# Crazy popcorn ceiling



## JamesN (Nov 9, 2010)

So, the house I purchased had popcorn ceilings and I paid some guys to take it down for me... Unfortunately, the stuff up on the ceiling is some kind of plaster or other really solid material, so now the ceiling has all the large clumps off but is far from smooth like normal ceilings look when scraped. Now my question is do I have to mud the entire ceiling or can I use a lot of primer and maybe it will actually look decent?


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## canadaclub (Oct 19, 2006)

Have you tried sanding the ceiling?


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## redmanblackdog (Jan 7, 2011)

Part of the advantage of the accoustical ceiling is that it hides so much. Thus when drywallers finished with it back in the old days they did very little to make the ceiling look good before spraying. More primer or paint will probably not do much good. 

Plaster is very seldom used any more for residential interiors. Plaster started phasing out in the early 60's. Do you know how old the house is? Depending on what you have will depend on what you do. If its plaster, for the ultimate fix, I would go over top of it with another layer of sheetrock, of course then you still have to finish the joints and seams. 1/2 inch over 16" centers, 5/8 over 24" centers, perpendicular to joists or rafters.

If it is plaster, it probably has about used up the life of the product and it will start cracking eventually away. That is why it would be best to hang rock over top of it.

With out a picture, I am not completely sure what your ceiling looks like. Far from smooth encompasses a lot of different looks.

Usually, after scraping if it is sheetrock, you can see the seams that have had tape and maybe one layer of mud. If you take a light and hold it up close to the ceiling (letting the light shine across the ceiling)and walk around the room, you might be able to see the seams if it is drywall. If it is, then you can continue the mudding process to a finished product.


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

That's probably a vermiculite type pocorn texture. Very hard and durable.
Almost impossible to scrape off.
We always' skim coat those types of ceilings. And No, a thick coat of primer will not resolve this issue.:no:


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## JamesN (Nov 9, 2010)

What is a skim coat on the ceiling? And it definitely is not sheet rock up there. House was built in the late 50's.


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## muthian (Dec 30, 2010)

Skim coat is a Coat of Mud. Just enough to level things out and such.

Another option may be 1/4" drywall over all that. I did that to a couple of walls that had popcorn in my house. MUCH easier than scraping and removing.


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## mjzraz (Jun 28, 2008)

We just removed the drywall on our "stomped" texture ceiling since I wanted to run wires for recessed lights. Wetting and scraping is the messiest thing ever. Plus you have to skim coat and redo the seams a lot of the time anyway. 
A neighbor just put a thin 1/4 or 3/8 drywall over his.


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## stoner529 (Nov 12, 2010)

Im not sure if your question was answered. first at least dry scrape the ceiling and get all the popcorn balls off to your best extent. (wear a mask btw) and then skim coat. that means you want to make the ceiling look entirely flat. if you want more options hit me up as well. I remove lots of popcorn as a trade, not just as a handyman service. texturing is my business


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## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

JamesN said:


> So, the house I purchased had popcorn ceilings and I paid some guys to take it down for me... *Unfortunately, the stuff up on the ceiling is some kind of plaster or other really solid material*, so now the ceiling has all the large clumps off but is far from smooth like normal ceilings look when scraped. Now my question is do I have to mud the entire ceiling or can I use a lot of primer and maybe it will actually look decent?





stoner529 said:


> first at least dry scrape the ceiling and get all the popcorn balls off to your best extent. (wear a mask btw) and then skim coat.


This is probably a vermiculite type popcorn ceiling. Pre 1970. Which means possible lead or asbestos. Better just to encapsulate than scrape.:yes:


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## stoner529 (Nov 12, 2010)

Sir MixAlot said:


> This is probably a vermiculite type popcorn ceiling. Pre 1970. Which means possible lead or asbestos. Better just to encapsulate than scrape.:yes:



A little lead never hurt anyone. accept the romans of course, but whos counting. If that is what you say it is, then i wouldnt even touch it but honestly, ther are so many people who could care less about asbestos. 
Yes its stupid but they will just figure, that it "cant be that bad". 

did you just see the vampire fly by? it had elephant wings. it was cool


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