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Popcorn Ceiling Removal

Do you have a part of your home you’d like to update? Yep, me too! We moved into our home in 2005…so, for twelve years I’ve lived with popcorn ceilings! Our home is a pier and beam modular house, customized for the most part. However, we didn’t get a choice on ceiling texture. I’m certain popcorn was invented as an inexpensive and quick way to finish ceilings, but I’m certain it’s one of the ugliest design elements to date. And for years I’ve been creatively photographing around it. Because frankly, it’s embarrassing.

Over the last few years, I’ve researched ways to remove the popcorn, but never got involved in a project due to budget or time. I always wanted to scrape it or cover with a wood treatment.

Please Note! Any textured ceiling added before 1980, could contain asbestos! BE SURE to have a local health department test before removing popcorn from your ceiling!

While in Home Depot, I found a popcorn ceiling scraper and scooped it up as fast as I could. With some down time during summer, it was a perfect time to try it out, and see for myself if it works.

It’s actually a very simple process. You will need an extension pole (that screws into a paint roller) and a ladder. You’ll also want to remove everything from the room if possible. I left large pieces of furniture, and covered everything with large sheets.

The scraper comes with small plastic clips to attach a small trash bag to the edges. This will catch the popcorn as it falls (some of it). Most of it will fall on everything else. And there will be a lot of dust! So, just be prepared as this is a messy project! You should also wear protective eyewear HERE  and dust mask HERE.

Now, some tutorials will say to wet an area before you scrape…and when I tried this process, it didn’t work well for me. The popcorn scraped off much easier when dry. So that’s what I started doing, just scraping! The tool worked well! The popcorn came right off. It was easier to scrape when I was closer to the ceiling. I stood on our farm table & ladder to remove the popcorn in our dining room. Every time the little bag got heavy, I emptied it. The added weight slows you down. Also, the scraper is somewhat bendable. So every now and then it needed to be adjusted back to it’s original shape, as the pressure of scraping made it bend a little.

And below, you can see the results…a nice slightly textured ceiling with NO POPCORN! Praise the Lord! It’s possible to remove! Now, please note, you may have small brown spots that expose the drywall slightly…in which you can just touch up with Kilz. Also, some areas will be more textured than others due to the application process where areas were textured more heavily.

Your arms will be sore, and your neck and shoulders too…but it is SO WORTH IT!! Now, cleaning up the mess isn’t fun. I vacuumed everything, wiped it all down, and vacuumed again! And then I needed a shower! Everything was covered in dust. It’s a very messy mess!

It took me about three hours to complete the dining room. I have also scraped our master bedroom and family room. It seems easier to tackle one room at a time, rather than the whole house. Plus, my arms would fall off 🙂

My plan is to scrape the kitchen next! I’ll share the process again on my Instagram stories HERE when I get to work on the kitchen. For now, I’m enjoying the few rooms that are finished. And I need to decide what to do now, paint the ceilings or add a wood treatment?? What do you think? Do you have a suggestion?

HERE is the link to the scraper again!

Ok friends, I need to hear your popcorn ceiling adventures! Do you have popcorn?

Have you removed it? Tell me all about your experiences here in the comments, K!

Also, if you plan to tackle removing your popcorn ceilings, please let me know how it turns out!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I’m so thankful to each of you for allowing me to share my love of home and DIY with you daily!

Also, I’m already pinning lots of beautiful things for Fall Inspiration over on Pinterest…come follow me HERE

Blessings

Becky C

2 Responsesso far.

  1. I’ve scraped all of our ceilings. It was a great feeling to have it all gone. It’s very messy but I did it dry like you did. Wet ruins the ceiling and then needs further repair. I’ve painted some of the ceilings but left the others alone for another day. I know you will love it when the whole house is done.

  2. The popcorn ceilings really turn bad when they are wet! I’ve been thinking about repairing it for a while now, and thank god, read your blog!!!

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