How to Remove a Popcorn Ceiling

[collegeri]

2 Questions if anyone can answer them: First, can the scraping be done without water? Someone mentioned the mold issue-or is the softening via water really the only way? Second, I plan to rip out/replace the carpet when this is done. Having said this, would the paper on the floor still be necessary or is the spraying not so much that the carpet can't serve the same purpose?

[kollingoff1]

Very clean job still not making a good use of the disposal.

Would suggest to wrap paper with ceiling waste only first then plastic aside. Throw the paper away, keep the plastic!

[iiSnowblind]

fuck you faggot 

[SteveMcCormick1234]

You guys made that look a lot easier than my encounter. Took me way more than 2-3 minutes.. more like 2-3 weeks! Worked alright tho.. I forgot to check the asbestos thing, o well.

[THECH0SEN0NE82]

i feel like such a noob! i wish i would of thought of the sprayer i removed the texture spraying it with a spray bottle having to go up and down the whole room and having to refill.

[a2zhandi]

Nice prep work. Nothing more time saving than taking the time to minimize cleanup!

Thumbed up!

[Skeletonwitharaygun]

Remove it asbestos you can!

waka waka!

[SexyLilNdn1]

Thanks for posting this. I'm so sick of my popcorn ceilings lol. Subbie!

[Ibanez7400]

If you are a pro?? you know there will be floating involved after the scraping of the celing! ther could be goudges from tired arms or even worse the taper knew there would be texture spray and didn't coat celing proper thinking ??? oh well texture spray will hide it. or there was a problem ? texture spray will hide it?ect. this vid. Is not good for the do it yourselfer. a wet scrape has a chance of mould. a good taper plasterer. would do a dry scrape then float the rest. or cover over if safe.

[Ibanez7400]

ok that's fine if the texture spray was done wrong. meaning the installer didn't add paint to the mix before he sprayed. or the celing wasn't painted since.?? well I have a plaster and taping background and have scraped and floated many of these. However it is much cheaper and les labour to drywall over celing with thin 1/4 inch drywall (flexboard). and tape seams/ corners. Light fixture screws usually reinstall. if not spend a couple dollars buy longer screws.

[stuartlenihan]

Very Proffesional job, i like it!!

[fcastellanos123]

Nice video

[kimchee94112]

Hi Ron, I have a faster way of doing it. By the time you prep up the room, I already removed the popcorn. Off course the house is not occupied and I'm going to paint the walls anyway. Airless sprayer much faster and no drip on the floor. Catch the popcorn in an empty box in one hand while scraping with the other and dump it in the trash can below - much less mess to clean up. Use a rolling scaffold so no need to get off and on the ladder. Could do a 1,500sf house in about 2 days.

[brogshan]

Thanks Ron, this is much simpler than I thought it would be.

[ECZamago]

Very neat.

[ECZamago]

Very neat.



[iStellaRosa]

-1970s?? My house was built in the late 90s and has popcorn ceiling.

Textured ceiling is hideous.

[thesquash61]

Every thing seems to be ok except that most bids are very cheap to begin with and all that extra rosen paper is not necesary. you can do without

[Uazdan]

what they spray?it's water??

[OK55OK55OK]

@Uazdan Yes, just water. I usually am just doing repairs, I hardly ever scrape a complete house, or rarely a big room at all. However, I have noticed that all the videos on here that show people spraying the ceiling with water, show them spraying MUCH more than is necessary.I guess it won't hurt to spray so much, but, I just use a small hand sprayer, something like "fabreeze" or something comes in. It is more than sufficient for a small repair, even a pretty large one. You don't need much water.

[ronhazelton]

I have a couple of suggestions, neither of which I have actually tried. Run a wallpaper scorer over the ceiling before applying the water. It will put small perforations through the paint and may allow the water to better penetrate. Try adding fabric softener to the water. A painter friend of mine, Brian Santos, uses this to technique to clean dried paint from brushes.

[a2zhandi]

@ronhazelton actually, I believe the detergent adds a bit of body to the water. Helping it penetrate. Good call!

[kevico2]

Ours was painted on (twice). What can we do differently?

[yumyumsashimi]

how do you get it off if it has been painted?

[JeSsEeLeE1717]

Thank you so much this helps a lot!!!

[CandieeProductions]

i remember when i used to jump from my bed and scrtch it off my ceiling

[mcloven83]

I saw a video on here that says if u add vinegar to the water the popcorn ceiling will literally melt off with out scraping.. But question why not just paint the ceiling while you have all the plastic and tape up instead of disposing of it all. Just curious

[baem1912]

reminds me of the execution scenes in Dexter!

[cobraohm]

@baem1912 Lol, i thought the same thing.

[phaedra426]

@baem1912 LOL, I said that right before I read this comment. XD

[hitachi088]

wear mask ...

[Cool4cake]

wow i thought i would have to pay tons of money to get rid of this crap...i love you ron!!

[ronhazelton]

The ceiling in this project tested negative for asbestos by an independent lab.

[gavhow1000]

@ronhazelton in the uk we use a product for internal texture work called artex which after seeing how easily yours is removed is quite a hard and time consuming job, I usually knock off the high points and 2 coats of PVA traditionally plaster over top with 2 coats, when its a very rich texure 3 coats.

[pinz2022]

@ronhazelton

If the glop is nice and damp, I should think that would suppress dust. Wearing a proper industrial respirator should take care of things. Getting it wet really seems to have a magical effect.

[TheChrissy071]

As an Asbestos Project Monitor, I was scared for these people in this vidieo. Where is the respirator? The negative air? The protective clothing? Go get your lungs tested NOW!

[chuckbyf]

@TheChrissy071 Who said it had asbestos in it???

[prosongs]

Used water and it was difficult. Scrapped dry and it came off pretty easy though more dist. I think the paint on the popcorn made it unpredictable while the dry method was easy and consistant though we had to patch a few spots that got it with the scrapping tool.

[calism23]

Excellent video - much more informative than "Expert Village".

[Mexighetti]

Good ideas. Any suggestions on what to do if the popcorned ceiling has been painted over? Will it absorb water and still peel? One writer said water and vinegar.

[mscmkr]

One thing everyone should know, when you scrape off the popcorn it will expose the tape underneath. Alot of the builders do not finish the ceiling before shooting on the popcorn. If this is the case you now have to mud over the tape lines then sand to get a smooth surface to paint. It's not easy. I just did 3 bedrooms and had to mud, sand and retexture all of them so they would look right.

[pearlduz]

tat is it? just spray water and scrape off? wow so cool. the proffesional est. the job about a couple of thousand to remove it and paint it. thanks

[versusamianto]

The fibre exposure is not supported with air filtration and the workers don't have protection against the asbetos fibre. The procedure shown in the video is not complete and correct

[kewlpnay126]

grabbing that popcon is awesome heheheheh thanx for sharing im going to play around my little room someday how to scrape those annoying popcorn.

[tommygraves]

I just spent ALL day yesterday doing this to a new house I just bought. You have to go back over the ceilings like 2-3 times to get it wet enough, then if you can let it soak for about 10 min, it works best.

Thanks Ron.

[randalljames1]

if reapplying spanish lace or other texture, can't you just leave all the protection in place and remove all the mess after the new texture is up?

[ronhazelton]

Absolutely. Just be careful not to track any spilled texture out of the room. An additional layer of rosin paper or newspaper can keep things neat.

[randalljames1]

Well this is going well thank you.. also, I would like to up a knockdown texture back up.. do the straight electric texture guns do an adequate job or should I just stick with the old style air gun. (Sherwin Williams has a gun for $110 in the all electric class)

[ronhazelton]

I haven't tried the electric gun so I'd probably rent an air type.

[randalljames1]

well I took the dive and picked up a Wagner Power Tex gun.. not rated for a "whole" house but I did a 12X14 room yesterday for "knockdown".. excellent results..

The hopper is a bit small but not that big a deal.. sure beats the $3500 est. I got by about $3200 to do the entire house.. I am doing 2nd bath, hallway tonight..

Thanks for the video.. saved me tons!!

[shersingh44]

water and vinegar ppl!!

[duaneafields]

see, the real problem comes in after someone sprayed it, then painted it with acrylic or vinyl paint, the water would just make a mess. Sometimes it's just faster to use 3/8 sheetrock, grab a friend and re rock the ceiling, put some recessed lights in while you'r at it too. Have to be handy I suppose. This works when the popcorn ceiling has not been painted.

[xSuLFaTEx]

is the popcorn ceiling made of popcorn??

[duaneafields]

yes. you can actually reheat it with some butter and watch a movie.

[Sibelle11]

LOL!! Be careful what you say!! They might believe you!!!

[DELEBEE]

I am planning to do this -- starting with the smallest room in my house --- the quote I got to get it professionally done was several thousands of dollars for a two story --- so, i will tackle it one room at a time --- I expect to get reacquainted with muscles I long forgot were even a part of my body ------

[kellygiz]

I tried soaking my ceiling with water, and it does not come of nearly this easy. I'm just scraping the humps off then filling the voids with drywall mud. I hope it works.

[ronhazelton]

In a small area about three or four feet square, try applying a little more water and waiting a few more minutes before starting to scrape. If the area acoustical materials seems to be absorbing the water, apply a bit more during the waiting period. Also, try adding a few drops of laundry fabric softener to the water. Let me know if any of this helps.,

[kellygiz]

Yeah it worked awesome. But what I think did the most, was respraying AFTER scraping off the biggest chunks. This allowed the water to soak into the plaster, I think the paint was preventing. Thanks a bunch!

[3LTRI4LIFE]

the prep is too much work

[ronhazelton]

If you're referring to the work done to protect the walls and floor, you could certainly scale back. It really depends on the vulnerability of the surfaces to potential water damage.

[LugZ1981]

lol

[MsHodgy]

@3LTRI4LIFE I think it would be easier to spend a few extra minutes up front than many extra hours trying to vacuum that stuff up. lol

[seephor]

Good video but the prep job in the video is a little overkill and expensive if you ask me. I would just cover the floors and furniture with plastic then have at it.

[ronhazelton]

Yes, this could be a bit much for some rooms, especially if you plan to repaint the walls. On the other hand, if you're not intending to paint, have wallpaper or wood floors, I'd spend the extra time in preparation. The materials are inexpensive and the time spent, assuming it's a do-it-yourself project, could save the effort and cost of repairing water damage.  This is an easy, but wet and messy job,.

[clintcarter]

Agreed, better to go the extra mile in preperation than not enough.

Thanks for making this presumed unscalable task quite doable:)

[heli400]

Good info with safety in mind to send a sample to a lab to get checked for asbestos, but what if sample comes back positive? then what? extra PPE? let a pro handle it?

Thx for the advice.

[ronhazelton]

Well, the responsible answer here is, let the pro handle it.. Asbestos is most dangerous when it's airborne. This process turns the texture material into a wet paste and produces virtually no dust. That said, some people are highly sensitive to asbestos can develop serious health problems when exposed to it.

[jdgator95]

That looks fun! I bet it'd go good with butter :d

[zamora543]

good job.

[xobellalove]

wow thats so easy lol KEEEEEWL

[harpua971]

If the house was built, say, 17 years ago, what is the likelihood of asbestos? I am in the Northeastern U.S..

[ronhazelton]

More than likely, since the material is wet when it comes off the ceiling, probably nothing. Having said that, some people are high sensitive to asbestos and quickly develop health problems when exposed to it. Why take the chance?

[fungalonlywithjesus]

Hey ronhazelton, what happens if you dont go to a lab and see if there is asbestos and just remove it anyway? Will something happen?

[jdgator95]

yes...you will get cancer and die

[3LTRI4LIFE]

you cant get cancer by eating something, people already are born with cancer and it grows over time and u die...

[kellygiz]

uuuh WRONG.

[blairdwi]

excellent!!  sadly, i will be doing this soon.

[dragster178]

That looks like so much fun!