apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The easiest way is definitely to hire it out! It is a messy annoying job - scraping is pretty much the only option, apart from just covering it with a new layer of drywall.

Also, depending on the age of the condo, you might want to have it tested for asbestos before doing anything.

is it popcorn? If not, just let it be and concentrate on cool furniture.

Your "popcorn ceiling' is a cheap way of disguising a bad drywall job. They slap it up and spray over it.

You could try sanding it smooth and skim-coating over it. Try asking over at this handyman's blog. He's pretty good.

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blogs/your-online-handyman.html

It's a lot of work, but if you don't do it now it'll never get done. Bite the bullet, you should do it now.

get yourself a bug chemical sprayer and fill it with water. Spray it on the ceiling and SCRRAAAAPE your butt off.

SBMODERN is so correct. If you don't address it now before you move in, you're gonna have to move out later at the very least room by room to tackle the job down the road. It is a MESSSSSSY DUSSSSSTY crappy mess dealing with drywall. Do it now, or pretend forever more that it doesn't bother you.

These ceilings don't really bother me, I guess I just don't pay attention to them most of the time. But if you are going to do it, do it first. I can't imagine what a pain it would be to move in, paint the walls, change the flooring and THEN do the ceiling.

Scrape off a little and have it tested for asbestos. If it comes up negative, scrape it off with water. If it comes up positive- you've got to hire an asbestos abatement company (expensive). We removed our popcorn ourselves and it sucked, but we saved a TON of money. Thankfully it was only in 2 rooms!

I, too, have the horrendous popcorn ceilings in my house of 1,600 sf. I can never imagine trying to scrape them all. I just painted mine a semi-gloss bright white and have mostly modern furnishings, and they don't look too bad.

Good luck!

Looking at that ceiling, it's fairly obvious that they're not just "textured," but badly done, uneven, and hiding something, as DesignHole points out ... but sanding and re-doing may not be enough. You need to find out what's under there and why it's so uneven. I'd hire a professional you trust.

It's an awful awful DIY. I had 2 rooms done and painted at the same time; best money I ever spent. I was already moved in at the time. I cleared out the small stuff, they moved big stuff to middle and covered it with plastic. They taped off other rooms. It was no mess at all, I left one morning, came home to clean and painted. I had to wait an extra 6 months on a new sofa, but it was so worth it.

Scraping it followed by skim coating is going to be an awful mess and double the amount of work. I would either rip it out and re-do the drywall from scratch, or cover it over with new drywall. There are also some interesting new drop ceilings I've seen used (on tv) that make the ceiling look like wood paneling. There are also tin tiles you could in rooms where that look would be appropriate (kitchen, dining room, possibly living room.) But, I would not recommend drop ceiling if you don't already have plenty of height to play with.

I also agree that if you can do it now, you'll be so much happier not to have the ceilings and impending mess to fix them quite literally hanging over your head.

My stepson just did a bunch of work in our basement.
We had a deep-textured (spikey) ceiling or stalactites as my wife called them. He scraped it down and retextured it with a little more conservative surface. It's not flat/smooth but at least you won't get cut it you hit it with you hands. (It's a really low ceiling.)

Whether it's plaster texture or popcorn, you can do it yourself but I'd recommend a pro. There's ladders, scaffolding or stilts, the tools, plaster/mud, tarps. All kinds of things to acquire, then you never know how much material to buy. (A gallon? Five gallons?)

Also, this is a very messy project. I'm just lucky it was over my tiled floor that I plan on replacing anyways.

PS - If it's something that's already bothering you so much that you're writing into AT, it's going to irk you every single day until it gets fixed. So might as well bite the bullet, in my opinion, and start to enjoy your new abode!

My advice: DO IT. It is amazingly messy job. We did it a few month ago and it was a torture because of all the fine dust covering everything, literally everything. We had everything covered in plastic but it still penetrated everywhere (probably not as much). And with all the furniture moving from one part of the house to the other... Well, if I only knew how messy it would be, I definitely would do it before we moved in. Just one suggestion: insist on smoothing the ceiling up, otherwise all the seals, all the imperfections that "popcorn" covers right now, they all would be out in the open, striking your eyes every time you look up.

I agree- that popcorn is covering a shoddy ceiling job.
My husband and I just took down a similar ceiling in our living room. It is an incredibly messy, invasive job. But we lucked out- when we started poking around, we found that the popcorn was actually a false ceiling, and there was another ceiling above it that wasn't in bad shape.
So, after taking down ceiling #1, we just patched and skimmed the real ceiling.
Having said that, we lived with the previous ceiling for four years and rarely noticed it. We only took it down because we were doing a lot of work in that room to begin with.
If the apartment is empty, you may also be focusing on things that may not really show when you furnish it..

DON'T do it yourself. I can't even begin to express how difficult this project is.

1. Has it been painted before? Many have, and they can't be scraped. Your only option is to re-drywall over top.

2. It's there for a reason. If you scrape it off, you'll see how rough and uneven your ceiling is. The texture hides this. You'll end up re-drywalling anyway.

3. Give it 5 years and it'll be back in style.

Been there!

BEFORE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdawg/1437927490/in/set-72157602145179636/

AFTER: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdawg/2777586323/in/set-72157602145179636/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdawg/3123352732/

Yes, it's all the same room!

The best option, I'd say, would be to find someone who is GREAT at drywall/plastering. It basically involves using a broad roll of self-adhesive drywall mesh 'tape' much like the one used to cover drywall screws/seams, only it's on a 4-foot roll.

It's applied and troweled over (skim coated) with a mix of joint compound and plaster.

Good luck!

When I bought my house a few years ago, I left it empty for a month so that I could de-popcorn the ceiling. What worked for me was:
- get one of the pumping bug sprayers, fill with water.
- lightly spray the ceiling and let it soak there for about 15 seconds
- use a scraper (mine was a wide plastic putty knife attached to a long rod!) and the popcorn will drop off like mud, be sure you have tarps below.
In my bedrooms, I repainted the ceiling myself, adding the sandy texture that you pour into the paint... FYI, that generally came out pretty splotchy. Also, if you leave any dust on the ceiling from the popcorn, the paint or primer won't stick and will just roll right back onto the other side of your paint roller... it can be a real mess. That's why I paid somebody with a hopper to come redo my ceiling in the living room... it can start to look a little sloppy, especially when you're getting sick of doing it, which incidentally doesn't take long at all.
Good luck!

Just DO it.
Do it NOW.
If it annoys you now it will annoy you even more when you're moved in, trapped by furniture, and it seems like an even bigger job.
Good advice already offered about TESTING first and some removal methods (if it tests lead-free, and you want to do the job yourself, renting a scaffold would be worth it).

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE test for asbestos before beginning the removal process. In most states, asbestos contractors must be licensed. Please check with the appropriate state agency for referrals.

I too had popcorn ceilings, only to discover they were an asbestos composite that required professional removal. This type of finish was very common in the 60s and 70s. The cost for removal was about $100 per square foot.

Another word of caution: asbestos was also quite common in floor adhesives too during this period. Don't scrape/remove anything until you have it tested.

Please please please test for asbestos before removal. You do not want to spread contaminated drywall dust everywhere. The results of asbestos exposure do not show up for years, and as long as it remains undisturbed it is not a problem, but once you start scraping or modifying it is when it becomes an ingestion hazard. You only get one set of lungs.

It may be faster and possibly cheaper to put in new drywall over the textured ceiling. That's what I did in my kitchen an bedroom when I remodelled. My contractor would have spent way too much time and money removing the glue and crud left over after removing acoustic tiles that were glued directly to the ceiling (don't know what the previous owners were thinking). Instead, he installed thin drywall (I think they are only 1/4" thick) over the old ceiling. This not a do it yourself job, but sometimes, it's better to hire it our than do it yourself.

Brunocerous - amazing (and clearly HARD) work!!

As for the texture, I agree with the campth at says take care of it now. If you move it, you'll convince yourself it's not so bad, then go on to cringe every time you glance up.

Yeah, that ceiling looks none too even. I'd say you have a lot of work ahead of you. I would definitely have it done now, and I would definitely hire it out.

I had an ugly ceiling in a house that I planned to cover over with thin panels and wallpaper or paint. Then I discovered that I could crowbar off the sheetrock (with the popcorn nubs) very easily and there was nice old bead board behind it, which I painted glossy white.

I rented a ceiling sander from Home Depot and tried doing this myself. The machine was comparable, I suppose, to a floor buffer with a big, circular pad and did a pretty good job, but in the end I just gave up and painted over my half-done job.

If you have the means, I would definitely recommend hiring the job out.

Look around at big box hardware stores, I've seen a scraper/bag unit on a pole that was made for this...

I have an 1,100 sq condo that had popcorn ceilings. I was having some other work done before I moved in, so had the ceilings done then, too. Found a guy that specializes in that (he uses water and scrapes it off). He had it tested for asbestos, and it had some, but it was an acceptable level. The guy removed it in 2 days, charged $800.00. It was messy, but I was removing the carpeting anyway, so I didn't care about the mess. Besides, he covered the floor with thick plastic and when he was done, he just rolled it up with all the yucky stuff in it and took it away in his truck. Best money I spent in all the renovation I did. My ceilings look great now.

i scraped an 11 x 15 bedroom and hallway last fall. the popcorn was painted over with latex paint so i couldn't go with the spray with water and scrape method. had to use a a paint scraper and be careful not to put gouges in the ceiling then sand off what was left. i got a couple of hepa filter air filters on freecycle and ran them whenever i was sanding. it was a hassle but after priming and two coats, it looks great. my ceilings are plaster rather than drywall so i didn't have to worry about drywall falling apart.

i still want to hire a plasterer in the future to put on a skim coat, but for now it's okay. sometimes i still find dust behind the furniture when i vacuum though. i haven't gotten the energy yet to do the living and dining room. it's much more gross and looks like a moon landing.

YES, if you can do it before moving in (and painting), do it now. As others have noted, drywall dust gets EVERYWHERE. Also, if you do it yourself, you will need some basic drywall-repair skills. We learned on the fly, so we started in a walk-in closet to practice. We bought all of the supplies (including lots of plastic sheeting) for about $200; our neighbors had their ceilings professionally scraped a few years ago for $5,000 (1,400 sf).

This site and blog post have a lot of good information: http://www.popcornforum.com/
http://jasongraphix.com/journal/popcorn-ceiling-removal/

First, asbestos test. We used Western Analytical Labs (http://www.asbestos-test.com/). Take the samples from closets or another inconspicuous place.

Definitely invest in a $10 tank garden sprayer (near the pesticides at Home Depot).

If the popcorn has been painted, use a putty knife to scrape off the peaks so it will absorb the water.

Cover all of your outlet covers, switch plates, etc, with painter's tape. Turn off the AC and cover the vent openings. If you can afford it, invest in some plastic sheeting to cover the floor. You can re-use it as drop-cloths when you paint. Be careful - the plastic will be slippery when covered in water and ceiling gook.

After scraping, sand using sanding screens (paint/stain aisle at HD with the sandpaper). If any of the drywall tape became torn or dislodged during scraping, replace it. Since popcorn usually hides poor taping, use joint compound to smooth out any of the tape lines. Joint compound and tape are in the "building materials" section at HD, with the drywall. Fill any gouges with joint compound. Let dry and sand. Repeat until smooth. View the ceiling at various times of day to catch imperfections and repair as necessary Prime and paint.

Also, don't forget a dust mask (paint section at HD) and some type of head covering (hat or bandanna).

Cover it over with new drywall. There are a lot of drywall guys out of work right now with the construction industry in the dumps, and drywall prices have plunged. Then you don't even have to worry about asbestos, or the mess.

That ceiling looks like uneven, anyhow. The texture is probably the least of its problems.

We just removed popcorn texturing from the ceiling of a condo I bought recently. In our case, the "popcorn" turned out to be plaster texture over a concrete ceiling, and impossible to remove with any of the traditional soaking and scraping methods. We ultimately had a contractor sand it smooth and re-plaster the ceilings (smooth finish). I am very good at home remodeling projects generally but after it took me 8 hours to do approx. 4 x 4ft of this ceiling, I gave up and called for help! Also, it makes a huge mess and you have to protect the walls as well as the floors with plastic sheeting during the process. We did ours immediately, before any furniture arrived, and having witnessed what the project entails, I highly recommend either doing it at the outset or forgetting about it. If your ceilings are drywall, get a good drywall person to do it, and expect to do some patching and/or drywall replacement (in fact, it may be cheaper to simply put up new ceilings). If they are concrete, as mine are, you might consult with a mason as generally they are better with plaster work.

Hubby and I bought a house w/popcorn ceiling 19 years ago thinking we'd get to it "soon" after we moved in. Still living with it and HATING IT! Get rid of it NOW! So much harder after you've moved in.

This is too big a project to do on your own. Your ceiling is not only textured but uneven. Have a professional do it. It will be well worth the investment. When it comes time to sell the place you will get all of that money back.

Don't mess around - get asbestos testing and follow the results.

But get this - asbestos or not, you will want professionals to help. SO MUCH WORK. It is important to get the job right, since the ceiling is so large and exposed - its not like you can hide mistakes behind furniture or carpet. I would definitely consider just putting up the new drywall to cover it. Quick, cheap and easier to get a smooth, consistant result.

I'd drywall over it. Drywalling is a fairly easy process in terms of the skills needed being only very basic handyperson skills, but ceilings especially are a pain in the ass since you have to have people (or supports) holding up the sheets of drywall while you screw it in, and you need to use lots of screws to make sure gravity doesn't win. It could be a pretty quick process if you're handy and have a few friends, but you could also get it done professionally pretty cheaply. The only thing I'd say to be careful of is that, depending on the age of your house, you might already have several layers of drywall over plaster and lathe. You do want to be sure that you're screwing it into wood rather than into other layers of drywall, and if you've already got several layers going on, you might do better to bust the ceiling down and put up fresh drywall. And yes, test for asbestos before doing any busting.

You have to be careful about adding drywall on top of the popcorn. In my place, the ceiling couldn't take the additional weight of the drywall, so I had to remove the popcorn. You can't just go adding additional weight to the ceiling if there isn't sufficient distribution and support of the weight. Even thin drywall can make a difference. Get a contractor's opinion, is my advice.

we have textured ceilings and i don't mind it so much. our neighbors removed theirs by spraying and scraping and said it was back-breaking, tedious work. i'm not a fan of back-breaking, tedious work, so i've decided just not to care and focus on other stuff. i think if you have enough light in your rooms, that helps with the shadows of the texture. and you can counter-balance the "lowering" fell of them with tricks to heighten your room.

I am working on this same issue for a friend - but in this California condo I just found out the heating wires are in the ceiling so I don't know if that will complicate the situation. So far the quote I got for removal and repair was $1-3/ per sq ft depending on the condition of the ceilings. You can tell the drywall is badly done to say nothing of the 20 year grime that has accumulated... the best reason to have them scraped in my opinion. Western Analytical Labratory for asbestos testing is $30 for one sample, $20 each for two or more (recommended for over $1000 sq ft). www.asbestostesting.com
If there is asbestos abatement is required where they dispose of the asbestos in a safe way. I spoke to someone at Precision Environmental. 888-817-8835 the quote was for $2700 for 1000 sq foot (he quoted high) because he had not seen the space but that did not include any repair - only removal. He said its VERY MESSY and one should remove anything that is valuable. For what its worth... good luck!

How you get rid of the texture depends on what material it is made from. Is it plaster, sheetrock with texture added?