# stripping popcorn ceilings



## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Anyone have any experience stripping popcorn ceilings? I just looked at a YouTube video and it looks pretty straight forward to do.

Covering up the place with poly & drops will be 1/3 the job I expect.

Process:

1. Use a pump sprayer and wet down the popcorn ceiling.
2. small areas at a time
3. Use 12" drywall knife.
4. Let dry after removal
5. Prime/Seal
6. Mudd-repair damage
7. spot prime mudded areas.
8. paint.

It looks messy but doable.

I'm having the client get the popcorn tested for asbestos. 

I also have no idea what to charge. I know prices are frowned upon in here but this is not exactly painting. Stripping popcorn is done by drywall guys too. Please give me a ballpark idea. How long should it take to strip a 14x16 room?

If I missed anything let me know. I'm sure there will be unexpected surprises.:wink:


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

I hate doing just one room because there's too much time wasted waiting for things to dry. I would try talking them into doing 2 or three rooms at a time if possible.

Prep prior to removing:

Take all furniture out of the areas being done. 
Cover floors with 3-4mil plastic, have the plastic run up the walls about a foot all the way around. 
If painting the walls I run take and paper right above the plastic and above any outlets, windows, and doors. It's a little faster that way. 
If you're not painting the walls completely cover them with painters plastic. 
Sounds like a pain but it'll save you a ton of time in clean up if you do it this way. 


Also use an airless to wet with water, I use a 520 tip for that. Removal in a room that size is fast, like an hour. It would probably take me 1.5hours to set it up. I normally use a 10inch black for the big areas and a 4inch blade for the edges always going parallel to the walls, never into it.

Expect to mud a lot. Normally the tape around the corners need two coats and the nails and seams take one to two depending.

Because there's mud so much I prime after mudding and sanding, then two coats of paint. If it's older expect to need an oil primer, you'll know if the drywall looks yellow under the popcorn.

Prime wise, figure out how long you think it'll take based on what I described, multiply by your hourly rate, and add materials.

Have fun! 

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## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

There are always surprises when you remove popcorn and not always the pleasant kind. As said have fun.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

I second what briggs said. I put two layers of 3 mil plastic on the floor though. The top layer gets taped about a foot up on the walls. then I sometimes, but not always, drape the walls with the .3 mil about a few inches from the ceiling. Hose it down with my 629 and an airless. Do it again , and start scraping. When Im done, I pull the walls, and wrap everything up in my top layer of plastic. You'll be surprised at how much crap ends up on the bottom layer. I also wrap my shoes up with plastic before I start. Then you'll need to hose your ladder off outside. Its not too bad. let it dry, hit it with a pole sander, and refloat the seams and stuff. Sometimes, you can start sanding and mudding the same day, but you cant count on it.

For a medium sized ceiling, stripping takes about half a day, then another half a day to refloat and sand, then another half day to paint. It'll take less time than that, but its a safe charge.

Oh, this is all assuming there isnt coats of semigloss paint on the popcorn, sealing it from moisture. I usually just tell them t+M for the scrape float and sand, but you can estimate a day and a half total.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Rbriggs82 said:


> I hate doing just one room because there's too much time wasted waiting for things to dry. I would try talking them into doing 2 or three rooms at a time if possible.
> 
> Prep prior to removing:
> 
> ...


It's the whole main floor. I just mentioned a single room to try and understand how long it takes. The only reason I'm willing to do it is because she also wants her Kitchen cabinets painted. That alone is a 4K job. I'll deal with the mess for that kind of money.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

I just repainted a ceiling that had its popcorn removed and painted a few days earlier. The homeowner wanted a better job with mudding and painting. The handyman was pretty good overall but missed some scratches etc. 

The problem I had was he didn't prime it and used some cheap Sherwin Wiliams ceiling paint. When I was doing the repairs it scratched the surface easily when applying mud and sanding. There were some High/Low spots. 

This was AFTER he painted it. He didn't seal it. I suppose mudding + sanding then sealing would save a bit of time. I think it's easier to mudd after the priming. Fewer scratches and you can see the defects easier after priming. Spot priming only takes a few minutes.


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

Rbriggs82 said:


> I hate doing just one room because there's too much time wasted waiting for things to dry. I would try talking them into doing 2 or three rooms at a time if possible.
> 
> Prep prior to removing:
> 
> ...


Also, after removal there will be about 1/4 in of wall showing that will need to be tended to. Not a big deal if you're planning to paint the walls. Can be a big deal if you're not. I'd plan on half a day at least of scraping and clean up....I'm not the fastest either though....have fun with that. 

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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

lilpaintchic said:


> Also, after removal there will be about 1/4 in of wall showing that will need to be tended to. Not a big deal if you're planning to paint the walls. Can be a big deal if you're not. I'd plan on half a day at least of scraping and clean up....I'm not the fastest either though....have fun with that.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


None of the walls will be painted. I plan on using 1" frog tape and then hanging 9' poly over the walls. I do like the idea of double poly on the floor. great tip! 

The handyman I talked about above left a mess everywhere and all of the homeowner's ducts are filled with popcorn ceiling mess. The homeowner was furious and had to clean up after the guy every day. Now she has to pay for her ducts to be cleaned before turning on the furnace for the winter.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

I highly recommend using 2" regular tape.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Yeah I would go with blue tape too. Paintchic made a good point, make sure they have the wall touch up paint because you will need it. If they don't have it make sure you warn them ahead of time. 

I also forgot to mention that I run a bead of caulk all the way around, leaves cleaner corners. 

If your going over obstacles like cabinets and such I put a thumbtack in the corners where the plastic is taped. Nothing is worse than when your spraying the water and the plastic starts to fall. Like domino's it starts in the corner then quickly can fall all the way around. Once that happens you're screwed, because at that point it's wet and reattaching it is a lost cause. 

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## jr.sr. painting (Dec 6, 2013)

Always plan on wall needing to be painted just in case as others have stated. Especially when getting the ceiling wet it will probably loosen some inside corner tape if it isn't already started. If you think you have a good price for a room that size add $500. There is a lot of time and material even a room that sized. How high is the ceiling? 


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*I would try this first*



Mr Smith said:


> Anyone have any experience stripping popcorn ceilings? I just looked at a YouTube video and it looks pretty straight forward to do.
> 
> Covering up the place with poly & drops will be 1/3 the job I expect.
> 
> ...


I am a big fan of wet/dry vacs. i would try this first:






futtyos


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## Local paint pro (May 15, 2018)

I would plan on walls being painted in every case where you strip popcorn. I have stripped close to a hundred houses, including a 900 soft apartment last week. The reason I say plan on painting walls in every case is especially for those with less experience, there is a tendency to un embed the tape where the ceiling meets the wall. This happens to me on some scale in EVERY SINGLE strip. Most times I can keep it to a minimum, but to re embed or replace tape it require s joint compound on the ceiling and wall, no exceptions (and I’m a pretty good drywall finisher too). If you go around the edge of the edge of the ceiling with about a 4” taping knife, running he knife against the wall you can reduce thhe amount of tape you have to re embed. Having to re tape the joints is the most time consuming and risky part of the operation. I try to convince my customers to let me replace with knockdown rather than skimming the ceiling flat because it’s much easier to apply than all the sanding, mudding, waiting, and repeating. This part is important, you have to oil prime (I use problock). You will look for every reason to skip this step, DO NOT SKIP OIL PRIMER STEP. I say this from experience, and spot priming the visible stains only you will regret too. BIG TAKE AWAYS- paint all walls, prime ceiling with oil, be very careful around the edges. As far as the price.. how much dow you charge for paint work, and what kind of customers are we talk8ng about?


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Yeah I would go with blue tape too. Paintchic made a good point, make sure they have the wall touch up paint because you will need it. If they don't have it make sure you warn them ahead of time.
> 
> I also forgot to mention that I run a bead of caulk all the way around, leaves cleaner corners.
> 
> ...


That's why Frog tape is preferable. Water causes it to seal like glue. I usually put 3M 2020 1.5" on top of the frog tape when painting just the ceiling, but I hadn't thought of the 2020 falling off the plastic. Maybe I'll have to invest in the 2" Frog tape to put on the plastic. I always run 1" Frog along the entire edge near the ceiling first and then attach the poly to the wall. Maybe it might be a good idea to add a layer of 12" paper too just in case.

I always tell the customer that the tape might pull off some of the drywall if it hasn't been primed and then all the walls have to be repainted. There is no way of telling how well it was painted previously.


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

Buy a filter that fits over the top of the furnace cold air return and just tape it into place....yes, double bag the floors. And I love the plastic o ver your shoes idea....that crap is a pita to keep contained.personally, I'd use 1 1/2" pg5 tape and painters plastic on the walls. Poly is too heavy for the walls and will be the cause of failure.to each their own I guess.


Mr Smith said:


> None of the walls will be painted. I plan on using 1" frog tape and then hanging 9' poly over the walls. I do like the idea of double poly on the floor. great tip!
> 
> The handyman I talked about above left a mess everywhere and all of the homeowner's ducts are filled with popcorn ceiling mess. The homeowner was furious and had to clean up after the guy every day. Now she has to pay for her ducts to be cleaned before turning on the furnace for the winter.


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

A little trick I picked up is to always leave about 5 or 6 inches of slack in the corners when draping walls. It GREATLY reduces the chance of pull down


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

Be cautious, a good many popcorn ceilings contain asbestos. Wear a high efficiency particulate air mask for protection & wear plastic gloves. Also, many were painted with oil primer, I don't know if that makes a huge difference to removal, but it might. I think the oil prime would make it water resistant.


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## deadend (Aug 1, 2013)

Rbriggs82 said:


> I hate doing just one room because there's too much time wasted waiting for things to dry. I would try talking them into doing 2 or three rooms at a time if possible.
> 
> Prep prior to removing:
> 
> ...


 ...what's your reasoning for an airless over a pump sprayer...?...especially for such a small space...


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

deadend said:


> ...what's your reasoning for an airless over a pump sprayer...?...especially for such a small space...


It's just faster. Plus I have a little Titan 400 I use for it so it's not to cumbersome to take in and out. 

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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Its a LOT faster. Its worth it. Its probably a 10th of the time using an airless, especially if you have a massive tip like my 629.


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## Painting Practice (Jul 21, 2013)

Fine line between wetting enough to scrape efficiently and soaking until the paper of the sheetrock comes off with your knife.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

lilpaintchic said:


> Buy a filter that fits over the top of the furnace cold air return and just tape it into place....yes, double bag the floors. And I love the plastic o ver your shoes idea....that crap is a pita to keep contained.personally, I'd use 1 1/2" pg5 tape and painters plastic on the walls. Poly is too heavy for the walls and will be the cause of failure.to each their own I guess.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk


In Canada they sell rolls of plastic I call poly. it's called 'ultra Light". Very thin stuff and very lightweight. I have those baggies they sell for your shoes. Whatever they call them.


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## Mr Smith (Mar 11, 2016)

Painting Practice said:


> Fine line between wetting enough to scrape efficiently and soaking until the paper of the sheetrock comes off with your knife.


That's why I'll try using a garden sprayer first. I don't want to have to re-tape everything.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Corner tape*



futtyos said:


> I am a big fan of wet/dry vacs. i would try this first:
> 
> Clean Popcorn ceiling removal, easy and clean! - YouTube
> 
> futtyos


This guy didn't seem to have a problem getting the popcorn off all the way to the top of the walls. I would expect that this popcorn was never painted.

futtyos


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## Woodco (Nov 19, 2016)

Painting Practice said:


> Fine line between wetting enough to scrape efficiently and soaking until the paper of the sheetrock comes off with your knife.


it doesnt soak it THAT much. Thats the beauty of using an airless. Just spray it like you're giving it a coat of paint, and its JUST enough water. I usually go over it twice, and its just enough for the popcorn to soak it all in and get soft. I've never had tape on the walls come off due to water either. And, a lot of times its dry enough to sand a couple hours later, so its not getting too wet.


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## lilpaintchic (Jul 9, 2014)

Ahh... gotcha.


Mr Smith said:


> In Canada they sell rolls of plastic I call poly. it's called 'ultra Light". Very thin stuff and very lightweight. I have those baggies they sell for your shoes. Whatever they call them.


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## Colsonjwarren415$ (Oct 4, 2018)

Method you have listed is on point, be sure to suit up and mask up, a lot of nasty stuff coming down. Also putting 6mil plastic on the floor isn’t a bad idea


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## LynnDingler (Aug 31, 2018)

No, I never tried it.


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