My weekend

[Rob]

Two things I really don't like, painting and heights.

Got the primer done yesterday, going to try to get two coats done today so we can hang up the wall decorations tomorrow, take down the scaffolding and return it to the rental place Monday morning.

Anyone know someone that can repair and redo a popcorn ceiling?

 

[Phil S]

Rob, I do not know anybody who does the popcorn ceilings but they should be easy to find. almost all residential drywall finishers will do it. I suggest going to a residential construction site, find a drywall and I bet they will do it very cheaply. It will help if you can speak spanish. if you would rather try it yourself I have the hopper/gun that you can borrow. Phil

 

[Rob]

No, I don't want to try it myself. We're wondering if color can be added to popcorn, instead of stark white.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

The best thing for a popcorn ceiling is a 6" drywall knife, and scrape it all off!! Then sand and paint it. :gar-Bi

 

[Rob]

That's what the wife wants, but nope, I'm not doing it. 30' high ceilings.

 

[RobS.]

There is a product that is made to repair textured ceilings. It's available at most paint centers. I have some out in the shop. It's basically just the same texture in plastic container. It applies with a putty knife. It takes a little work to blend it in so that the patch doesn't show. I use a damp rag to blend the edges in to the old texture to reduce the ridge where the new meets the old stuff. Paint can be added to the texture compound when spraying it new.
If the popcorn is loose it will get worse when wet paint hits it causing it to fall. Small areas can be dealt with with a few choice words, but larger areas pretty much have to be removed and redone. The biggest problem with popcorn ceilings is delamination. Through the years it can just get loose with age.
It's pretty easy to mist the texture with some water in a spray bottle. When it's slightly damp it will scrape off rather easily. Of course it falls on everything below making drop cloths and plastic cover sheets a necessity.
And of course if you try it yourself and it doesn't work you'll likely wind up calling a drywall finisher.

I just went out to the shop but can't find the product. I must have used it all. It's labeled as a textured or popcorn ceiling repair product and is readily available.

If you were closer I'd be glad to come by and do it for you. I have a lot of experience with it.

 

[Rob]

Rob, I'd hire you to do it in a second, the highest point on the ceiling is about 25' from the ground. That's the main reason I don't want to do it myself. Bad enough being on this scaffolding painting a wall. Did I mention I really, really don't like heights? :embarrassed:

Halfway there, 1st coat done.

 

[walnutjerry]

It's pretty easy to mist the texture with some water in a spray bottle. When it's slightly damp it will scrape off rather easily. Of course it falls on everything below making drop cloths and plastic cover sheets a necessity.

.

Rob----the guy that reworked our ceilings held a shallow box under the putty knife as he scraped, emptied in a trash can as he went--------no cloths etc.------and no mess on the floor. You may want to try that next time and save the $$ on plastic.

Jerry

 

[RobS.]

Rob----the guy that reworked our ceilings held a shallow box under the putty knife as he scraped, emptied in a trash can as he went--------no cloths etc.------and no mess on the floor. You may want to try that next time and save the $$ on plastic.

Jerry

That's a good idea and I've done that before too. The plastic is cheap and I charge it to the customers :gar-La;. I'm really hoping I won't be doing anymore in the future though. I have spurs along my upper vertabrae that hurt when I tilt my head back to work on ceilings. I'm good for about an hour.

 

[fergy]

Rob----the guy that reworked our ceilings held a shallow box under the putty knife as he scraped, emptied in a trash can as he went--------no cloths etc.------and no mess on the floor. You may want to try that next time and save the $$ on plastic.

Jerry

We removed it through our entire house, doing this. We used a clean garden sprayer and misted the ceiling, waited 15 minutes, sprayed again and scraped it into a paint tray as we went.

The only thing to be aware of is that they usually don't do the mud work on the ceiling very well if they are planning to popcorn it, especially at the corners. We wound up skim coating the entire ceiling and sanding it to get a smooth surface. The edges and corners were really bad, but we were applying crown moulding so we didn't worry about that.

The popcorn is basically vermiculite in a base, so you can make your own if you need. A little google search will get you some more info on it.

 

[Rob]

Completed it today.

 

[PChristy]

Hey Rob you did a great job on that wall considering the height issue - did you paint the butterfly on there also? Or is that a hanging - Looks great:icon_thum

 

[Trent Mason]

I think that turned out very well Rob. :icon_thum +1 for getting rid of the popcorn. My folks did their entire house and believe me, if they can do it, anyone can do it. :gar-La;

 

[Rob]

The butterfly is a quilt my mom made.

Trent, see the scaffolding? That was 11' high, doesn't even come close to the ceiling, I'm not going any higher. Heights make me nervous.