What to do with popcorn ceiling?

I am 66 and a widow on fixed income. I am looking for inexpensive way to redo popcorn ceiling. I know can scrap off, but I was looking for simpler way. It would be expensive to have scraped off and then repainted. I was looking for way to replace it.
  15 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Sep 28, 2015
    I honestly do not think you can cover the ceiling without knowing if there are any harmful abstestos chemicals and although income is limited i would recommend speaking to a professional
  • Jonathan Soard Jonathan Soard on Sep 28, 2015
    The best way I've found to do it cheaply is to skim coat. I won't say that it's easy and I won't say that it isn't messy... but joint compound is inexpensive. Next best is 1/4" drywall, but it pretty much demands a team to lift, place, and fasten. Hope this helps.
  • Jonnie Hammon Jonnie Hammon on Sep 29, 2015
    I'd go with Mr. Soard's advice. I have removed it, in three different houses, and will never again attempt to do another one, and I had help !!! We rented a steamer and the scraping was easy, but the resulting mess was horrendous. I did them in my thirties, now fifty eight, I would drape the ceiling with bolts of materials, and walk away.
  • Peter Zbasnik Peter Zbasnik on Sep 29, 2015
    I think the mineral that makes the bumps is vermiculite. The substance that holds the vermiculite is like drywall compound. If it has not been painted it will come off fairly easy and once you scrape it you could sponge wet it and scrape most of the residue off. How ever it would not be flat and smooth which would require a skim coat and sanding. If the ceiling has been painted you have to scrape the bumps of and then skim and sand. It takes some effort- I have been a professional painter for thirty years and have done a few.
  • Johnchip Johnchip on Sep 29, 2015
    God knows what those people in the 60's were thinking when they came up with 'popcorn' ceilings! Mr. Soard has the best answer. You can likely get someone to come in and skim coat in a day. At 66, I would not break my neck and back by working on a ceiling again. Skim coating can be fun DIY, ... when I was under 50.
  • Liliana Wells Liliana Wells on Sep 29, 2015
    Look into “DecorativeCeiling Tiles”. There was a post on HomeTalkhttp://www.hometalk.com/diy/paint/rooms/decorative-ceiling-tiles-why-didn-t-i-think-if-this-2581611ORhttp://artsandclassy.com/2013/11/decorative-ceiling-tiles-why-didnt-i-think-if-this.html#6CqD8QuFSsX8leRm.99OR ask at Home Depot.
  • Sandra Gibbons Sandra Gibbons on Sep 29, 2015
    We removed ours and then placed styrofoam 'tiles' over the ceiling - in love with what we achieved. We live in Belgium and tiles were bought from Germany, but I am sure they will be available anywhere. We paid 2.5 euro a square metre plus sending costs, and you can paint over them if you wish. (4 tiles to the M2) How to remove the popcorn: http://diyfunideas.com/remove-popcorn-ceilings-30-minutes/ Since putting the tiles up, we notice the insulation value in winter from our heating bill! The tiles we chose:
  • Sandie Roberts Sandie Roberts on Sep 29, 2015
    DIY depends on what kind of shape YOU are in. I am 70 and will get up on a stepladder without problem. I just redid all my ceilings. First clear the room of as much as possible, put down a plastic tarp on the whole floor, buy cheap plastic (very light and thin) drop cloths and tape them up on the walls next to the ceiling. Now wet a 4'x4'area at a time -i used a garden sprayer- let it soak in, then scrape with a scraper. The stuff comes off easily. It is a very messy project but worth it. Once dry I was able to patch myself as I am familiar with drywall equipment, but you might want to hire someone just for this process. Fold all the drop cloths into the floor tarp and put it all in a large garbage bag. It will be heavy! Throw in the trash. Now prime and paint your new ceiling and pat yourself on the back for saving so much money. I wouldnt attempt this if you have vertigo or bad shoulders ;)
  • 9530106 9530106 on Sep 29, 2015
    I know I am in the minority, but I lived in a house for over ten years with popcorn ceilings, and that is one thing I never lost sleep over. But, I guess they weren't the scourge of home ownership back then! They still don't bother me, but now I have old textured plaster ceilings! Oh well!
    • See 2 previous
    • 9530106 9530106 on Sep 29, 2015
      Exactly, far worse things in the world to worry about!
  • HouseLogic.com HouseLogic.com on Sep 29, 2015
    You can cover your ceiling with foam ceiling tiles. Check out what this Hometalker did to conceal her ugly ceiling here: http://goo.gl/at4LwB
  • They do make primer that is suppose to keep it from falling down. Ace paint makes one
  • 153091 153091 on Sep 30, 2015
    With loose popcorn off, you could get some plaster (comes in a bucket) and Lowes has all sorts of stiff brushes that you normally would use to plaster walls, find the stiff ROUND one for ceiling texture, tape it to a long handle(mop handle) pour some plaster in painting pan,then dunk brush in the plaster, shake off some, not to thick on brush, and just "push" it up on the ceiling. Once you get going you can swirl the brush and it makes a circle design. Nice part...you don't have to do the ceiling all at once. JUST A THOUGHT!
  • Connie Mar Connie Mar on Sep 30, 2015
    Depending on the age of your popcorn ceiling, there may be asbestos. It's fine if it's not disturbed, but scraping and creating dust can cause problems. Even if there is no asbestos, I'd definitely recommend wearing a mask and goggles if you decide to scrape. Ceilings are difficult due to working over head. We have textured ceilings & walls from the 70's, and decided we can live with them as they are.
  • Flora Fox Flora Fox on Oct 01, 2015
    Polystyrene ceiling tiles are super easy to install. You will find the instructions here: http://www.fromh2h.com/how-to-install-faux-tin-ceiling-tiles/