How do I remove popcorn ceiling without ruining the ceiling?

Nancy
by Nancy

My house has popcorn ceiling and I want to update- removing it from the entire house. Suggestions on tacking this project. My house is 2100 sf.

  4 answers
  • Lorraine Lorraine on Sep 19, 2018

    Some rooms you can just cover it! Bead board, floor boards you put on ceiling instead, .... lots of ideas out there. Otherwise if there is some popcorn in a small closet practice there. Takes lots of water and a wide trowel to scrape. Check out utube there has to be a video on how to’s.

  • William William on Sep 19, 2018

    Cover floors and walls with plastic drop cloths. Spray the popcorn with warm water and scrape off with a putty knife. Use a cookie sheet to catch as much of the scrapings.

  • Janice Janice on Sep 19, 2018

    Hi Nancy, there are a few different methods to use. I've done several rooms at various times in my life and I prefer to spray about a 3'x3' ceiling area with a garden sprayer filled with very warm water and then use a wide metal or strong plastic scraper to remove the softened popcorn. Be sure to prepare first by removing as much furniture, etc. from the area to be scraped as possible because it is a very messy process. Also, be sure to wear eye protection as no matter how careful you are the popcorn may fly in various directions. I've included a youtube video here that shows the popcorn being removed "dry" but the popcorn I had to remove was much more dense that what he is removing. In any way you remove, be careful to keep the scraper as parallel to the ceiling as possible to prevent gouging and damaging the sheet rock!

    https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yset_widemail_chr_win&p=how+to+remove+popcorn+ceiling+easily%3F#id=1&vid=59a0bb4f951794ff408b54934bd1dd36&action=click


  • Linda Sikut Linda Sikut on Sep 19, 2018

    Hi Nancy,

    If your popcorn ceilings haven't been painted, they will pretty much fall off with the help of warm water and a large plastic scraper. Cover the walls & whole floor with plastic sheets so it has somewhere to drop without leaving behind a mess. Before you start though, you should have it tested for asbestos. You can buy kits at a hardware store. If there is asbestos, it must be removed professionally or covered up. Check your local building codes to be sure what actions are allowed. One of the popular options is Styrofoam tiles for ceilings. These can be plain or with beautiful patterns. I'd suggest searching online to see what's available from the different manufacturers. Good luck ! -Linda