry scraping.
How to Remove Popcorn Ceiling by Yourself
Jody Finglas, the owner of Finglas Painting in New York, said that popcorn is very difficult to remove and impossible to touch up. This is because taking it off involves a number of steps and processes. The ceiling should first be scraped, then primed, and repainted. Before any work, however, the first thing you need to do is prepare your living space because it will surely get messy.
Now with all the texture scraped off, you would need to smooth out the area. Start by sanding out all the imperfections you see and then prep your ceiling for some fresh paint. You can either do the paint job yourself or hire a professional to do it. But at least, you were able to take off the popcorn effect. Good job!
Why You Should Take Off Popcorn Ceilings from your Home
Even if popcorn ceilings were done for aesthetic reasons, the fact is there are harmful chemicals used with it. This is why taking these down is more than just a good idea to freshen up your home’s interior. Knowing how to remove popcorn ceiling is good for health reasons as well. Popcorn ceilings come from silicate mineral that was used in the early days but was banned by the Clean Air Act of 1978. The EPA specifically advises homeowners that if there is any damage on asbestos-containing materials, then it is better to take it off. Asbestos exposure is linked to certain illnesses like ovarian cancer, club fingers, asbestosis, and laryngeal cancer.
Aside from the concern with asbestos, you should know that textured ceilings are difficult to paint. If you want to redecorate, part of that process involves changing the overall color scheme of your house. With popcorn ceilings, this is more difficult to do. The odd texture makes it difficult for paint to seep into the wider, flatter parts of the space in the ceiling. If ever the ceilings get wet, the popcorn texture has the tendency to liquify and slough off in chunks.
In addition, popcorn ceilings are not liked by everyone because they are lumpy, highly porous, catches dust and get discolored over time. Their crater-like surfaces also cast harsh shadows making rooms appear much smaller. Popcorned ceilings also leave messes that look like snow on your floors and couches which may damage the fabric of both your rugs and furniture.
So, if you would like to give your home an upgrade, in the long run, it is better to take off the texture of your popcorn ceilings. And if you know how to remove popcorn ceiling then you get to save a lot of hard earned money and divert these expenses on other things like new pieces of furniture for your home or getting that new paint job done well.