How do you get rid of “popcorn” ceiling?

Nee-Nee
by Nee-Nee
I have this horrible popcorn ceiling throughout my house & want to get rid of it myself. Any way to do this without hiring a professional?
  8 answers
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Jun 20, 2018

    https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=popcorn%20ceiling

  • Jan Clark Jan Clark on Jun 20, 2018

    Well, Nee-Nee, you could. . . but it is EXTREMELY MESSY and backbreaking work. I would not try it on a whole house, myself. Without hiring someone to scrape it off and resurface, the only alternative I know of is to cover it with drywall, patch, prime and paint.

  • Ct3469 Ct3469 on Jun 20, 2018

    s then Lightly spray water onto the surface to wet a small part of the ceiling. Allow it to soak in for a few minutes (3-5), then climb on a step ladder and using a Sheetrock pasting knife. Scrape the surface down to bare sheetrock. Repeat until the entire ceiling is cleared. This will leave visible nails or screws and perhaps dents that are covered by the 'popcorn.' These areas will have to filled in/ covered with sheetrock -paste and perhaps tape. then sanded smooth and the process repeated as necessary. After all of that, you can the repaint the ceiling. Not an easy task and VERY messy. DIYers can do it but results are typically less than satisfactory. Probably best left to pros.

  • Tree Tree on Jun 20, 2018

    It’s a very dirty, labor intensive job so start in your smallest room. Scrape the popcorn off with a putty knife. Make sure you get the ceiling as flat as you can. All high spots need to be scraped off. You will be left with a surface that has a gazillion tiny gouges. to get that smooth, your next step is to skim coat. Bare in mind that once you paint, every little imperfection will be visible. Prime and paint and you’re done. It’s a lot of work in an uncomfortable position with stuff falling on your face.


    Your other option is to cover the whole thing with 1/4 inch drywall. The advantage is no to minimal scraping. The disadvantage is working on a ladder, over your head with a heavy, unwieldy 4 ft by 8 ft sheet that will break if you allow it to flex too much. It’s a 2 person job. Then you plaster, sand and paint.


    Unless you’re really broke and have LOTS of time—hire someone to do it. It’s not fun and takes way more time than you (as an amateur) realize.



  • Robyn Garner Robyn Garner on Jun 20, 2018

    Awful and messy job!!!! If painted over, close to impossible to do without damaging your drywall. Spray small sections at a time with water, wait for it to soften and scrape off. Cover EVERYTHING with plastic!

    https://www.familyhandyman.com/drywall/ceiling-texture/how-to-remove-a-popcorn-ceiling/view-all/

    https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/walls-and-ceilings/how-to-remove-a-popcorn-ceiling

    https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/3-ways-to-deal-popcorn-ceiling

  • Ct3469 Ct3469 on Jun 20, 2018

    Another option would be to cover the existing ceiling with a second layer of very thin sheetroick which you then mud and tape smooth and then paint. If there are moldings around the top of the walls, remove those before attaching the new sheetrock. This lowers the ceiling by a fraction of an inch, but it adds some thermal and acoustic insulation to the ceiling. You also ahve to remove and replace lighting fixtures,

  • Paul Dempsey Paul Dempsey on Jul 07, 2018

    Many popcorn ceilings contain asbestos, especially pre 1980s. So cover the floor with plastic and wear eye and mouth protection. Work the drywall wet so you don't get dust on everything. Roll the plastic up with the debris and dispose of it.

  • Nia4802183 Nia4802183 on Jul 07, 2018

    I have done most of my ceilings in my house, scraping the popcorn by spraying first to dampen an area to start, or scraping dry. I had to tuck rag towels under the doorways, and hang plastic sheets at every opening, ie. doorways, windows, cabinets, anywhere dust can get through. A few things to think about. Don't do any job like this when you have the air conditioner or heat running in your house. All the dust will enter all rooms and closets. It is a given. That means more cleaning than you intended. You turn off the thermostat or wait for good weather. Whenever I scraped damp, I would accidently make gouges, which made for more patching. If I scraped dry I made less gouging, but I had to scrape much more to get a clean ceiling. My last room to do is our master bedroom which has a cathedral ceiling. This I certainly plan to hire out because of the angles and all the furniture. All the other rooms were easy. I started with a small square room. It took me 5 days, however, to do my kitchen; cleaning up each evening and retaping plastic every morning.

    There is no other easier way to remove popcorn ceiling. But I love my results because my rooms look taller. I do have to say that it has taken me years to get to my last room.

    I wish you luck.