Removing popcorn ceiling texture can be less of a chore with the proper tools and techniques. You can also save a decent amount of money if you plan to do-it-yourself. This article describes the proper procedures required to remove popcorn texture as well as getting the ceiling prepared for a new texture or a smooth finish.
Required Tools & Materials:
Eye Protection such as goggles
Dust Mask
Pump Sprayer bottle: Typically found in the lawn and garden department at your local home improvement store. ($15-$30ea)
Plastic Sheeting: To be placed over floors and furniture as necessary ($10-$30)
8" or 10" Drywall taping knife: Located in the drywall section of your home improvement store.
($4-$7 ea.)
Lightweight Drywall Joint Compound (It's typically in a box and is ready to use out of the box):
Located in the drywall section of your home improvement store. ($5-$9 ea.)
Popcorn Texture Removal:
Step 1 - Lay plastic sheeting over all flooring, furniture, and cover all doorways to help prevent the spread of dust. This is an extremely dusty and messy project. No matter how much plastic sheeting you lay down or hang in doorways, the dust will still travel throughout the house. So, your goal is to contain as much as possible. It is highly recommended that you remove as much furniture and belongings from the work area as possible because they will get dusty.
Step 2 - Fill your pump sprayer with water and spray the ceiling starting with about a 6'x6' area. Let the water penetrate the texture for several minutes. NOTE: if the ceiling was painted with a semi-gloss or gloss paint, spraying water on it will not work sense it will not be able to penetrate the texture. In this situation, you will have to dry scrape as much of the texture off as possible and float (or skim coat) the entire ceiling with a drywall mud compound to smooth it out.
Step 3 - After the popcorn texture has absorbed the water, use your 8" or 10" drywall knife and scrape the texture off letting it fall to the floor on your plastic sheeting. All of the texture may not come off. This is normal. But, you should be able to get a majority of it removed.
Step 4 - Once all or most of the texture has been removed, use your drywall knife and some lightweight drywall joint compound to spread a thin (1/16" to 1/8") skim coat over any rough spots or areas on the ceiling that may need to be smoothed out. Let the compound dry which can take several hours to 24 hours depending on how thick it is applied as well as the room temperature. The colder it is, the longer it will take to dry.
Step 5 - Once the drywall compound fully dries, sand smooth all areas where you applied the compound. Apply additional skim coats and sand as necessary to obtain a smooth finish.
Step 6 - You can leave the ceiling smooth after completing your skim coats and begin painting. Or you can have the ceiling textured by a Professional. I would recommend you have a Professional take over from here since it requires various texture spraying equipment (i.e. compressor, texture hopper, & texture gun) and someone experienced in spraying or applying textures.
Safety First: Please note that there are some safety concerns when performing this work.
1) Some drywall muds and textures installed in buildings built before 1980 may contain asbestos and buildings built before 1978 may have paint that contains lead. Removing popcorn ceiling texture creates a very dusty work environment, and when the ceiling texture is removed, these lead and asbestos materials will be released in the air. Please consult with your local licensed lead and asbestos abatement contractor prior to starting the work, for testing and/or for abatement.
2) For additional questions regarding lead exposure, please review the "Renovate Right" pamphlet produced by the EPA. epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf
3) A dust mask does not qualify as approved personal protective equipment when removing drywall mud and/or textures that contain lead and asbestos.
4) Additionally, do not attempt to remove the popcorn texture if young children or pregnant women are present or living in the house if lead and/or asbestos is a concern.
Cheers!
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