Be careful with that; its not so hard, but extremely messy AND there could be asbestos involved, depending on the age of the home. Also, a lot of popcorn ceilings were put up to cover poorly installed drywall, so while the popcorn is really ugly (I'd had a lot of it!), you may uncover worse, and there's really no way to tell until its done. I hate having to repopcorn after removing it! All that being said, we have painted popcorn ceilings; you do lose a bit of the sound absorption, but it does look cleaner. The popcorn material does absorb a lot of paint, and takes several coats, allowing them to dry in between, since getting it wet and soggy pulls it off the ceiling.
First make sure it is not asbestos! It's a simple Mail in test. I know that Home Depot carries them, I assume other places do as well.
Once you determine that it is asbestos free, empty out your room. Cover all that can't be removed and your floors with plastic. This is gonna get messy! Cover door openings with overlapping sheets of plastic that you can use like a door.
Spray your ceiling really well with water. A new pump bug/yard sprayer works great for this. Do not use a used one! Let water soak in and scrape down. Putty knives work great. If you have a floor scraper and a steady light hand, that works really well!
When all scraped, use plastic to wrap up debris and haul out.
**KEEP TEST RECORDS ON FILE!!!
Disposing of asbestos into the trash is subject to fines and imprisonment.
If it is Asbestos you will need to have an asbestos abatement comp remove and dispose of your popcorn ceiling.
I knew I was safe removing all my popcorn ceilings because my house was built in 2005 and the law for asbestos was much sooner than that. I can’t remember now the year they last were able to use asbestos but you could check online. I removed all my popcorn ceilings with a spray bottle of water, (I actually used the sprayer you use for weeds outside as it was much bigger and had a long sprayer on it to reach easier.) I would spray, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then used a metal and plastic scraper to remove the popcorn. Be careful with these scrapers as not to gouge holes in the ceilings. Practice in a closet first. While I was scraping I had a box in my other hand (one that soda or canned goods came in with the sides just a few inches high) to catch the popcorn. It is very messy no Matter how you do it, so I suggest removing everything from the room and putting plastic on the floor.
PLEASE be sure there is no asbestos before you do this. It will make you very sick if there is asbestos up there. You can easily have it tested as stated above. Use a sample from one of your closets. Good luck!
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Be careful with that; its not so hard, but extremely messy AND there could be asbestos involved, depending on the age of the home. Also, a lot of popcorn ceilings were put up to cover poorly installed drywall, so while the popcorn is really ugly (I'd had a lot of it!), you may uncover worse, and there's really no way to tell until its done. I hate having to repopcorn after removing it! All that being said, we have painted popcorn ceilings; you do lose a bit of the sound absorption, but it does look cleaner. The popcorn material does absorb a lot of paint, and takes several coats, allowing them to dry in between, since getting it wet and soggy pulls it off the ceiling.
Google "how to remove a popcorn ceiling" See, someone already did that for you!
Use a drop cloth so the mess is contained.
Here is a method I haven't seen before, but it sure looks like a great idea!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCShg4iMze0
if you wet ceiling with water it will come off by itself
First make sure it is not asbestos! It's a simple Mail in test. I know that Home Depot carries them, I assume other places do as well.
Once you determine that it is asbestos free, empty out your room. Cover all that can't be removed and your floors with plastic. This is gonna get messy! Cover door openings with overlapping sheets of plastic that you can use like a door.
Spray your ceiling really well with water. A new pump bug/yard sprayer works great for this. Do not use a used one! Let water soak in and scrape down. Putty knives work great. If you have a floor scraper and a steady light hand, that works really well!
When all scraped, use plastic to wrap up debris and haul out.
**KEEP TEST RECORDS ON FILE!!!
Disposing of asbestos into the trash is subject to fines and imprisonment.
If it is Asbestos you will need to have an asbestos abatement comp remove and dispose of your popcorn ceiling.
Hope that helps
: )
I knew I was safe removing all my popcorn ceilings because my house was built in 2005 and the law for asbestos was much sooner than that. I can’t remember now the year they last were able to use asbestos but you could check online. I removed all my popcorn ceilings with a spray bottle of water, (I actually used the sprayer you use for weeds outside as it was much bigger and had a long sprayer on it to reach easier.) I would spray, let it sit for a couple of minutes and then used a metal and plastic scraper to remove the popcorn. Be careful with these scrapers as not to gouge holes in the ceilings. Practice in a closet first. While I was scraping I had a box in my other hand (one that soda or canned goods came in with the sides just a few inches high) to catch the popcorn. It is very messy no Matter how you do it, so I suggest removing everything from the room and putting plastic on the floor.
PLEASE be sure there is no asbestos before you do this. It will make you very sick if there is asbestos up there. You can easily have it tested as stated above. Use a sample from one of your closets. Good luck!