Looking for advice.

[Dpzelenak]

Hello all, im a long time lurker and finally decided to make an account because im in the process of buying my first house and i finally have a garage to call home. I have a ton of questions but ill keep it short for now. The inside of the house is gonna be repainted before the girlfriend and i move in and i decided now is a good time to remove all the popcorn ceiling throughout the house.
The house is almost 1900 sqft and ive never done the popcorn removal process large scale before so im looking for input on ways to make project go smoother and easier and not take a week cause we have dates set to move in 2 weeks after we close so alot of painting and cleaning needs to happen kinda quickly.
I currently have the fancy "Ceiling Texture Scraper for Popcorn Ceiling Removal" and a sprayer bottle, used that before and it was a nightmare and that was on a 10x10 bedroom.
Ive seen some people use a drywall sander but i dont if thats the best way since it makes alot of dust, ill go rent one and make the whole house look like Dexter's kill room if it turns out to be the quickest.
If we need to just wet ceiling and use plastic putty knifes then thats what we'll do. Whatever works the best
I just wanted to ask and get options from the way more experienced members on here before i hit up youtube.
Thanks
Ps, sorry if this isnt the right place for this, i send most of my time on here in the gallery forums.

 

[930dreamer]

I rented a section of rolling scaffolding, wet the area and use a wide blade putty knife. I think some of the popcorn may have contained asbestos? Dry scraping isn't a good idea.

 

[58Yeoman]

Welcome to the GJ.

Gotta love those fads that just keep on giving. I looked at a house to buy after my divorce. The realtor said that the walls and ceilings were textured. I was surprised when I got there. EVERYTHING was that textured swirly paint (this was mid 90's), even the switchplates and outlet plates and anything else that got in the way. I didn't buy the house, even though it has a semi-sized shop.

 

[RVDan]

What year is the house? That stuff could contain asbestos.

 

[Dpzelenak]

I rented a section of rolling scaffolding, wet the area and use a wide blade putty knife. I think some of the popcorn may have contained asbestos? Dry scraping isn't a good idea.

I really hope theres no asbestos in it, thatll make life alot harder...

Welcome to the GJ.

Gotta love those fads that just keep on giving. I looked at a house to buy after my divorce. The realtor said that the walls and ceilings were textured. I was surprised when I got there. EVERYTHING was that textured swirly paint (this was mid 90's), even the switchplates and outlet plates and anything else that got in the way. I didn't buy the house, even though it has a semi-sized shop.

I hate it, it makes everything look so dated imo, and i would have walked away from that house also, the ceilings are bad enough but the walls too? No thank you.

What year is the house? That stuff could contain asbestos.

It was built in 1996, idk when they stopped using asbestos.

 

[zmotorsports]

What year is the house? That stuff could contain asbestos.

You can have a sample tested for asbestos, which is what I would do just. IF it contains asbestos it has to be properly disposed of. When we demolished my parent's house it had a couple rooms of that stuff as my father loved it. I removed it myself to keep costs down (but pissed off the wife) and it was not pleasant but within a few nights I was able to get it completed by taping off the walls and floor for collection then scraping and keeping it wet and wearing good PPE.

 

[astroracer]

Get it tested and talk to your realtor. If it is asbestos you MAY be able to get a kickback if it's going to cost a lot to have it professionally removed.
Mark

 

[ripperd]

If the house was built in 1996 it is unlikely to be asbestos.

 

[roguegts]

When was it build?

Tupically a hudson sprayer and water is all you need, then just lots of scraping with a 12" putty knife.

One of my rentals was built in the 50s, all lath and plaster. And yep, popcorn ceiling texture done in plaster. Water did almost nothing to it. Fought through a small hallway and finally had enough.

Skinned the other ceilings with lightweight drywall, mud&tape, and shot with a light knockdown. It was a little more $$ (and some patience getting everything smooth/flat) but still immensely easier.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[toolmiser]

Has if been painted? If so removal is much tougher.

 

[Whitworth]

1996? No asbestos.

 

[roguegts]

It was built in 1996, idk when they stopped using asbestos.

You're good to go. Pump sprayer, step ladder, big putty knife and a lot of elbow grease. There isn't any other way to do it. Oh and buy A LOT of plastic drop cloths, this stuff will make a mess like you can't imagine when it drys on the floor.

If it's got several coats of paint, take the putty knife and knock the tips off, just quick and dirty like before you wet everything down. Then when you spray it the water will soak in and it will soften up. If you're just spraying water on 5 coats of latex it probably won't penetrate.

Throw on some tunes and have at it. Won't be as bad as you think.

 

[slow]

Call a pro who does painting and get a quote, a 2 week timeline from closing to move in, were you going to do the painting or have it done. I hired mine out from ceilings to baseboard, price came in less than a $1 a square foot (paint only, no ceiling work)

 

[Twystd1]

When was it build?

Tupically a hudson sprayer and water is all you need, then just lots of scraping with a 12" putty knife.

One of my rentals was built in the 50s, all lath and plaster. And yep, popcorn ceiling texture done in plaster. Water did almost nothing to it. Fought through a small hallway and finally had enough.

Skinned the other ceilings with lightweight drywall, mud&tape, and shot with a light knockdown. It was a little more $$ (and some patience getting everything smooth/flat) but still immensely easier.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

I have done this exact setup many times. It works. It is cheap. And yes your back and neck will be sore.

-T

 

[RVDan]

I used a 6" drywall taping knife to strip the textured ceiling. It went very well except where the drywall joints were. I had to sand it off those areas.

Then several years later it was declared that all drywall before 1992 contained asbestos and we're all going to die.

 

[Pathfinders]

Buy a lot of drop cloths or tarps for the floors.

 

[850xpeps]

I would fill a weeed sprayer with hot water. Coat ceiling then let it soak. In another 5 min do the same again to small square patches as you scrap. It almost fell off the ceiling for me in my house.


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[rsanter]

Try this in a sample area.
I used one of those drywall sanding poles with the sanding screen on it.
Knocked it down really fast and left the ceiling with a texture that was similar,to wall texture.
Blow some texture on it and paint and was done

 

[Dpzelenak]

Ok so i got alittle update. Im switching my loan type to a udsa loan switch im told can take longer to process witch means our close date and 2 week window is completely up in the air atm. Looks like were just gonna use the sprayer and a putty knife method when the times comes. Unless i find someone to give me a good deal. Thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[rburke65]

If the house was built in 1996 it is unlikely to be asbestos.

Why is that?......were they giving away asbestos in 1996? Never heard of this.

 

[ripperd]

Why is that?......were they giving away asbestos in 1996? Never heard of this.

Did you misunderstand my sentence?

asbestos was banned from most uses before his house was constructed.

http://www.ehso.com/cssasbestos/asbestosfoundwhere.htm

 

[GarageLogic]

Similar situation with popcorn and textured ceilings everywhere. Decided to install either bead board, tongue and groove or shiplap planks over everything. Some painted, some natural, some pickled. Looks great, and saved a ton of work and mess. Done and done.

 

[beech1948]

Asbestos was removed from all products by 1973 so little chance of the popcorn including asbestos. To be certain buy a test kit, they are cheap, do test and then smile.


paying someone to go through and remove all popcorn would be a good choice. You will know this 30 minutes in when you start to ache.

 

[zak77]

I've had to remove some popcorn from the ceilings in my house, thankfully they were never painted, yes, the ceilings were never primed or painted and they showed that when i bought the place. I found that scraping it dry produced better results than using water. The water would soften the drywall paper and lead to more dings and scrapes i had to touch-up later. Dry scraping was the fastest and least damaging.

 

[ripperd]

I scraped a small bathroom ceiling once. That was enough for me. I can't imagine doing a full room or house.

 

[dave_dj1]

I bet this would do the trick : https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200589333_200589333
Even one that isn't air powered with the long handle like found in the garden tool dept.
I've removed tons of it and never had any issues, sometimes it's easier dry.

 

[Deej-79]

The only hard parts are the mud lines, and the prep because holy **** it makes a mess