What's the easiest way to remove a popcorn celling?

Question

I must update our house before selling, and need to get rid of the popcorn cellings.

Janet Pizaro · Answer

First off when was the house built? If it was before the 1980s you need to make sure there is no asbestos.Otherwise heres a site for you to read. http://diyfunideas.com/remove-popcorn-ceilings-30-minutes/

KatAych · Answer

You can either scrape it off, or you can use ceiling tiles to cover it.

Mathieu Antoine · Answer

Go to any home improvement store. Salesperson will help you in the painting section.
They may have a machine to rent. Be aware this job can get messy.

John Grimley · Answer

Popcorn ceiling? Not come across that before, however, it sounds very much like something we use in the UK called Artex. This stuff was quite fashionable back in the day & also featured quantities of asbestos.
Easiest way is to sheet over everything low down, mask up then use a wallpaper steamer to soften the coating enough for it to be gently scraped away

Mary Austin · Answer

My sister n law owns a dry wall business, they take the back of a garden rake and just knocks it off with that.

Dcsharpe · Answer

Use a spray bottle of water and a large drywall putty knife. Wet an area with the spray bottle and then scrape it off. I recommend lots of drop clothes and a mask so you don't breathe the dust in.

Chris aka monkey · Answer

there isn't an 'easy' way it is very messy but quite uncomplicated wet and scrape cover everything in sight because it will get every where xx

Skshort · Answer

There is a tool that attaches to a plastic bag. Wet the ceiling down and scrape away. Available at major building doors like Lowes.

Sandy · Answer

I worked hazardous waste !!! You must move furniture out of room cover and tape floor with visqueen, remove all lighting, tape wiring and cover.. Now the work... buy or borrow a spray water tank get your ladder and climb and spray/ MIST with hot water, do areas buy the quarter get your wide 5-6 inch putty spatula you will know buy scraping how long it takes in each section before the water is soaking in, depends on the paint... You must wear glasses and face mask... remember there is probably asbestos in it. when you are done pile up wet stuff in piles cut your plastic wind it and put in BLACK garbage bags. hope this was helpful... my e-mail is sandiiisk@hotmail...

Diana Deiley · Answer

First and most importantly, I agree with Bob to have it tested for asbestos BEFORE you do anything. However, it is a lot of work to wet and scrape off the popcorn but it can be done and will look new when painted. Another avenue to consider would be install bead board over it. You can always check with your local home improvement stores for suggestions and recommendations. Best of luck. (I think we ALL had those ceilings growing up!)

Sandie Roberts · Answer

Agree there is no easy way to remove these. It is labor intensive but not complicated. I did all of mine recently and I am a 70 year old woman. Google the process , watch a YouTube video or two and decide for yourself.

Terri Barnett · Answer

Wet the popcorn down so it is easy to remove. Our entire house was covered in popcorn. We found that using a large putty knife scraping into a large dust pan is the 'quick and dirty' way to get it done without destroying your shop vac or having to rent a machine. We are replacing with texture or celing planks.

Charles Prock · Answer

Here's the real world...if you have your ceiling tested for asbestos, you will involve the Federal government....Just cover the furniture, cover the floor, mist the ceiling with a pump up sprayer like for weed killer...let it soak in....mist it again....put on a dust mask and purchase a putty knife that has round corners and scrape it off....if you can't find the round corner one be very careful or you will gouge your ceiling...scrape the popcorn off clean up the mess and make any sheetrock repairs necessary....

Dianne · Answer

Once you're sure there's no asbestos present its not too difficult.  We bought a retirement home and it had popcorn ceilings throughout.  Here's what we did:  my husband borrowed a scraper (it was about a foot wide on the end for scraping, looks like a large putty knife with a long handle) and since the ceiling had never been painted, all he did was use a spray bottle and whey down the area to be scraped.  He let it sit in the water for a bit (under a minute), then it scraped right off.  I will say, it was REALLY messy, so be sure to empty the room, which is the best way, or cover everything with a plastic cover.  I'm thankful we had ours done before we moved in.  Hope this helps...

Renae · Answer

We covered ours with bead board....saved having to remove the popcorn...and it goes up fast....look on pinterest

Catsburg · Answer

OK, I'll weigh in. I agree that the more you can do to avoid involving the government, the better. You will probably be required to get a professional mitigation company out there to do it. Big bucks. Reasonable precautions are in order: 1) Get a real dust mask that fits snugly or even a respirator, not those crappy paper ones. You can get a pro quality dust mask with changeable filters on Amazon very inexpensively. 2) Get a Tyvek coverall in the paint dept. of your big box store. With that and the dust mask you will be in good shape and will look like you walked out of Close Encounters! Makes a good Halloween costume too. 3) Wetting the ceiling first (which you should do) will help to keep the dust down to a minimum. If your ceilings have been painted, you are in for a real grind (they won't absorb water well, if at all). Cover them with something. As far as technique goes, my wife just showed me a video of a guy who taped a 6' mud knife to the floor attachment of his shop vac. The popcorn just got sucked up as he scraped it. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCShg4iMze0 to see it. Can't wait to try it! I would get the widest floor attachment I could for my shop vac and see if I could use a 10' or even 12' knife.

What's the easiest way to remove a popcorn celling?

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What's the easiest way to remove a popcorn celling?

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