Anyone ever remove POPCORN CEILING

[atroop711]

Well we went for our inspection of the new apt. we''re moving too and I can''t believe I didn''t see the darn POPCORN ceiling during my initial visit. They have it only in the living room but I HATE POPCORN CEILING.

I''m also concerned when it was put in because before late 70s most of that type of ceiling contains asbestos. The co-op said they won''t take it down and the person who left wasn''t responsible for it either. If we want it off, we have to take it off.

We are desperate for an larger apartment (3 kids in a 2bdrm is not working)...so we will take the apartment (since 3 bdrms don''t become available on a reg. basis)

So how the heck do I get rid of this? Anyone ever do this? How much did it cost? Should I just leave it? Ughhhh

 

[ckrickett]

are you renting or buying?

Also we had our popcorn ceiling removed at my moms house and it was a nightmare, but after all was said and done it looked nice. I don;t know how much it cost but I do remember the headache.

 

[Skippy123]

Okay, you are right it might have asbestos. I would actually call an asbestos testing company and see if you can bring a sample in and how they want to to capture the sample first. When we were buying our house I met with several people over the ceiling in the house we were buying since it had the popcorn ceiling, if you remove it and ithen the asbestos particles fly around in the air and you breath that stuff in. If you leave it alone then there are no problems but once you start removing it particles escape and that means calling in a certified abatement removal crew. I would actually scrape a small sample and see if it has asbestos first and then go from there.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 9:25:44 AM
Author: ckrickett
are you renting or buying?


Also we had our popcorn ceiling removed at my moms house and it was a nightmare, but after all was said and done it looked nice. I don;t know how much it cost but I do remember the headache.

we''re buying (it''s a co-op). We are currently living in the same co-op and this popcorn removal wasn''t in our time line. We want to get the new apt ready as soon as possible since we will be carring maintenance charges for both apts until we had the keys in for the old apt.

I have some investigating to do.

Thx

 

[Tacori E-ring]

DH removed the popcorn ceilings in our old house. What a difference! Some people scrap it dry, some wet. Either way it is messy (cover everything) and a PITA until it is finished but smooth ceilings look so nice. Good luck!

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 10:21:17 AM
Author: Tacori E-ring
DH removed the popcorn ceilings in our old house. What a difference! Some people scrap it dry, some wet. Either way it is messy (cover everything) and a PITA until it is finished but smooth ceilings look so nice. Good luck!

thanks! I have to see what my husband wants to do. I contacted a lab and it would cost only $25 to see if it contains asbestos.

 

[kenny]

Get it tested.

If it has asbestos do NOT buy that building.

If you have not written the purchase contract put "Contingent on MY approval of the test results" into the contract, and YOU select the testing lab.

Legal/safe asbestos removal is expensive.
Removing it yourself is not smart.

 

[Gailey]

Atroop, I am not sure what a "popcorn" ceiling is. So I don''t know about asbestos. If it''s a possiblity, get it checked and if it proves to contain asbestos, get a professional in to remove it.

If, however, it is just a sprayed stucco ceiling that has not been painted, it can be fairly easily removed by damping it down with a water sprayer and scraping it off. It''s time consuming, kills the neck, messy as hell, but it comes off fairly easily.

If it''s been painted it won''t be such an easy job and probably one for a professional.

Good luck.

Signed: Flat ceiling lover!

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 10:26:09 AM
Author: kenny
Get it tested.


If it has asbestos do NOT buy that building.


If you have not written the purchase contract put ''Contingent on MY approval of the test results'' into the contract, and YOU select the testing lab.


Legal/safe asbestos removal is expensive.

Removing it yourself is not smart.

we are getting it tested

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 10:27:31 AM
Author: Gailey
Atroop, I am not sure what a ''popcorn'' ceiling is. So I don''t know about asbestos. If it''s a possiblity, get it checked and if it proves to contain asbestos, get a professional in to remove it.


If, however, it is just a sprayed stucco ceiling that has not been painted, it can be fairly easily removed by damping it down with a water sprayer and scraping it off. It''s time consuming, kills the neck, messy as hell, but it comes off fairly easily.


If it''s been painted it won''t be such an easy job and probably one for a professional.


Good luck.


Signed: Flat ceiling lover!

Thanks Gailey..yes it''s been painted and we will have it tested. It''s just annoying that this had to happen

 

[Gailey]

Date: 9/3/2009 10:28:46 AM
Author: atroop711

Date: 9/3/2009 10:27:31 AM
Author: Gailey
Atroop, I am not sure what a ''popcorn'' ceiling is. So I don''t know about asbestos. If it''s a possiblity, get it checked and if it proves to contain asbestos, get a professional in to remove it.


If, however, it is just a sprayed stucco ceiling that has not been painted, it can be fairly easily removed by damping it down with a water sprayer and scraping it off. It''s time consuming, kills the neck, messy as hell, but it comes off fairly easily.


If it''s been painted it won''t be such an easy job and probably one for a professional.


Good luck.


Signed: Flat ceiling lover!

Thanks Gailey..yes it''s been painted and we will have it tested. It''s just annoying that this had to happen

Always look up Babe, always look up!

 

[D&T]

not sure how much professional charges in your area, but out in AZ I had someone quote me on about $1.50-$2 a square foot to remove a few years back. it could get very messy, but I''m all for DIY if it doesn''t contain asbestos. I''ve seen some use a spray bottle to soak it, and wet it before scraping it off to limit the amount of dust.

 

[upgrade]

My in laws removed their popcorn ceiling and it was messy but easy. They sprayed it, scraped it and then spent 2 days cleaning up the mess. Tarp everything...

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Look on the bright side...at least it is only in the living room!

 

[swingirl]

It might be best to cover the ceiling with a layer thin layer of plaster board. That will seal it off if it is asbestos.

 

[Tropicmaster]

I fixed this same problem in our new house by re laying the ceiling with thin sheetrock. All you have to do is take the trim down, re hang the room,tape, mud, and bed, then paint. Much quicker and FAR less messy than removal. I did not do the math but I bet it was less money than having someone remove it for you. DIY removal would be cheaper, but I am not fooling with something that big of a pain! I have plenty of clearance in my house so it was not an issue, plus you are only adding 1/2" to the ceiling.

 

[purrfectpear]

Here in So Cal it runs around $1.25/sq. ft.
Almost all the popcorn ceilings contain asbestos here, so no one bothers to test, they just assume it DOES contain it. Removal should be WET only. Don''t even think about a dry scrape. It only takes a few hours. No biggie.

 

[neatfreak]

We just had it removed before we moved into our 1500 sq. ft. house. It was messy but not a big deal at all and the company we hired was very professional and cleaned EVERYTHING thoroughly afterwards so it didn't even look like they had been there. We hired someone to do it, MANY companies do it. It cost us $2400 in the bay area. That cost included all the caulking, painting, retexturing, and other finishing work. Now they look fabulous.

ETA: I also agree with PP. Don't bother to test just hire someone to come in and do it. It won't be very expensive at all for just one room and all the licensed people that do it should just assume it does contain asbestos and plan accordingly.

 

[oddoneout]

I always hated those stupid popcorn ceilings. I didn''t know they could contain asbestos. Is the asbestos in the popcorn ceiling an American thing or Canadian too?

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/3/2009 4:08:46 PM
Author: oddoneout
I always hated those stupid popcorn ceilings. I didn''t know they could contain asbestos. Is the asbestos in the popcorn ceiling an American thing or Canadian too?

I think it was a before-the-1970''s thing.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 12:28:29 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Look on the bright side...at least it is only in the living room!

Very true!

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 1:22:11 PM
Author: swingirl
It might be best to cover the ceiling with a layer thin layer of plaster board. That will seal it off if it is asbestos.

Hmm that''s an idea.

 

[star sparkle]

The condo my mom bought about 6 months ago had a popcorn ceiling throughout the whole place. I removed it myself, all alone, and it really didn''t take very long. I found it much easier to scrape off when wet. The others are right when they said it makes a huge mess...what we found easiest was just to lay tarp down all over, then instead of trying to clean off the tarp when finished, just bundle it up and throw the whole thing away.

Messy, but easy.

 

[swimmer]

Atroop,
I feel your pain, our apt, which is around 100yrs old has smooth ceilings, but popcorn WALLS! Don''t even think about putting your arm around someone on the couch. ouch!

Good luck!

 

[pocahontas]

DH and I just moved into our home a little under 2 months ago. We had the popcorn ceiling in our foyer, living/dining room and main hallway removed. Like Neat, we hired a professional and would definitely recommend going that route BEFORE you move in. It's a messy job that's time consuming if it's to be done right. No sense telling you what I paid 'cause I'm in Toronto and the price included some additional work.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 6:57:38 PM
Author: star sparkle
The condo my mom bought about 6 months ago had a popcorn ceiling throughout the whole place. I removed it myself, all alone, and it really didn''t take very long. I found it much easier to scrape off when wet. The others are right when they said it makes a huge mess...what we found easiest was just to lay tarp down all over, then instead of trying to clean off the tarp when finished, just bundle it up and throw the whole thing away.


Messy, but easy.

this is good to know. Once we have the sample tested..if it comes back neg. for asbestos...my husband wants to remove it.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/3/2009 7:01:48 PM
Author: swimmer
Atroop,

I feel your pain, our apt, which is around 100yrs old has smooth ceilings, but popcorn WALLS! Don''t even think about putting your arm around someone on the couch. ouch!


Good luck!

OUCH is right!

 

[atroop711]

Date: 9/4/2009 1:09:17 AM
Author: pocahontas
DH and I just moved into our home a little under 2 months ago. We had the popcorn ceiling in our foyer, living/dining room and main hallway removed. Like Neat, we hired a professional and would definitely recommend going that route BEFORE you move in. It''s a messy job that''s time consuming if it''s to be done right. No sense telling you what I paid ''cause I''m in Toronto and the price included some additional work.

yes I agree it def. needs to be done before we move in. Thank god it''s only in the living room area which is only (maybe 14ft x 23ft) and the ceilings are 8ft high..