Popcorn ceiling can be redone?

Sep 23, 2004 14 Replies

I have popcorn ceiling (yeah I know it's ugly) and after hurricane Frances there were some leaks which I fixed. Unfortunately some moisture got to the ceiling and there is a seam along the ceiling drywall that started peeling off. I used a drywall puddy knife and scaped off an area about 6 inches wide and 3" long that has no popcorn now.



I then tried to buy those popcorn repair kid...no luck...I cannot apply that stuff into the area I scaped to match the look of the rest of the ceiling. It's impossible. Plus the cottage cheese doesn't stick well anyways.



So now I am thinking of hiring someone to respray the entire room, covering that spot and the rest of the room as well. Can a total respray mask the spot or will it be worse apply popcorn on popcorn?



O

I'm not clear whether you'd really prefer to be rid of the popcorn ceiling, or just repair it so it's uniform. And, since you know it's ugly, why keep it?

Tear it all down and start from scratch.

NOBODY does popcorn ceilings anymore. The "in" thing is granola ceilings.....

If you have to tear it down, make it smooth.

I did manage to get a moderately successful patch in my last home using a sponge. It took alot of "playing" to get the consistency of the mud just right. I did alot of practicing on scrap drywall before I got decent results.

Even with spending days at the project, you could always tell where the patch was if you looked at it carefully.

Mr Fixit eh

Popcorn ceiling often = asbestos. Be careful about any additional removal without having it tested and taking the proper precautions. Good Luck, David

Did you try the tube patch. It is a tube of popcorn and paste with a sponge at the end. Matched great on a popcorn ceiling I used it on. From HD or Lowes.

If it was put up before 1977. Banned after that.

I would remove it all and have a knockdown ceiling done. No sense spending good money on something you don't like that won't help the homes value. Look at some of the new houses and see the "texture" they are using now. If you like it have that done and the cost will be comparable to having ugly popcorn redone.

Steve B.

Agreed. I just bought a house, and used a realtor with LOTS of experience. He was good enough to point out to me every single popcorn ceiling, because (as he predicted), I was focused on other things. Since *ALL* home jobs take

83 times longer than we expect them to, I subtracted ten thousand dollars in value from the price of any home with even one room with a popcorn ceiling.

I don't like popcorn, but the entire house has it so I rather keep it. Besides, it's a big mess to remove it. The previous owner has painted over it so it does not come out so easy. House was build 1981 so probably no aesbestos.

O

Yes, I found repairing an area a real hassle - (unsuccessful ). If a repairman can't patch it, the entire room should look the same when it's all new - if he knows what he's doing.

It's an art... I used to use a guy back when I had to do electrical work in existing buildings that could do a pretty darn good job of covering up a patch with a roller and sponge, but you could hand me the same exact materials and it wouldn't look nearly as good.

nate

Maybe scrape off the repair you tried to make, paint the damaged part white, paint a dotted line in some other color, leaving room to write in black, "Open on dotted line" or "Open popcorn on dotted line." I'm sure it wil get a laugh from anyone who visits and as a ceiling, it will just as well.

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