How To Safely Manage Popcorn Ceiling Removal Yourself

There are many people who will purchase a new home that may have coverings on the wall that they prefer not to have. This does not stop them from purchasing the home because it is something that can be easily removed or changed. When it comes to popcorn ceiling removal for example, you can use the Internet as a great reference on how to make this job fairly easy. Undertaking a removal of this kind of surface can seem like a daunting task initially, however with the right equipment and instructions it is completely doable. At this point when potentially dealing with asbestos you need to take significant precautions, if you are not confident it will be worth seeking an asbestos abatement contractor.

There are ten basic steps when it comes to getting rid of popcorn ceilings yourself.

Step 1. Turn Off Electricity.

Remove all light fixture and make sure the electricity it completely turned off to the house. As you will be dealing with water in the process it is absolutely critical that there is no live power going through your house at the time.

Step 2. Cover The Floor.

You need to ensure you have the right floor coverings to complete this job. There is going to be a lot of mess with particles going absolutely everywhere. Bear in mind the smooth surface you will have when finished will be well worth it – but it’s going to be messy til then !

Step 3. Cover The Walls

Not only do you need to cover the floor but you need to cover your walls. You need to protect the drywall ceiling texture from damage with the appropriate plastic coverings as well

Step 4. Wet Down The Ceilings

You need to wet the popcorn ceiling so as to make it easier to remove and also to dampen the potentially dangerous asbestos particles. This is a painstaking process as the last thing you want is a flood in the middle of your house. The plastic sheeting will provide effective cover from drips however.

Step 5. Scrape The Material Off The Ceiling

For this step you are going to need a popcorn ceiling scraper and a putty knife will come in handy. You need to now start removing the material from your ceiling.

Step 6. Replace Floor Coverings & Scrape Again

You need to repeat this process to ensure you have removed all the particles from the textured ceiling

Step 7. Mudding / Taping Exposed Seams

Now that the material should be completely removed, you now need to repair the exposed seams in the ceiling.

Step 8. Fill In Holes

Next you need to start filling in the holes which may have appeared whilst scraping away the undesired material.

Step 9. Sand Down The Mud

The under layer of the material now needs to be sanded back so as to leave a completely smooth textured ceiling. Once you paint the ceiling the last thing you wanted to see is lumps and an uneven surface. That will cost more time and money to repair than you have.

Step 10. Paint

The final step is to paint your ceiling with your desired coat.

Now I am not going to say that a popcorn ceiling removal is the one of the easiest of DIY jobs to complete – you know what it is probably more on the advanced scale to be honest. One of the most tiring things is having to constantly look up during the process – a word of warning if you have neck or back problems it is recommended you get a professional to complete the work for you.

You can find commercial services that will do this removal for you whether it be in your basement or anywhere else in your home.

Many homeowners will tend to complete this job themselves because of the cost that they may incur by hiring a professional service. You can get yourself into a grove when scraping or sanding that will make the process go quicker as well as easier. People want to make their homes look the way they want them to look. An alternative is covering popcorn ceiling  - a specific coating is applied over the ceiling hiding it from view. This won’t be for everyone however as the asbestos whilst contained is still in the ceiling. Another alternative service is removing the knockdown texture.

If you are considering removing any asbestos from your home then it is worth looking at the EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency website before you start.

At the end of the day you can safely remove your asbestos ceiling provided you take the advice I have outlined in this article. I do recommend you hire a professional if you are not comfortable with the tools as it can be a difficult process. If you do hire someone make sure you get a few different quotes as a popcorn ceiling removal can be very expensive.