Walls and Ceilings - Alternative to scraping Popcorn ceiling?

Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.




mvbii
07-17-08, 10:53 AM
We live in CA. We heard from a friend in NY that there seems to be an alternative going around there to scraping off popcorn ceilings.

It was something to do with putting up a "thin" drywall over the existing popcorn ceiling.

Anyone familiar with this technique? Any details?

Thx


marksr
07-17-08, 01:29 PM
Welcome to the forums!

Yes you can laminate over the popcorn with a fresh layer of drywall. You have to use longer screws to secure it thru the original drywall into the rafters/joists. After it's hung it still has to be finished.

IMO it's better to remove the popcorn and skim coat [or dress up] the original drywall. It really isn't any more work and it's less weight hanging from the rafters.

Doc Politics
07-23-08, 10:14 AM
I've got to say that hanging drywall over a popcorn ceiling is a lot of work. The scrape, as we're doing right now, isn't that much work.

Get a garden sprayer. The garden sprayer is important because a) you get a lot of water in the tank, and b) the long sprayer hose mean you can leave the tank on the floor and spray up the ceiling without lifting it.

Then get a 10" taping knife for drywall or a long-handled carpet scraper. I'd actually suggest having both on hand. Our basement has some easy to get down popcorn, so we use the long-handled scraper. Upstairs, the popcorn's stuck on, so we double-spray the ceiling and I get more leverage using the taping knife. Put a tarp down so you don't get the popcorn on your hardwood or carpet.

Oh, and in my reading I noticed that if the popcorn was put up in the 70's you might want a mask. There is a history of asbestos in those popcorn ceilings. You'll also want goggles! That stuff gets in your eyes.

But unless you have 10-foot ceilings, you'll lose some space hanging drywall over an existing ceiling. So I'd really suggest scraping.


Twinscrewed
07-24-08, 05:23 AM
I just recently ridded our 2000 sq ft home of pop corn cellings...was easy. I put plastic down, got a garden / chemical sprayer with water / Fabric Softner mix misted the cellings. Started with a putty knife, and ended up finding a 24" drywall tool at home depot....Took little to no time to get the popcorn off...Bundled the plastic up, threw it away. No dusty disaster to clean up. Little to no damage done to the drywall.

Terry
08-03-08, 03:39 PM
I've used a shopvac after wetting the popcorn with water. It eliminates most of the collection of popcorn under your feet while you're working.