# Question About Redoing a Popcorn Ceiling...



## Big Dave (May 17, 2006)

No you do not have to go back with popcorn. You do however need to make sure you get all of the popcorn plus the mud that held it in place. The best way to do this is to take a spray bottle with water in it and spray it till wet but not dripping and let sit for 10 minutes then scrape off with putty knife if it doesn't fall off first. After that you will need to skim coat all the joints and nail holes and touch up any nicks and then prime and paint.

I don't think I forgot anything.

Dave.


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## AngelineK (Jun 12, 2006)

we have water stains on this ceiling due to a storm...it is now dry...but there are stains...a big one and multiple small ones...i cut out the big one and didnt see any mold...is it necessary to cut out the entire drywall ceiling in that room?


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## Big Dave (May 17, 2006)

The only reason I would cut it out is if it is sagging noticably between joist. As long as there is no mold some kilz will cover the stains. Personally I don't like smooth ceilings because over time the weight of the rock will cause the nail heads and seams to sink in making them noticable. But I am talking about 10 years down the road. You could do a stomp/knockdown or a splatter/knockdown. Both will look fairly flat and will hide the sinking nail holes and seams.

Dave.


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## AngelineK (Jun 12, 2006)

Big Dave...its not sagging at all, but is it possible that even though the large stain didnt have any mold...the smaller stains have mold above them? I wouldn't know unless i cut them out to...correct?


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## Big Dave (May 17, 2006)

If you cannot get above the ceiling to look for mold and you are worried about mold then I would cut out the entire ceiling and replace all of it. It will be easier to replace the sheetrock then trying to patch a bunch of holes IMO. How big is the room anyway?


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## AngelineK (Jun 12, 2006)

I don't know the exact dimensions...but its not a very big room...a handyman is actually doing the work and he seems convinced that because there was no mold under the large stain...everything is fine...he said that because it was so hot in that area of the house we don't have to worry about mold...


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## Big Dave (May 17, 2006)

Well all I can say is it's your house and your money so get what you want to pay for and put yourself in a position where you will not worry. I have really never seen mold in a ceiling unless the leak was persistent and never taken care of. If it's a small room it will probably only take 3 sheets of rock to rehang it. In my opinion that is the way to go and would be cheap peace of mind.

It's hard to make a decision from my end if you know what I mean.

Dave.


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## DaveH (Jun 5, 2006)

Big Dave is right on the money here. Replace the whole thing. To get a ceiling that has been textured, rained on, and cut up to be smooth? Pretty close to impossible. Even if it's possible you are still left with a wetted, scraped down, rained on, stain covered, whole patched ceiling. The cost of the repairs would probably be double the cost of new. A 12'x12' room would be approximately 250 -300 dollars new. Bite the bullet and have piece of mind..
Dave

P.S. Great Dave's think alike...


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## Dale (Apr 7, 2006)

*Great name*

Hi everyone, especially all the Daves out there.
It's times like this that I wish my name was Dave too, but Dale's ok I guess!

Regards
Dale


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## DaveH (Jun 5, 2006)

Dale,
Yes the books and such are really neat I'm sure, but I would just tear-out and redo just the same.


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## bobbietwin2 (Oct 10, 2008)

We are going to do some remodeling in our doublewide mobile home. One thing I want to get rid of is the ceilings! They did it with something to make a pattern that leaves spikes all over! I have cut my hand changing lightbulbs! I hate the ceilings. Can't you tell? Ha ha. How do we get rid of the old ceiling? Sanding? Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## BJLower (Aug 2, 2008)

*However thought of popcorn cielings should be shot and the spiky stuff is even worse*

Personally I think they came up with the dreaded popcorn ceiling so the dryywallers didn't have to do a nice job because that nasty unpaintable garbage would hide the Titanic, it does make a nice dust bunny collector though.


Friends of mine bought a house that a complete moron added onto twice. The second one he outdid stupidity. He built an outside deck onto his first addition and then figure “what the heck, I might as well enclose the porch.


He didn't bother to take into account that the footers he put in were for a deck and not a house. For some unknown reason he put the leftover concrete from the footers into some kind of box behind the shed and left a BIG square block of cement. At least that's the best we can come up with. It's 
jack-hammer rental time to get rid of it.


His second addition naturally settles and made a nice wide crack across the kitchen ceiling that happens to be that same strange spiky stuff. I was able to fill the crack in and match the spiky stuff by using a sponge.


Other than replacing the ceiling I have no idea how you could actually get rid of that spiky stuff and end up with a ceiling that didn't look nearly as bad. Replacing the drywall would beat the heck out of trying to sand a ceiling down. Holding a belt sander over your head would kill you pretty quick and you know you're never going to get it smooth.


I glad they only asked me to see if I could fix the crack for them. I hope I never see the nasty stuff again.


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## Wiz1940 (May 26, 2008)

*popcorn celings*

Home Depot has a tool for removing popcorn celings. Its a scraper with a tray and vacum hose connection to catch all the mess.....I think its around $14 or so. Im thinking of getting one to use on mine soon.


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## bobbietwin2 (Oct 10, 2008)

*ceiling stuff*

thanks for responses - I'll have to check out Home Depot for that tool and see how that works on this spikey stuff! Or looks like we may havae to replace with new drywall.....


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## Chagres (Oct 13, 2007)

The thing you really have to be careful with when removing popcorn ceilings is asbestos content. I would strongly recommend getting it tested at a lab before messing with it. Here's an article I wrote about that, and how to remove the popcorn http://home-interiors.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_remove_a_popcorn_ceiling.

chagres
http://www.icanfixupmyhome.com


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