# Concrete ceiling under popcorn



## Alex451 (Feb 10, 2021)

Hi everybody. 

I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I've run into a problem I have never seen before and I was wondering if someone knows how to proceed with the next steps.

It was a simple unpainted popcorn removal project. Easy enough. I assumed it was drywall underneath the popcorn in this two story townhouse. Nope it's concrete, I should have tapped it to figure that out. There is some kind of sandy grout between the popcorn and the concrete however and its not easy to remove. I tried smoothing it out by sanding it with 150 grit paper but its making scratches as if im using 60 grit. I vacuumed off as much dust as I could and im thinking of testing skim coating directly over it and in another spot priming it and then skim coating. Does anyone know which option would be better and what primer would be best for this unusual surface ? Its still very sandy and rubs of dust if you touch it.

Any advice would be appreciated!


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Concrete? You mean Plaster? Just skim coat it with mud. Its not gonna fall off. Save the primer for when you're done.


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## Alex451 (Feb 10, 2021)

Its concrete covered with a thin layer of a grainy substance that's almost like grout.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Looks like sand texture additive in the paint, not popcorn.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I get the impression the pics show what remains after the popcorn was removed, but maybe not. Either way, if what is there is sound, vac well, apply a quality primer of your choice, then skim coat. Overall it seems like a fairly straightforward project - at least from where I am sitting on my couch.


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## Alex451 (Feb 10, 2021)

RH said:


> I get the impression the pics show what remains after the popcorn was removed, but maybe not. Either way, if what is there is sound, vac well, apply a quality primer of your choice, then skim coat. Overall it seems like a fairly straightforward project - at least from where I am sitting on my couch.


Thats correct. I already removed the popcorn texture. 

Today I decided to skim coat it before priming it. Hopefully its going to bond well enough. I had a gut feeling no primer is going to bond to that sandy/chalky surface.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Yeah, I debated about the real need for a primer coat _prior_ to skim coating, but when making suggestions, I prefer to be overly cautious than not.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Based on the report from the OP, I would have bet that a primer was necessary before anything else.


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## Alex451 (Feb 10, 2021)

I hope I don't regret not priming it first. Everything went well with skimming first. I decided on using Gardz as the first coat because it states it is good for chalky problem walls. Two coats of yellow can ceiling paint on top and it looks mint. 

Time will tell now if that was the right play.

Does no one here have any experience with popcorn ceilings over concrete ? There is surprisingly little to no info about this on the interwebs. I could only find one video of it on youtube


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Alex451 said:


> I hope I don't regret not priming it first. Everything went well with skimming first. I decided on using Gardz as the first coat because it states it is good for chalky problem walls. Two coats of yellow can ceiling paint on top and it looks mint.
> 
> Time will tell now if that was the right play.
> 
> Does no one here have any experience with popcorn ceilings over concrete ? There is surprisingly little to no info about this on the interwebs. I could only find one video of it on youtube


You can skim over Gardz- that should be fine. I've done that in the past a few times without any problems.


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## Joe67 (Aug 12, 2016)

Alex451 said:


> I hope I don't regret not priming it first. Everything went well with skimming first. I decided on using Gardz as the first coat because it states it is good for chalky problem walls. Two coats of yellow can ceiling paint on top and it looks mint.
> 
> Time will tell now if that was the right play.
> 
> *Does no one here have any experience with popcorn ceilings over concrete ? There is surprisingly little to no info about this on the interwebs. I could only find one video of it on **youtube*


There can obviously be a lot of geographic and time variations with regards to building practices. And I have no comprehensive knowledge of it. But I'm going to guess it's just exceedingly rare either way. Popcorn, to me goes with residential applications where concrete ceilings are exceedingly rare. I've never even seen one - unless one means plaster and lath. And concrete goes with commercial building where popcorn is less likely to be found. See my first 2 sentences, but I think you just came across a really rare bird.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Alex451 said:


> I hope I don't regret not priming it first. Everything went well with skimming first. I decided on using Gardz as the first coat because it states it is good for chalky problem walls. Two coats of yellow can ceiling paint on top and it looks mint.
> 
> Time will tell now if that was the right play.
> 
> Does no one here have any experience with popcorn ceilings over concrete ? There is surprisingly little to no info about this on the interwebs. I could only find one video of it on youtube


If the surface of the bare concrete was not too chalky, you should get away with skimming over it without a primer. I've just experienced too many patching failures due to chalky surfaces, that I choose to primer prior tp patching over suspect surfaces. GARDZ will definitly penetrate and possibly add to better adhesion of the joint compound.

As far as the mint color, there might be something wrong with the paint if it was supposed to be yellow.


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## [email protected] (Jun 29, 2018)

Alex451 said:


> Hi everybody.
> 
> I'm a long time lurker and first time poster. I've run into a problem I have never seen before and I was wondering if someone knows how to proceed with the next steps.
> 
> ...


I would shoot an oil primer on it skim coat it and go from there


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Quikrete 1 Gal. Concrete Bonding Adhesive 990201 - The Home Depot


Quikrete 1 Gal. Concrete Bonding Adhesive permanently bonds existing concrete, plaster and stucco to new concrete, plaster and stucco. It can be used indoors and outdoors on concrete overlays 1 in. or



www.homedepot.com
 




This. Quikrete Concrete Bonding agent is PVA glue, paint it on, then skim coat. It will help glue stuff to the concrete/sand, and better guarantees your skim coat sticks, especially if you have a thick layer. It's basically a plaster trick, to use a bonding agent. Plaster Weld is another one, but Quikrete bonding agent works just as well and is commonly available at Home Depot. The consistency is pretty much like a thinner more brushable Elmer's Glue. 

I would actually not use a paint primer under it as if that doesn't stick it's going to be giant sheets of stuff as latex, and oil could still have issues. It's better to just use bonding agent as glue to stabilize the surface. It also works I'm presuming similar to Gardz in drywall repairs where the paper is torn, it doesn't dry up as hard as I've heard Gardz does, but it still will seal the surface and allow the joint compound to bond.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

Hey OP, I had a funny situation right after replying to this. Quite a coincidence.

Wallpaper removal in a very old house. They seemed to use a cement plaster of some sort here, and no finish veneer/gauging coat, just sanded cement plaster of some sort. House from the 1800s.


















To the untrained person though, this would look like concrete, but it was lath plaster without the finish coat I guess.

How old was the place you were working in?

I ended up using Gardz, too, except on that specific wall with the big crack. I didn't skim over the Gardz yet, Concrete bonder seemed to work adequately but I think Gardz would have been better as I do think I was having PH issues due to the wallpaper glue residue, and had more bubbling than usual with my skim coat with Easysand and it didn't tolerate water while being knocked down much at all. Without the wallpaper glue I think Concrete Bonding Agent would have worked adequately, though.


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## Alex451 (Feb 10, 2021)

That first pic looks a lot like what i was dealing with! But behind that plaster was real solid concrete. It was like knocking on pavement. 

The low rise condo I was dealing with was only 5-6 years old.


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## Joe67 (Aug 12, 2016)

Alex451 said:


> That first pic looks a lot like what i was dealing with! But behind that plaster was real solid concrete. It was like knocking on pavement.
> 
> *The low rise condo I was dealing with was only 5-6 years old.*


If you had said "low rise condo" and "5-6 years old" in your initial post, no one would have ever been wondering about plaster. Even just the 5-6 years old would have done it.


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

celicaxx said:


> Hey OP, I had a funny situation right after replying to this. Quite a coincidence.
> Wallpaper removal in a very old house. They seemed to use a cement plaster of some sort here, and no finish veneer/gauging coat, just sanded cement plaster of some sort. House from the 1800s.
> To the untrained person though, this would look like concrete, but it was lath plaster without the finish coat I guess.
> How old was the place you were working in?
> I ended up using Gardz, too, except on that specific wall with the big crack. I didn't skim over the Gardz yet, Concrete bonder seemed to work adequately but I think Gardz would have been better as I do think I was having PH issues due to the wallpaper glue residue, and had more bubbling than usual with my skim coat with Easysand and it didn't tolerate water while being knocked down much at all. Without the wallpaper glue I think Concrete Bonding Agent would have worked adequately, though.


It's really strange they did not do a finish plaster! It looks like my old house except all ceilings and walls were finished with a smooth top plaster. I've had to repair a lot of the keys and do a lot of plaster crack repairs. Even so, I love the old plaster; I much prefer it to drywall! It has all been well worth repairing, especially, given, I provide the labor on my own house. I could never have afforded a real plasterer to do that work. I also washed all of the wall paper residue off and did a good power sanding of all walls and had no problems with an oil primer and WB finish coat.


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## celicaxx (May 29, 2015)

jennifertemple said:


> It's really strange they did not do a finish plaster! It looks like my old house except all ceilings and walls were finished with a smooth top plaster. I've had to repair a lot of the keys and do a lot of plaster crack repairs. Even so, I love the old plaster; I much prefer it to drywall! It has all been well worth repairing, especially, given, I provide the labor on my own house. I could never have afforded a real plasterer to do that work. I also washed all of the wall paper residue off and did a good power sanding of all walls and had no problems with an oil primer and WB finish coat.


The house was actually from 1852, and one thing odd about the sand was it seemed quite like local beach sand where I live, which was interesting. I'm not sure on the date of the wallpaper in that room, but the newest looking wallpaper in one room was marked sometime in the 1980s under the paper by the prior company.

Another odd thing about it too is while they didn't do a finish coat, beyond cracks and prior spackling attempts by the paperhangers, it was a 100% smooth wall, it was not rough aggregate, but troweled down smooth like a polished concrete kind of thing.


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## jeniffergate (10 mo ago)

You are doing gods work removing popcorn ceilings lol. I've done it once, and it took me forever. I had to do similar scraping drudgery on some stairs, and making it saturated with warm water or just a wet warm towel on for a few mins made it easier. I also heard that adding soap or fabric softener to the water may help. Similar to dealing with wallpaper. I think a wallpaper steamer or any kind of steamer may make the removal a bit quicker. The next time I had to remove popcorn, I hired some concrete contractors to do the job because I am quite lazy and know how much work it requires.


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## sandebenedditt (4 mo ago)

Maybe use sanding to finish the surface and then just paint it like any other wall? It's at least what I would do. Or maybe apply some plaster before painting to make the surface more even.
Also, if you're not that sure about the results, it's better to consult specialists like concrete contractors Denver CO. they will determine the type of surface and the covering you need to choose for it. I hire this company every time I need some construction help around the house. I'm not a professional and prefer to rely on someone more experienced in this domain.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

sandebenedditt said:


> Maybe use sanding to finish the surface and then just paint it like any other wall? It's at least what I would do. Or maybe apply some plaster before painting to make the surface more even.


Just a heads up, this thread was originally started over a year ago.


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