Remove Popcorn Ceiling & Glitter
Popcorn, also known as acoustic, ceilings were once all the rage in room designs in the 1970s. However, since the peak of its popularity, some homeowners have grown tired of the textured ceilings and want to see them gone, but that does not mean a professional must be hired to do the removal. Though there is a bit of prep and finish work that most homeowners can do, removing the texture itself is not difficult.
Instructions
Preparation
1. Clear the room of all furniture. Remove all light fixtures in the room. Make sure the power is off.
2. Tape small pieces of plastic over each receptacle, as well as over each light switch and each area where you removed a light fixture before covering the entire walls with several layers of the heavy-duty plastic, taping it about 1/4 inch from the ceiling.
3. Tape the plastic sheeting about 1 foot up on the walls before covering the floors. This will protect your baseboards from water damage.
4. Roll a layer of rosin paper on the floor to absorb water that may fall and prevent the plastic from becoming slippery and then tape the paper in place.
Removal
5. Wet down the ceiling in areas around 4 to 5 feet square. Use a garden sprayer. Get the acoustic ceiling wet, but not so much that you are now soaking, and possibly damaging, the ceiling beneath it.
6. Scrape off the popcorn ceiling in the 4- to-5-foot square you sprayed. Use the joint knife, with the corners filed down, to prevent scratching your ceiling. If you find any part requires a lot of hard scraping, re-wet it and give the textured material time to absorb the water.
7. Roll a second layer over top of the first if you find you have too much debris on the rosin paper.
8. Remove the plastic and roll up the paper on the floor when you see the ceiling has been completely cleared of the popcorn texture, and then you should be able to turn power back on in the room.
Repairs
9. Check all joints to ensure the joint paper was not damaged or removed by the water and ensure that the nails are still covered by a layer of joint compound.
10. Roll more rosin paper on the floor to catch any joint compound that may fall.
11. Mix a joint compound and apply a thin layer along the joint line with the putty knife.
12. Dip the joint tape in a bucket of water, then squeeze off the excess between your fingers. Use the putty knife to press the tape into the joint compound and smooth off any excess.
13. Put a thin amount of the joint compound over the nails.
14. Sand over each area of joint compound once dry, using sanding mesh and the sanding pad on a pole, which will save you from climbing on a ladder to each spot.
15. Apply a thin and even coat of the joint compound (or perhaps a lightweight joint compound) to the whole ceiling in a skim coat, sanding it once it is dry. You may need to apply two skim coats this way to get a completely flat surface.
16. Prime and paint your ceiling once it is totally dry. Reinstall your light fixtures and bring your furniture back into the room.
Tags: joint compound, over each, , rosin paper, absorb water, before covering, Ceiling Glitter