Popcorn ceilings used to be extremely popular because they were great at hiding blemishes in the ceiling and were relatively cost-effective. However, due to the harsh composition of popcorn ceilings, the ceiling tends to attract dust which can be extremely frustrating while you try to clean your home. For those looking to modernize their homes, here are a few quick and easy tips for removing popcorn ceilings:
What You Will Need - A Paint Scraping Tool
- Plastic Bags to Cover Furniture & Flooring
- Pump Sprayer
- Mud Pan: A mud pan can be used to catch falling debris as you scrape your ceiling
- Face mask: A face mask will prevent potentially dangerous toxins from entering your mouth
- Safety Glasses
If you have a giant room full of popcorn ceiling, it’s going to be a big and messy job. Therefore, before you prepare the room with garbage bags or newspapers to catch falling debris, do a small dry scrape in a central location. Popcorn ceilings that have been painted over may be difficult to remove by your lonesome, and you may require the assistance of a local home improvement company to remove the material.
However, if the ceiling hasn’t been painted over, wetting your ceiling with a pump sprayer and then beginning to scrape the ceiling could prove effective. Upon applying water to your ceiling, scrape the popcorn and if it comes off with ease, you can then prepare the rest of the room with newspapers or garbage bags to catch the falling debris.
Ensure There Are No Traces of Asbestos Modern homes with popcorn ceiling will not have to worry about this point; however, not many modern homes even utilize popcorn ceilings. If you have a popcorn ceiling that was implemented in the 1980s, there is a possibility that it could contain asbestos, which may pose a health risk to your family. What you need to do to find out if your popcorn ceiling contains asbestos, is contact your municipal health agency. They should provide you with information on how to get your ceiling tested. If there is asbestos, be sure to contact your local abatement company for more information on safely removing asbestos.
Prevent Damage to Your Ceiling Using a paint scraping tool is the easiest and most effective way to remove popcorn ceiling. However, the edges of the tool could damage your ceiling due to its sharp corners. Gouges and scratches may occur if you are not careful while removing the popcorn ceiling. For example, if your hand slips, you could cause a chunk of your ceiling to fall out. To prevent this from happening, it is in your best interest to round off the sides of the paint scraper. You could use a file or even an automatic sander to dull the edges of the paint scraper so you can remove the popcorn ceiling with full confidence and security.
Cover Your Furniture If possible, we recommend you remove furniture from the room in which you are removing your popcorn ceiling. However, if the furniture is permanently fixated, be sure to cover it with plastic bags, or garbage bags, so the dust from the ceiling doesn’t fall onto your furniture’s fabric. For popcorn ceiling removal services in Edmonton, contact us.
