Popcorn Ceiling

codaman

Hi everyone, I am new to the sight and am certainly glad to have stumbled onto it. I have looked through the sight, and have seen other posts about removing this stuff, but was wondering if anyone had simply gone over it with 1/4" sheet rock? If so, were there any problems? Thanks

ps I won't ask for pricing!

WisePainter

A pump sprayer, an 8" or larger mud knife, and elbow grease.

Get to it.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

DavidC

Would mind asking how much? It's been a slow day. :>)

WisePainter is telling it straight, except I would put that knife in the hands of a newbie or a youngster looking to learn. I'm sure I'd have to go somewhere that day.

The 1/4" rock would probably end up wavy and look like crap.

Good Luck
Dave

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pcplumber

We cover everything real good and use a garden hose. Any way you do it there is going to be a mess. Let it soak and it should fall off with a 6 inch putty knive. If it not 100% soft like pancake mix, add more water. I would never go over it with new drywall because scraping and putting two coats of drywall mud is much less expensive and much faster. Going over it with drywall may leave many waves and uneven seams.

Jack

Snow Man

1/4" is the way to go .

There is a reason why there is a popcorn finish on it . They were hiding something most likely.

Save yourself the aggravation and scab it with QUARTER INCH!

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WisePainter

1 Skim coat with a drywall compound will take care of any serious imperfections fairly easily...depending on how good you are at skimming uneven surfaces.
Also a flat paint will hide a multitude of sins.

SO:

Screw new sheetrock up then Bed coat, 1rst coat then skim coat, sand prime paint.

OR:

Simple multi use $30.00 pump sprayer from Home Depot with water, scrape with knife then paint.

Removing a popcorn ceiling is probably one of the easiest things to do, also the messiest.
Cover EVERYTHING due to wet slop falling just about everywhere.

To remove the popcorn that is along the walls (2" strip) run the knife along the direction of the paper tape connecting the wall to the ceiling under the acoustic texture.

And remember, have a n00b helper do it but watch them to make sure they are not gouging the drywall joints where the mud line is.
This happens easily due to the mud joint reconstituting with the moisture!!!

I will be removing 6 rooms of texture myself on Monday.
I prefer to do it myself to avoid having repairs later on.

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WisePainter

Woah! If I brought a garden hose into a clients house and fired away they would more than likely fire me.
lol.

I am not sure about the rest of you but my customers freak out when they see even a spec of drywall dust anywhere.
I hate that.
Really, really hate that.

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Snow Man

One never knows what lies under the popcorn....so if you give me a set number on removing it and having a skim-kote party , thats fine and dandy.
I can scab it just as fast as you can perform surgery on that ceiling .

AND I'm willing to wager , MY NEW staight as glass ceiling will put your mud party ceiling to shame.lmao

6 in one hand .......1/2 dozen in the other.

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DECOSnowRemoval&IceControl
Serving Delaware County & Philadelphia Pa
610 457-9721

WisePainter

I never use a set price for removing popcorn.
I have a base price in mind, however my contract always covers an hourly rate for stubborn ceilings.

Smart business is smart.

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Dmax Consulting

I'd like to see the look on a homeowners face after everything's covered in plastic and your crew starts pulling a water hose through the door. I bet that most would be so shocked that they would just stand there in awe.

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WisePainter

Ain't that the truth.

I call bull.

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dreamz

To me going over it with 1/4" rock is too much work.

I use my paint sprayer with a fine mist of water(without soaking it), let it set for a few minutes and hit it carefully with a 12" or 14" blade. Just dont hit the tape joints or rip the paper. Skim it here and there if you need to then texture it.

codaman

thanks for all of the input, it is greatly appreciated. I have decided a few things. First, the ceilings have been painted requiring much more effort to remove. Second, there is a very strong possibility that there is asbestos present, and I want NO part of that. I have spoken to my s/r sub, and he has assured me that he has done this many times, and that the most cost effective way to proceed is to put up 1/2', not 1/4, s/rock. 1/4" comes in 8 foot lengths only creating more cutting, butt joints and is much less rigid and prone to waviness than 1/2". I no longer care about finding the most "cost effective" (cheapest) way to do this to save my customer a few hundred dollars. I was going to do this myself with my guys, but it......never hire a jackass for a horses job! I'll tack on my tribute for all my work ,
and let my awesome s/r sub do his thing, feeling confident that it is the best way to do it (I think). thanks again

WisePainter

dude, you kind of suck for not trying to remove the asbestos and protect your customer...

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My advice: Hire a real painter to do it.

Jack_Clark

Hey people don't panic!!! A pump sprayer works great for small areas say a 10' x 10' room no problem. Get yourself on a project with 3000 square feet of popcorn and your arm is gonna fall off or you're going to spend half the day pumping and pumping and pum............ well you get the point.

Use common sense people please!!! Set the sprayer on mist, or fan usually works great too. You obviously do not want to set the sucker on full spay and soak the place. The homeowner will usually give you the WTF look in the beginning but when it all said and done he will end up saying "well you obviously have done this before and know exactly what you're doing.

Forget the 1/4 inch sheetrock it's a complete waste of time. I have never came across anything hidden underneath the popcorn other that sheetrock and a first coat of tape and mud. A quick sponge cleaning, skim coat and you're ready for texture. And you obviously want to test for asbestos on any red-flag homes.

Good luck there people. Ohh and I prefer to call it cottage cheese ceiling but thats just me.

Jack

pcplumber

I use a garden hose with a fine spray nozzle. We use a nozzle, from a power washer, that has about the same size tip, and pattern, as a pump spray.

You are not going to avoid asbestos contamination by covering the popcorn. Every time you rub a piece of new drywall, against the popcorn, you are contaminating your entire residence, with asbestos, IF ASBESTOS IS PRESENT. Asbestos fibers are so small and light, they can float in the air, inside your home, for something like 5 days, even when their is no air circulation. Asbestos fibers are so small, they go through the filters in your lungs and they never come out.

So, your covering the ceiling with 1/4" drywall is equally as dangerous. You can test the popcorn for asbestos for less than $75. Take a sample off the ceiling and bring or mail it to a laboratory. The 1/4" drywall cover is not the logical nor practical solution. The water usually soaks through the paint. It just takes a little more water and a little longer.

I almost got sued by an insurance company, for $100,000, for not testing for asbestos. I got out of the suit and it is a long story. Since then, I had about 60 ceilings tested and only found asbestos in the drywall mud. I don't know how much asbestos is in popcorn, but I think everyone thinks there is a lot of asbestos in popcorn, just because it has a similar look.

I see many problems with 1/4 inch drywall; the added weight, the popcorn may make it wavy, the additional cost, the additional time, the junction box for the light fixture will be deeper in the ceiling, and you will contaminate the house, anyway, if asbestos is present.

Of course, if my main gig was a drywall hanger, what would I recommend?

Jack

pcplumber

I'm going to have to stop putting 'Jack' at the end of my post. I have been using this ending for several months. It is my alias, anyway. Glad to see someone else drags the hose inside.