If you haven’t had to tackle removing popcorn ceilings, you’re lucky. It isn’t difficult. It’s just messy! In my recent reno, the property had popcorn on all the ceilings. The crew that I had subbed this out to, backed out on me and I needed to do this myself to stay on schedule. I didn’t take lots of pictures along the way, but I can share what I learned.
This picture shows the popcorn in one of the bedrooms. It was the same throughout the house. (And, check out the paint color.)
Since this was essentially a construction zone, I didn’t need to cover the floor (concrete) or the walls (later painted).
Tools
There are a few key tools for this job — sprayer, scraper, ladder/scaffold, caulk/caulk gun.
In other jobs, I covered the floor well with plastic. But for this job, the popcorn was easy enough to scoop up with a shovel when I was done and I used a scraper to run down the walls to remove any popcorn that landed on the walls before I painted.
I used this weed killer sprayer from Home Depot to apply water to the ceiling. A few advantages to using this sprayer is that it has a 2 gallon reservoir with no cord. This helps avoid going up and down the scaffold or ladder multiple times. The disadvantage is the amount of water that comes out of the sprayer. It’s a modest stream of water and takes a bit longer to apply. I used this weed sprayer in the rooms with vaulted ceilings. In other cases, I used my paint sprayer which has a more generous spray, but a quart size reservoir and a cord.
The larger the scraper, the faster the job. I used a larger scraper (i.e. 12 inch) to remove the popcorn.
Caulk can be used to repair/patch the gaps where the ceiling meets the wall.
I rented a scaffold to use in the areas with vaulted ceilings. And, a ladder for the areas with an 8 foot ceiling.
Removal
The best approach I found with removing the popcorn is to ensure the popcorn is fully saturated before trying to remove it. Saturated a 5ft by 5 ft area and let sit for 10 minutes. And, then scrape the popcorn from the ceiling. If the popcorn is not easily coming down, reapply water. You want to avoid digging into the ceiling, making divots, etc. (These would be noticeable.) I was able to move along quickly saturating areas, then going back to the previously saturated area to remove. So, one area was saturating, while I was removing popcorn in another. Lastly, it would have been wise to wear a hat.
Corners and Caulking
There were several areas where the wall met the ceiling where the popcorn was tougher to remove and/or the drywall tape split. I caulked the perimeter of the rooms to repair.
What’s Next
There are a few ways to “finish” the ceiling. These can include skim coat or texture. I have had both done. For this property, I hired out a knock down ceiling. We finished up and sprayed with primer and paint (a couple coats).
The popcorn removal was definitely a big job due to the amount of popcorn. It was absolutely worth the effort. Invariably, this texture on the ceiling is noticeable and dates the property. Happy I got through it and saved some reno dollars!
