How To Remove Popcorn Ceilings

As a designer, I am adamant that popcorn is a food…not a ceiling texture! It looks dirty, outdated and could deter some buyers from buying your home in the future.  Today I am going to show you how to remove popcorn ceilings yourself to save you some cash.

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How To Remove Popcorn Ceilings:  The Supplies Needed

• Extra Wide Putty Knife (Make sure it’s at least this big)
• Pump Sprayer  (I use one like this)
• Shop Vaccuum
• Large Roll of Plastic Sheeting
• 1.5″-2″ Painters Tape
• Warm Water

Here is a segment from Fox4 in Kansas City demonstrating how to remove a popcorn ceiling:

Instructions:

• Remove all furniture and unhook lights/ceiling fans from the ceiling.  If you are ultimately replacing the ceiling fixtures with something new then take them all the way down.  You aren’t going to want to go through the trouble of covering them with plastic and working around them.

• Using painter’s tape and plastic, create an upside down tent in the room.  Start at one end of the room, at the top of the wall right next to the ceiling.  Run painter’s tape around the entire ceiling.  Attach plastic to the tape and drape to the center of the room.  Connect all of the plastic together in the center.
• Using a pump sprayer and warm water, light mist a 5’ x 5’ section of the popcorn ceiling.  Let sit 20 minutes or so.  DO NOT OVER-SATURATE THE CEILING.  You can damage the drywall underneath.
• Using your wide scraper, begin scraping the damp popcorn off of the ceiling.
• Repeat the steps until all of the popcorn is removed.  Let dry overnight.

So why do builders install popcorn ceilings?

Believe it or not, the popcorn ceiling actually does have benefits. The texture controls sound inside of the room and it easily hides any flaws in the ceiling.  

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