first, have it tested for asbestos. if none found mist the ceiling with water, an scrape off the popcorn. put a plastic sheet below the work area. you can skip your usual work out for the week. when its gone...the ceiling may be quite rough. if you have tested positive for asbestos, chat with a contractor you may need to put drywall sheeting in place to cover and seal the area.
Spray bottle of water and a wide paint scraper. Lay a tarp on floor spray a small area let sit for a minute to soak in, hold blade at an angle and start. Don't be too aggressive or you will gouge the drywall underneath. Wash with a sponge when done.
To add to Dfm's advice, warm water worked better for me but I saw no difference with a steamer. I saturated with a garden sprayer.
You might want to put plastic on the walls as well.
Wear protective clothing and cover your hair (I wore a shower cap).
I've seen a video where they attached a scraper to their shop vac. A friend recently recommended the Homax 6100 Ceiling Texture Scraper so you might want to check it out. It looks like a great tool.
Be prepared to skim coating and re finish the ceiling once you have all the scraping done.
If it has ever been painted, this will make the job much more difficult.
Although I'm over the pond, we have a similar product called Artex. Hugely popular in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. All the early stuff contained asbestos. It was heavily used because it was an easy DiY fix for cracked ceilings and walls.
I shifted all mine using a wallpaper steamer, held in place for a few seconds, the artex came away really easily and with very little mess.
I have three rooms with vaulted ceilings and I am trying to decide if I want to remove the popcorn ceiling or cover with tiles, with a texture board. I need some guid...
See more
Here's a link for you, Nicole:
https://www.familyhandyman.com/drywall/ceiling-texture/how-to-remove-a-popcorn-ceiling/
first, have it tested for asbestos. if none found mist the ceiling with water, an scrape off the popcorn. put a plastic sheet below the work area. you can skip your usual work out for the week. when its gone...the ceiling may be quite rough. if you have tested positive for asbestos, chat with a contractor you may need to put drywall sheeting in place to cover and seal the area.
Spray bottle of water and a wide paint scraper. Lay a tarp on floor spray a small area let sit for a minute to soak in, hold blade at an angle and start. Don't be too aggressive or you will gouge the drywall underneath. Wash with a sponge when done.
To add to Dfm's advice, warm water worked better for me but I saw no difference with a steamer. I saturated with a garden sprayer.
You might want to put plastic on the walls as well.
Wear protective clothing and cover your hair (I wore a shower cap).
I've seen a video where they attached a scraper to their shop vac. A friend recently recommended the Homax 6100 Ceiling Texture Scraper so you might want to check it out. It looks like a great tool.
Be prepared to skim coating and re finish the ceiling once you have all the scraping done.
If it has ever been painted, this will make the job much more difficult.
Although I'm over the pond, we have a similar product called Artex. Hugely popular in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. All the early stuff contained asbestos. It was heavily used because it was an easy DiY fix for cracked ceilings and walls.
I shifted all mine using a wallpaper steamer, held in place for a few seconds, the artex came away really easily and with very little mess.