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NFT: Smoothing or removing textured ceiling

26.2 : 8/3/2022 3:11 pm
So we're looking at a house to buy and the whole thing has those textured ceilings (which my wife hates). Has anyone tried to smooth it out, or scrapped it off? Just trying to get an idea of how big of a job it is. I imagine it creates a mess.
We removed it in most of our rooms  
Gman11 : 8/3/2022 3:16 pm : link
Basically, you wet it and scrape it off. It's a pain in the ass, but looks better when it's gone.

I'm sure if you Google "removing textures ceiling" you can get a step by step.
big messy job I would sub it out to a drywall crew  
oghwga : 8/3/2022 3:16 pm : link
depending on the age of the house it could be a lead/asbestos issue.

Figure $5-$10 a sf as a guesstimate if it's not lead or asbestos.

Soak it, scrape it, skim coat it, pain it. All while reaching above your head.
textured  
pjcas18 : 8/3/2022 3:18 pm : link
or popcorn?

I have been trying for 10 years to get someone to remove/replace our popcorn ceiling.

And no one wants to touch it.

I have been doing it myself over the past 10 years one room or contiguous space at a time.

I don't think textured would be much different.

youtube has a lot of DIY suggestions, none work well and all are messy.
like the others have said  
Giants : 8/3/2022 3:27 pm : link
you wet it good. Some of it will fall off. What doesn't you need to scrape it off. It's a mess not hard other than you are reaching up
I have it in one room of my house  
Chris684 : 8/3/2022 3:34 pm : link
It not quite popcorn but it's textured, almost like a strange circular pattern. I'm lucky that it's in just one room so for now it stays while we knock out larger projects but it's the kind of job I envision myself hiring someone for.
RE: I have it in one room of my house  
beatrixkiddo : 8/3/2022 4:06 pm : link
In comment 15771137 Chris684 said:
Quote:
It not quite popcorn but it's textured, almost like a strange circular pattern. I'm lucky that it's in just one room so for now it stays while we knock out larger projects but it's the kind of job I envision myself hiring someone for.


I just bought an old 60’s style Ranch this past year, and sounds like you have the same thing we did. I’m pretty sure it was all plaster over sheet rock, with a circular texture. Either way, our first thing we did was skim coat the whole thing over so it was smooth, ceilings and walls. Makes a huge mess, we had to redo the floors anyway as they were in rough shape so we just made a mess and moved as quick as possible. It’s definetly a huge PITA, my shoulders are burning just thinking about it as your arms over your head the entire time.
RE: I have it in one room of my house  
JayBinQueens : 8/3/2022 4:14 pm : link
In comment 15771137 Chris684 said:
Quote:
It not quite popcorn but it's textured, almost like a strange circular pattern. I'm lucky that it's in just one room so for now it stays while we knock out larger projects but it's the kind of job I envision myself hiring someone for.

Looks like a cream cheese shmeer?
I've never done a whole house  
PakistanPete : 8/3/2022 4:27 pm : link
but I did do it quite a bit for a cousin's business when I was in college and once for myself for a house we sold.

I can't imagine not being able to find a pro who would since popcorn removal is so common nowadays.

Anyway, if you do it yourself, an extension pole is your friend.
Whatever you do, don't call this guy  
Greg from LI : 8/3/2022 5:22 pm : link
I've done it  
River Mike : 8/3/2022 5:23 pm : link
You go over it with joint compound. If done right, it requires very little sanding. Of course floors need to be covered for each area you're working on. You can hire someone who does sheet rock work. They are skilled at it, work fast and minimize the mess.
Spray bottle full of water  
State Your Name : 8/3/2022 7:08 pm : link
12” scraper
Stepladder
A whole lot of plastic drop cloths
Skim coat of spackel
Advil for sore neck the next day
RE: big messy job I would sub it out to a drywall crew  
Eman11 : 8/3/2022 7:11 pm : link
In comment 15771108 oghwga said:
Quote:
depending on the age of the house it could be a lead/asbestos issue.

Figure $5-$10 a sf as a guesstimate if it's not lead or asbestos.

Soak it, scrape it, skim coat it, pain it. All while reaching above your head.


That’s a high guesstimate imo. Based on those numbers a small bedroom ceiling (10x12 =120 sf) would be $600-$1,200!

If you’re removing the popcorn it shouldn’t take someone more than a day to do that, tops. (Someone who has the tools and knows what they’re doing would probably knock that ceiling out in 3-4 hours max) If it’s a texture that needs to be skim coated probably no more than 2 hours a coat x probably three coats.

Then you’d have to paint which is maybe an hour per coat. Depending on if it’s popcorn or texture it shouldn’t take a pro any more than 6- 8 hours labor.
Cover it with new Sheetrock.  
Giant John : 8/4/2022 6:31 am : link
PITA.
RE: RE: I have it in one room of my house  
Chris684 : 8/4/2022 6:55 am : link
In comment 15771175 JayBinQueens said:
Quote:
In comment 15771137 Chris684 said:


Quote:


It not quite popcorn but it's textured, almost like a strange circular pattern. I'm lucky that it's in just one room so for now it stays while we knock out larger projects but it's the kind of job I envision myself hiring someone for.


Looks like a cream cheese shmeer?


Yes, kinda like that.
I haven't done it before but it sounds awful  
Andy in Halifax : 8/4/2022 7:45 am : link
I think I would be more inclined to take it down and just put up new drywall. Especially if only a room or two.
We had a large area  
Rick Morehouse : 8/4/2022 9:08 am : link
with popcorn and we hired a drywall pro to go over the entire area with new drywall. Did this instead of removing it.
Our house has it - sucks but here's what I've been told  
DC Gmen Fan : 8/4/2022 9:58 am : link
textured ceilings hide a lot of imperfections especially in older homes. As the joists settle there's warping and such. Nail pops, cracks, etc.

So there's a risk you spend a lot of time and $$ to remove the texture only to now be greeted with other visual imperfections in the ceiling.
RE: We had a large area  
pjcas18 : 8/4/2022 10:05 am : link
In comment 15771536 Rick Morehouse said:
Quote:
with popcorn and we hired a drywall pro to go over the entire area with new drywall. Did this instead of removing it.


I was advised I could do this as well, but I have crown moldings along the ceiling that would need to be removed.

they look nice, so I'd rather not do that.
We just did this  
armstead98 : 8/4/2022 10:26 am : link
Rather than scrape which takes hours and makes a huge mess, our guys just put plaster or something on it to smooth it t out. It looks great and at a fraction of the cost
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