Tips on How to Remove a Popcorn Ceiling Faster and Easier

If you have lived in your grandma’s house, then you might probably notice that all the rooms have popcorn sealing because they were very famous back in the 60’s and 70’s. It is the easiest way to hide all the dirt and cracks on your roof and make it new without painting it.

The bad thing about the popcorn ceiling is that you attract more dirt and pollution, which makes the look of your room dirty. Now, if you want to renovate your room, you have to remove that ugly sealing that is harmful to your health. But you don’t know how to remove it? Don’t worry; we “ll guide you step by step on how you can remove the popcorn sealing easily and quickly.

Table of Contents

Scraping Test

This method is applied to test the popcorn ceiling if there was any paint mix with the ceiling. Mark some small areas and try to scrape the popcorn ceiling; if you find it hard, then put some water on it and then try.

Most of the time, when you put water on the popcorn ceiling, it gets soft and can be easily removed, but if the case is different and sealing is not removing, then there is undoubtedly some paint mix with your ceiling.

Now you have two choices hire some professionals that will do some hard scrapping and remove the popcorn ceiling and the second option is to hide the ceiling with some other alternatives.

Asbestos

In the 1980’s most of the popcorn ceilings contain asbestos, which is a very harmful ingredient for your health and can cause many diseases and lung cancer. You should do this before removing the popcorn ceiling because contact your local health department and give them a sample of your popcorn ceiling to analyze that if your ceiling has asbestos or not.

So, they found asbestos in your ceiling, than removing the ceiling by yourself is a hazardous process and can be very harmful to your health. So, you might be thinking that how you would remove the popcorn ceiling. There is a way to remove it; take help from the asbestos abatement contractor; they can do it better because they have experience dealing with it.

Preparations

Now you have done all the tests, and now you are ready to remove the ceilings, then there are some things called preparations of precautions that you should take before starting the process of removing popcorn ceilings.

Cover the walls

When you remove the popcorn ceilings, you have to cover all the walls and important things so they’ll not get dirty. Most people cover the walls and other stuff with newspaper or some canvas cloth, which worsens the stuff because the newspapers will tear and canvas will absorb the water.

The best practice is to cover all the things with plastic sheets because they don’t absorb water and will not tear when it comes to water contact.

Furniture

Before removing the popcorn ceiling, the second compulsory thing is to take your room’s furniture out in some other space. Some people cover their furniture with plastic sheet and think that now it is safe, but what they don’t know is that if, in any case, water crosses the plastic, it will ruin your furniture. Then you have to change the furniture, which makes the removal process very expensive. So it isn’t easy to take furniture out before starting the process.

Remove fans and other electric stuff

Before removing the popcorn ceiling, you have to make sure that all electric things and fans are removed because for removing the ceiling, you have to use some water, which can be very dangerous. There is also a chance that water will damage the fan’s machinery, and you have to bear the loss.

And also, turn off all the switches from the circuit breaker or fuse to prevent damages.

Water spray

Now take the first step towards removing that ugly popcorn ceiling. Everybody has a garden spray in the house, which they use to water the plant. If you don’t have one, you can buy it or use a long pipe too. So, spray the water on the popcorn ceiling for 15 minutes and let it dry for the same time.

At this time, the ceiling will absorb the water, and when you leave it for drying, the chances are that it will become softer, and it will easily remove when you scrap it. Make sure that all the electric boxes are covered with the painter’s tape because the water can cause a short circuit.

Tip

Spray water on the small section of the ceiling and then scrape it because if you’ll spray water on the whole roof, it might be dry and won’t remove and then you have to spray again and wait for 20 minutes will waste your time. To prevent that, try to work on the small parts and save your time.

Cleaning

After long removing the popcorn ceiling, you might have a mess in your room, which you have to clean. So, only spraying water may not be enough to clean the floor. You have to take the mud pan, which most laborers use to clean the floor. That pan will make the cleaning process easy for you. If you don’t have a mud pan in your home, you can easily buy it on Amazon or your local hardware store.

FAQ

What is the easiest way to remove popcorn ceilings?

If you are planning to remove the popcorn ceiling for the renovation of the room, then the easiest way is to hire a professional that will remove it for you. And you didn’t have to do any hard work but if you want to do it yourself, then scraping the ceiling with water is the easiest way to remove it.

Is it worth it to remove the popcorn ceiling?

The popcorn ceiling is very famous in the 60’s and 70’s, but as time passes, it becomes old-fashioned, and also it attracts more dirt. The research shows that the popcorn ceiling has asbestos, which causes lung cancer and is very harmful. So, if you want to remove it for your house’s renovation purpose or because of its health harms, it is worth removing.

How much does it cost to remove a popcorn ceiling?

If you plan to remove the popcorn ceiling by hiring professionals, it would cost around 1$ to 2$ per square foot. The average cost of removing the popcorn ceiling of a typical house cost about 1000$ to 3000$. But if you want to remove it by yourself, then it won’t cost that much you need to have some necessary tools. If we estimate the cost, it would be less than 100$ if you remove the ceiling yourself.

What tools do I need to remove the popcorn ceiling?

There are not many things that are used in removing of popcorn ceiling. It would be best if you had some plastic sheets to cover the walls, painter’s tape to fill the electronic boxes, a professional scraper to remove the ceilings, a water sprayer for spraying water, and at last, a mud pan for cleaning all the mess from the floor.

How long does it take to scrape popcorn ceilings?

If you have a 600square feet house and you want to remove the popcorn ceiling through the scrapping process by hiring a professional, then the estimated time is 21 hours approx, but if you are planning to do it yourself, then it may take some extra hours.

Can you vacuum the popcorn ceiling?

Yes, if your ceiling is dirty and full of cobwebs, you can clean it by adding a brush to your vacuum cleaner, or some vacuums feature extra feather brush to enhanced cleaning; you can also clean with it. It will not remove the old strong stains but can remove the dirt.