Removal of popcorn ceiling

Looking to purchase a property with popcorn ceiling all over - about 2400 SF. About half the area has vaulted and sloped ceiling.

I want to remove the popcorn ceiling, is this an expensive process? Will it be cheaper to attach new sheet rocks to cover it up, sand and paint? There are ceiling fans, high hat lights, AC vents etc... on the ceiling.

What types of professional do I need to a project of this sort?

Thanks in advance,

MC

Reply to
miamicuse
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I just had some redone and if it has not been painted over, just spray it with water and it is easy to scrape off.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Thanks, if it is a high ceiling like 15' off the floor, do you use a very long scrapper and stand on the floor, or do you need a tall ladder or a scafolding system to do it that high?

MC

Reply to
miamicuse

I don't know how they would reach the high ones. Mine are only about 8 feet tall and from what I recall they put down some plastic on the floor , sprayed the ceiling with water from a garden sprayer and used some latters to reach up.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Yes, you have to reach it by hand. Spray, scrape then wipe with a damp sponge. Don't be overly aggressive as that is when you nick the drywall and then have to spackle it. Look into renting some scaffolding to work from.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Better make sure your ceiling doesn't contain asbestos. If you suspect it does professional removal is in order. Mine did and I did. Mesothelioma is no fun.

Reply to
Blue

If you are purchasing, and the place is vacant, now is the time to do it. You can contact a drywall pro, or just a good handyman can handle it. If the popcorn has not been painted, it softens in about two minutes with a water spray, and comes off with LIGHT scraping. It is a messy nasty process, but not rocket surgery. If you want to save a few Franklins, do it yourself.

After it is dried, you can sand, texture, paint, whatever you want. Removal of popcorn is just a messy job, but very simple. If you want to try a little, get a spray bottle. Spray a couple of square feet. LET THE WATER SOAK IN FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES. Scrape with a 12" drywall knife. Pretty simple stuff.

And, if the place is vacant, a WHOLE lot easier.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

We plan to sell our house, the popcorn ceiling are pretty dirty due to the kerosene heater. We have three bids $1,500, $650 and $450 to repaint it Our ceiling is Cathedral type about

30 to 40ft high. I guess to remove and repaint it would cost twice as much due to the height.

Reply to
Jim B

It's simple, if not painted, but time consuming, so, you'll need a lot of hands. Not just for the scraping but also for the set up and cleanup afterwards. Just thinking about what you are up against gives my vote to bringing in a pro. They will have the bodies, the expertise, the equipment and probably knock it off in a day or two. You'll be at it for a week, if not more. Bring in the pros! Also, if you run up against something you didn't expect, then what? This is one job I wouldn't mind paying for. Probably looking at $1000-2000 area.

Reply to
edee em

I recently had about six hundred sf scraped, they did some repairs to preexisting sheetrock anomalies, they installed about 50' of corner bead, and they spray textured. It was $700. CASH. It was a very good job, too. They were like dancers. In. Out. Gone! They also did a pretty good job of cleanup. Not perfect, but pretty good.

Steve, in Las Vegas

Reply to
SteveB

It is actually impossible to find a case of Mesothelioma resulting from the use or misuse of any commercial product.

Consider people who replaced asbestos brake pads - asbestos dust everywhere. Nope, no problem.

Asbestos is the Alar of the decade.

Reply to
HeyBub

Since the ceiling will be moistened a bit, that even further eliminates any friable dust in the air. Seems pointless to spend big bucks for removal.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Sure it is simple but not cheap. Another way to look at it is based on how much you normally work for. The median wage in the U.S. is about $20 an hour. So if you spend a week (40 hours) You have just made $800 (tax free). Or you could sit on your butt drinking beer and pay the guy $1000. However if the cost is $2000, that comes to $50 an hour for 40 hours (again tax free). And remember that $2000 you pay the guy to work for you? Well, you paid him in taxed money which is equivalent at least to $2500 tax free money, so it is really $60 an hour you are losing as you sit on the couch drinking that beer. Sure, I'm cheap, but I fixed a water pump on a Colt once and got a lot of tools free, reroofed my house once (won't do that again) and made/saved a whole pile of money. And of course my house ha popcorn ceilings too, so I bought a paint gun and painted them (way cheaper than having the stuff removed, looks good after spray painting) and I saved a real pile of money compared to having a painter paint the ceilings or having someone remove the popcorn stuff.

Now if you normally make $100 or more an hours

0(after taxes) and you have a flexible number of hours to work at your normal job, just pay> It's simple, if not painted, but time consuming, so, you'll need a lot of
Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Yeah. Tell that to the miners in Libby MT. Oh, I forgot to say, that's in the west. Don't bother to duck, cause they'll blow holes in you so fast and from so many directions you'll look like Dick Tracy in some of the old comics. But you won't be walking around. I think most of them carry .45 Colts.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

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