Any suggestions for covering up popcorn ceilings in my 1967 house? It is probably asbestos and don't have $$ to remove.

Dawn M
by Dawn M
Already painted but we want to cover it somehow so when we sell, it won't be a negative to buyers.
  13 answers
  • Peace Painting Co., Inc. Peace Painting Co., Inc. on Mar 19, 2012
    Cover it with 1/4 inch drywall. Measure it and get a quote over the phone. CP
  • Before you go to the expense of covering the entire ceiling in your home with drywall, I would have your popcorn tested for asbestos. There are labs that can test your popcorn for a very modest cost. There are contractors that will remove your popcorn and refinish your existing ceiling if there is no asbestos. This process will cost much less. If you do have asbestos, Peace Paintings solution would work well if the popcorn has been painted to encapsulate the mineral.
    • Capernius Capernius on May 03, 2015
      @Tri-Lite Builders ~ Homework Remodels I never thought of that either....TY Sir
  • 3po3 3po3 on Mar 19, 2012
    Dawn, here are some more opinions and info from a while back about removing or covering popcorn ceilings - http://www.hometalk.com/diy/floors-ceilings/q-i-have-popcorn-ceilings-117169
    I have popcorn ceilings.
  • Maria C Maria C on Mar 20, 2012
    Dawn you don't want to mess with asbestos, I just took the class and trust me mesothelioma its the worst. If you can't afford it just wait till you can hire a pro because you need special suit and equipment to remove it ...
  • Cathy B Cathy B on Mar 20, 2012
    If they is any way that you can get a sample I would...safely, before you assume it asbestos.
  • Don't panic, there are many companies that would be happy to test your popcorn for you. Asbestos is nothing to take lightly, but tit is not a problem to test.
  • Denisehffmann Denisehffmann on Feb 01, 2015
    don't bother covering it , just scape with a shopvac- that was you suck up the mess
    • See 4 previous
    • Denisehffmann Denisehffmann on Jul 21, 2015
      Please make sure it is not asbestos before doing anything. It should scrape down to the painted sheetrock. If it is stubborn you can spray with a bit of water to soften. It will most likely look like a knock down / orange peel texture like is on most walls. It will not be smooth but should paint up nicely.
  • Capernius Capernius on May 03, 2015
    After having a bout with nasal pharyngeal carcinoma(head & neck cancer) I know that it gets bad...going through my treatments, I saw people that were 10 x worse than me, & people that were not as bad as me....because of the cancer I had(15 yrs cancer free), my entire system has gone down hill. I can only dream of the days when I was feeding my 500 chickens & 450 head of cattle, & all the hogs & sheep I had as well....as crazy as it seems, I can only dream about the paychecks I had to make out to all the employees I had & the christmas parties we had as a company... Asbestos is nothing to fool around with....the dangers are too great, & there is no cure for ANY kinds of cancer...all you can do with most of them is try to kill the cancerous cells without killing the patient. Definitely have that tested...if it comes back clean(meaning no asbestos) scape it off & start with new drywall if you have to... but if it comes back dirty(contains asbestos), as soon as you can, hire a pro to remove that stuff. BTW, when he/she/they (the professionals) are removing the asbestos, more than likely, you will have to find somewhere else to stay...because I doubt they are going to remove it all in 1 eight hour shift.
  • Mommaduck Mommaduck on Aug 05, 2015
    Once you know its NOT asbestos (think positive!) you can easily cover it with headboard. We just did that in our bathroom that I mistakenly thought I could plaster myself (I didn't quit my day job!). Since the edges of the headboard looked a bit "Rough" we covered the seams with a 1: trim. It looks great and since the headboard was already prefinished there was no painting and cleaning the starts of any mold is easy. Good luck!
  • Millie.Terranova Millie.Terranova on Oct 11, 2015
    that needs to be scraped off....
  • Glaynebaker Glaynebaker on Oct 14, 2015
    How about nailing thin bead board or lathing strips into the ceiling joists? I'm sure you can find ideas on Pinterest.
  • April Bellard April Bellard on Oct 31, 2015
    I've seen those outdoor woven grass or bamboo patio shades nailed into the ceiling joists. It looked great!
  • Sam Sam on Dec 31, 2015
    We put up beadboard on the ceiling in our small bathroom and loved it! We loved the look so much we then did the kitchen. It covers all well, fast too. Everybody that sees it has loved it!