Lighting, Light Fixtures, Ceiling and Exhaust Fans - Install ceiling fixtures in concrete popcorn ceilings

Hi,

I own a condo built in the 70s with concrete popcorn ceilings. The only ceiling fixture in the entire condo is 1 ceiling fan in the living room! I'd like to add track lighting or ceiling fans in the bedrooms as the place is pretty small and lots of lamps and floor fans really clutter it up. I'm willing to use the kind of ceiling fixture that runs a cord down the wall and plugs into an existing outlet. I read a bit online about attaching those types of ceiling fans to concrete ceilings - tapcon was mentioned, but some people said they were not sure it would last more than a year or two from the fan's constant vibration.

How should I anchor the fan to the ceiling?

Also what do I do about getting the popcorn out of the way so I can anchor it at all?! I don't really like the popcorn but not ready to redo the entire ceiling.

Thanks
Emily

Popcorn ceilings have to be misted with water and soaked and scraped off. This is a messy job. Too, older popcorn ceilings can contain asbestos.

Here is a previous thread that discusses your problems with installing fans and lighting on concrete ceilings: http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=119621

Thanks for the link! It looks like the drop-ins are the way to go, I had never heard of them (but that's not surprising!)

Can I just mist and scrape the popcorn in the small area where I need to attach the fan, or will that cause problems with the rest of the ceiling?

If popcorn has been painted, it's a pain to get off because the secret to getting it off is that it has to be wet. Using a paint stripper, one of the thick gel types that does not drip, would keep it wet for a long period of time and then you could scrape off the area you need. Scraping and sanding is not good whether you have asbestos or not because of the dust. Too, paint may be lead paint. The only way to know for sure if you have lead or asbestos is to have the popcorn tested. Proceed with caution, as you do not want asbestos fibers or lead released into the air.

I have had success removing popcorn ceiling using a wet sponge. It does take a long time and you will ruin a couple sponges and make a huge mess.

Have plenty of plastic layed out to protect your stuff.

The advantage is that you can consentrate in a small area, keep dust down, and won't have scraper slips.

You will be supprised. Once you get past the paint, the popcorn almost falls off the ceiling after it becomes wet. Be carefull to not over wet the around the edges where you want clearing the popcorn to stop.

One other option is to mount your fan box over the popcorn and use some really cheep calking to fill the small gap. I say cheep, because in this case you do not really want the calk to stick well. You just want an esthetic hole filler.