Popcorn ceiling removal (floors, Home Depot, paint, furniture)

[MoMark]

Exactly what golfgal says. It's actually very easy to remove. The problem of calling someone in to do it for you in older popcorned homes is that it may contain asbestos and if removers make that diagnosis, it can halt the project and become a humongous pain in the a$$. Though you say your home was built in 94. I can't believe they use that crap still.
My first house had popcorn everywhere and it drove me crazy. I hated it. So, I got a 1 gallon spray bottle, a large wedge-shaped flat scraper, hung plastic from just below the ceilings with double-sided tape and made sure the carpet was protected....and did it myself!! You squirt the area you're working on and once it's wet, you start scraping-gently. There will be white popcorn goop dropping onto the plastic floor covers and it gets very messy, but once you get a strip cleared, it goes very fast. Mine was so complete I didn't even need to paint the ceiling afterward. I brushed it off with a large broom.
But wear a face mask.
It's labor intensive, but easy to do.

[momof2dfw]

Yes, lower end builders still use that stuff. It is NASTY!!! Even builders that tried to enter a better price point used it and sadly those houses show the shortcuts taken still to this day 10 years later. If they go up for sale they are the last to sell. I can't stand the stuff.

As MoMark said it can be done yourself pretty easy. You know how everytime you get the broom to knock down a spiderweb or something and it comes crumbling off, that is how easy it is to remove almost. Also check w/ some painters as they may do it.

[simplyaged]

Haven't done it myself yet, but I have a friend who did. And just like Golfgal and MoMark said, she also said it is easy to come off but very messy and labor intense. Lots of over the head and/or moving the ladder. She said she would never do it again, but she is glad she did it herself. She was worried that someone else would get it all over her cabinets.

I plan to do this myself once I complete my current project and I must say I am dreading it due to I'm not as young and agile as I use to be. But I'm the type that trust my own work more and if I am capable of saving a buck, I do it no matter what the job. Although I have had to fire myself and call in an expert from time to time . And after my husband curses and calls me a compulsive project freak, he helps me finish.

[settlepa]

I have looked at many homes in S.C. and EVERY home had it, doesnt really bother me unless it starts cracking, etc. then its a pain.

[MoMark]

Originally Posted by settlepa

I have looked at many homes in S.C. and EVERY home had it, doesnt really bother me unless it starts cracking, etc. then its a pain.

An apartment my family lived in in the early 70's had popcorn ceilings....but with silver sparkles, like glitter. I was too young then to realize how tacky the late 60's and most of the 70's were!

The other problem with popcorn is that eventually it will yellow. A lot of people who think it's just too much trouble to remove simply spray white paint over it. It doesn't work.
If you can't stand it, you've got to get a ladder, the water squirt bottle, the 4" wide scraper and just do it. Ugh how I hate popcorn ceilings.

[jhlcomp]

Just the thread I was hoping to find. Our home was built in 1978 and we have popcorn ceilings. I cringe to start as we just did a bunch of remodeling and I am up to my ying yang in dust. But, I know I will be happier without a popcorn ceiling.

[yellowsnow]

Depending on how well the original ceilings were done, you may have to skim coat before you paint. This is a messy, nasty job but it's not hard.

[taigagirl]

Originally Posted by MoMark

An apartment my family lived in in the early 70's had popcorn ceilings....but with silver sparkles, like glitter. I was too young then to realize how tacky the late 60's and most of the 70's were!

The other problem with popcorn is that eventually it will yellow. A lot of people who think it's just too much trouble to remove simply spray white paint over it. It doesn't work.
If you can't stand it, you've got to get a ladder, the water squirt bottle, the 4" wide scraper and just do it. Ugh how I hate popcorn ceilings.

You're so right MoMark. What a messy nasty job, time consuming but not difficult. And I do remember those lovely silver sparkles...looked stunning with the shag carpet (also now being used in new homes too), and the horrendous mirrored tiles---used everywhere from feature walls to entire residences by those with a flair for the latest in home decorating. I am facing the removal issue myself. The entire main floor of my current house ( built in 1999--by someone else) has "groovy" popcorn ceiling. Not looking forward to the job. Thanks for reminding how tacky the 70's and 80's were. Not to mention the time I renewed a mortgage in the early 80's at 21%.

[JBrown]

Ok..I thought I remembered this correctly but I checked with a friend of mine who used to work as a painter and did this type application many times. I had helped him on a couple of jobs and thought I knew this but checked just in case,,,,,,,,

The material applied to the ceiling contains no asbestos. Asbestos hasn't been used in interior residential applications for a long long long time.

The popcorn material consists of little styrene balls ( available in different sizes), sometimes glitter of one type or another, and the actuall body of the coating is a dry powder that is mixed with water and then power stirred in a old spackle bucket. They then let it sit for about 15 to 20 minutes to let it set up a bit. then it's restirred and loaded into the overhead gun and applied. The powder is for all practical purposes drywall compound/plaster of paris. yeah...it's just watered down joint compound (pre latex type ). Which is why it softens up with water and explains why over time it'll yellow.

The reason why painting it is less than satisfactory is the same as painting over any new dry wall construction without first applying a primer coat. If you roll a coat of primer on first (remember it's just "spackleing compound") it'll take regular paint afterwards just like any other wall .

[golfgal]

We have popcorn ceilings and I hate them as well but we have painted most of them and that does help. Our ceilings are all a lighter shade of the wall color so they are not white and that makes a HUGE difference in the appearance of the popcorn stuff.