Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Removing kitchen soffits

I would like to remove my kitchen soffits to give a more open, updated look to my kitchen. Before I go banging at it with a hammer, I would like to know what I can expect to run into with this type of project. I know I will have to fix the ceiling (I am taking out that awful popcorn ceiling anyways. I woudl liek to meet whoever invented that and personally "thank" him/her for their contributions to decorating). I am sure I will have to patch the wall behind it, too.
How are the soffits usually attached? There is cracking along the ceiling where they are "settling" and have come loose a bit. Is it really as simple as just breaking it out and patching?
Any info is appreciated!

Da_Pearces,

Unsure what you have for a home 1 or 2 story, age of the home, type of heating but here is a sample of what I have run into.

The reason I mention the above is that it may have plumbing inside it. This is mostly with 2 stories but I have see it also with single story when they wanted the vent pipe to be away from the roof edge more than 1 foot. If you have a 2 story, and a bathroom is above, sometimes there might be a toilet waste drain hidden inside. On occassion, I have run into a heat vent that came up an outlside wall and then an elbow sent it through the soffit to a register upstairs.

You are correct that there is probably no drywall behind this soffit (wall and ceiling).

The soffit can be made a variety of ways which may include,

2x4 framework and covered with drywall

2x2's (however rarely) covered with plywood then drywall

3/4" plywood box then drywall (on 2 occassions - what a surprise that was!)

It's called be prepared to deal with whatever you encounter.

Hope this helps!

You won't know what's inside that soffit until you tear into it. Then, you may regret it. You don't know if there's duct work, wiring, plumbing or whatever hidden inside. Most soffits are framed with 2x4's. Anything else was most likely cheating. Popcorn ceilings installed before mid 1980's could contain asbestos. This is something that should not be taken lightly. The only way to know for sure is to get an asbestos test. Airborne asbestos fibers can cause long-term health problems, including lung cancer. Do an online search for asbestiosis. If you are not dealing with asbestiosis and rip out soffit and see nothing hidden or installed there, then you are good to go. All you need to do is bring ceiling and walls above cabinets up to speed with drywall compound. Then, you can add and/or stack moldings on top of cabinets to enhance your design as you please.

I took off an end piece that was relatively inconspicuous in case I wasn't willing to go any further for a while..lol. To my great suprise and relief, it is a wooden "box" with drywall and even the popcorn ceiling. Maybe the soffits were added later? Anyways, I don't see anything further down so I going to tackle the whole job this weekend. I just took down the popcorn ceiling in my master bathroom...boy, was THAT a huge mess....now I understand why people suggest to drape everything in plastic sheeting and then roll it all up to throw away.
My home was built in 1985. I don't think I would have asbestos in the ceiling, but I wore a mask and eye protection anyways. Am I correct in assuming that asbestos use was stopped by this time?

Da_Pearces,

Yes, you're ok! Have fun!

Good Luck!

Woohoo! There goes the rest of the ceiling! Thanks guys.

My home was built in 1980, we have already removed three rooms of popcorn ceiling (because the scraper we bought said homes 1978 or prior where in danger of having asbestos). We only had dust masks and gogles with drenching it. But after reading alot on the internet I'm not sure.

Please help.

Thanks Sherm

Hey Sherm, all I can say is what I have read here. You can have the ceiling tested. I am sure it is worth it for peace of mind. You can even buy one from this website for $10 and have your results in 2 weeks. Also, like others have said here, if you kept the ceiling rather wet when scraping, it lowers the dust and therefor lowers the exposure. I would get it tested, though, just to be sure. Good luck.

Prepare yourself for an adventure. I just finished doing exactly what you are talking about. The first thing that I did was vacuum the insulation out a bag at a time. Then tore off the drywall exposing the attic. To my chagrin I found all the tin for my AC running through the drop (5 registers). Most of the electrical had to be rerouted. I basically decided to remove all the drywall of the ceiling and most off the walls to make it easier to reroute the electrical lines. I replaced all of the tin with flex duct and 5 new ceiling registers. Anyhow you are in for a lot of work, be prepared to not have a working kitchen for at least one month! At the it will all be worth it, plus you can say to all your friends: yeah I DID THAT! :D

Good Luck,
jgs65