[Question] will DIY popcorn ceiling removal tactics work as well on daybed in plaster?

Submitted by kharmatika t3_zwx23u in DIY

I have sort of a weird ceiling, it’s not quite stippled, not quite swirled. Looks like someone used a big fat makeup brush and went “blorp blorp blorp” all over the ceiling.

https://imgur.com/a/N84ycGt/

It’s hideous.

Anyway I wanna do a scrape down on it so I can do some painting and have it look nice but I am not sure if the ole “spray and scrape” will work on this stuff. I don’t want to unnecessarily wet my ceilings and be sat there trying to make this work, or damage the ceiling without being able to complete the job, but I REALLY want this crap gone.

Anyone have experience with other textured ceiling types?

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chookityyyypok t1_j1xj3uz wrote

I have no helpful advice for you, but I wanted to let you know I am giving you an upvote for your use of the word "blorp"

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Spare_Interaction_10 t1_j1xa4zv wrote

That's not popcorn it will not scrape off. Sand it down then skim the ceiling out

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EntasaurusWrecked t1_j1xd52q wrote

Don’t scrape until you get it checked for asbestos. Mesothelioma isn’t pleasant.

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Big-Spend-2915 t1_j1xtm13 wrote

It's just drywall mud.

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EntasaurusWrecked t1_j1xvdcn wrote

You don’t know that, and I’m currently acquainted with someone with mesothelioma, so I urge caution

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Big-Spend-2915 t1_j1z9lmr wrote

It's how it is done. You take drywall mud, and you mix it with water. Take a mop looking device and put it into the bucket, then put it onto the ceiling. Then pull down.
Another way is to use a sponge. Another way is to use a tile grout float. It was a fairly common texture technique.

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EntasaurusWrecked t1_j208zs8 wrote

Artex- unless you installed it, you don’t know what it is without testing

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Big-Spend-2915 t1_j20b04a wrote

Have you ever done this style of texture. I bet not. Have you even done any drywall work at all.

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EntasaurusWrecked t1_j22ns85 wrote

Why are you so invested in arguing against a simple test in a reasonable situation that can prevent catastrophic lung damage? I never said you were wrong. We can both be right. Those are ways to do the job. There are other common ways to do the same job, and unless you installed it, you don’t know for sure. Risking asbestosis/mesothelioma for want of convenience is not reasonable, in my opinion. Good night..

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SixtyTwoNorth t1_j20ys05 wrote

Guess what used to be a common additive to drywall mud...

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TurdFu t1_j20ywwi wrote

The drywall mud is typically where asbestos is found. If the construction falls in the years when asbestos was used, might as well get it tested.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1xalyq wrote

Thanks for your response! Do you know what this kind of ceiling is called? I can’t find anything that looks like it and I need to see some DIY vids on it

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Spare_Interaction_10 t1_j1xg4o4 wrote

That pattern is from a texture mop/brush. I would call your ceiling a "swirled ceiling ". There's a few different types, knock down,swirl, skip trowel, popcorn , orange peel and... I forgot .
I would sand , skim ,sand, prime with a drywall primer then paint it. Or call a professional

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Builder2014 t1_j1z733n wrote

Stiple.

plastic bag over a sponge or float would create the effect.

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ArltheCrazy t1_j1zdl90 wrote

I call it “mop head” cause that’s kinda how you make it

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kharmatika OP t1_j1zhten wrote

Found out it’s apparently called “stomp” because the brush is “stomped” on the ceiling.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1xcr3k wrote

Okay so I learned that this is called Stomp Ceiling, and it looks like it should actually straighten out pretty easily with a scraper. Not as deep as spray on ceilings, but that’s actually fine by me.

Thanks for responding tho!

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Kaosinor t1_j1zlq3q wrote

I've always known it as slap texture.

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A_Plumber2020 t1_j1yj1oh wrote

I have no advice whatsoever, just came by to say thank you for the use of the word "blorp" made my morning to say it outloud!

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Frosty-Start-4559 t1_j1xojnu wrote

First thing to consider if you want to remove this whether it was painted or not. It most likely was versus popcorn, which usually is not. Spray it with some water from a spray bottle and see if it softens and scrapes off easily. If yes, you are in luck, continue. If it was painted, scrape best you can, then skim coat.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1ykgj4 wrote

Yep! That’s the plan. Definitely doesn’t look painted, it’s porous as hell so here’s hoping.

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guerrilla32 t1_j1ziad8 wrote

The builders NEVER paint this type of ceiling, it’s a feature of why they do it, because it’s white and covers all the seams. Would only be painted if a former owner did it.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1zir8p wrote

That’s what I’m thinking, I think all the paint advisories are more applied to other textured ceiling types, I can’t imagine how many coats it would take to work over this stuff that has the shape of upset whipped cream! So hopefully it should be pretty easy!

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guerrilla32 t1_j1zmbcv wrote

From experience, it takes at least 3 coats of ceiling paint to properly cover this texture. You will NOT get full coverage after 2 coats, and after dry color match is nearly impossible, so poor coating will always be visible.

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ictRider t1_j1xsso1 wrote

That is just sponge dipped in compound blorp'ped in random patterns. Should come off easy with a spray bottle of tap water, and a ceiling scraper on a pole. Not too much water, but enough to make mud loosen. A popular 1980's Midwestern surface.

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elvis_snake t1_j1zaic8 wrote

EVERY ROOM in our 1994 constructed house was treated this way (AKA stippling, and yes, even inside the closets). We had some renovations done two years ago, and found it was cheaper to drywall over than to scrape or sand it off. Sanding creates a huge mess, and is labor intensive. And scraping not only creates a mess, but you can accidentally gouge the drywall, even when the scraper edges are rounded off. So add those repair costs into the scraping labor, and the price and time increase. Two drywall professionals installed 1/4" gypsum board, mudded, and sanded the areas we had done in less than two days.

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Fantastic_Ask t1_j1xag78 wrote

You want to coat over it and sand, same amount of mess but like 45% less work overall

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JohnSnowflake t1_j1xaptr wrote

I think it's close to brocade. I agree with others, sand flat and skim. You might primer after sanding to seal it a bit and skim over that.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1xe3hv wrote

Apparently it’s “stomp” which is a very fun name for an ugly ass design. Apparently (according to a few tutorials I’ve watched since I finally found the damn name for it!) you can either sand or scrape this stuff, depending on how easily it comes off with a scraper. Some people find the scraping easier, some prefer sanding. I’m gonna try both on a sample and see what seems easier/quicker and/or nicer finish for my ceilings, and will go with whichever I think might work best. Thanks for your help!

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bms42 t1_j1xita5 wrote

Get it tested for asbestos first if it's possibly older than 2000. If it's older than 1980 then it's much more likely.

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Akanan t1_j1xpgtb wrote

If it's ceiling to the attic, i would do as recommended, sand it down, skim etc. Dealing with vapour barrier repair, insulation falling off, etc... no thank you

If it's elsewhere, i'd remove it entirely and start new. Especially if "paneling" esthetic finish of drywall is a trend that fits you, the job can be done so quick, no tape and mud. A bite more expensive, but so much less labour and (imo) beautiful result.

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notsupermansdad t1_j1xq3ft wrote

No input orher than your description using blorp, blorp, blorp put the correct image of your ceiling in my brain. Good job!

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Big-Spend-2915 t1_j1xtrgy wrote

You can scrape it some, but it won't all come off nice. You will still have to sand.

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peachy175 t1_j1y4gj6 wrote

I am SO glad you posted this, I have the same texture in a bathroom, of all places! I thought it was called popcorn, because I hadn't found any other good matches when I searched it. I should still get it checked for asbestos, I guess, but good to know it's easier to get rid of than popcorn if it's not.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1yktbo wrote

What year was yours? If it’s post 89 it’s very unlikely. That said not a bad idea to check.

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peachy175 t1_j2067bt wrote

I actually have no firm info - from the colors used to tile and the look of the rest of the bathroom (and because I know the family living here at the time did a lot of updating), I would say mid-80s. It does look later than the popcorn era, and later than asbestos, but as you said, still wouldn't hurt to check it.

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Pining4Michigan t1_j1yvvcj wrote

We had the same thing at our house. We ended up having new drywall put up over it. You can't scrape that stuff off, it is added on drywall mud not popcorn.

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captwillard024 t1_j1yw6m2 wrote

I haven’t had good success scraping or sanding this stuff. When I remodeled my last kitchen, we just ripped down the whole sheets of drywall and put a new ones up.

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Peenexhibitioniii t1_j1yzh9d wrote

It's a stipple or stomp ceiling. Achieved by dipping a sponge or brush into drywall mud and creating a repeating pattern all over the surface.

As others have said, wear proper ppe, and wet a test area and see if it softens to scrape most of it off. If not, rent a sander and dust extracter and sand it down. You'll likely have to sand either way to get a consistent paintable finish

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kharmatika OP t1_j1z1m8z wrote

Yep! Luckily my in laws actually own a great sander for this project, we built out a basement suite in their house with all new drywall and it was well up to the task, so if the scraper method doesn’t take, I’m in good shape. I just try to avoid sanding at all costs because I have asthma and even with PPE the dust gets to me.

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Peenexhibitioniii t1_j1z24f4 wrote

Oh yeah, drywall dust is the worst! I've found those vacuums that attach to the sanders are very effective. Good luck!

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kharmatika OP t1_j1z3w4x wrote

I hadn’t realized how bad it is for your hair! I only shampoo every few days to stay healthy, but that stuff just soaked up all the oil in my hair like dry shampoo and ruined years of work lol

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RoboMonstera t1_j1z1v3m wrote

It matters if it's been painted or not. If painted it will be that much more difficult. Try a couple test patches to try to determine if you can get it moist. I ended up scraping both painted and unpainted.

I watched a few YouTube vids ("that kilted guy" has some good ones) before scraping my house. You will also want to be prepared to re-mud and fix damage to the Sheetrock as you'll inevitably do. If you expose sheetrock paper, use the pro-99 stuff before trying to mud or paint over it or you'll be chasing bubbles in your mud.

Another option is to rent one of those porter cable sanders that connects to a shop vac. It won't totally eliminate the texture, but it might knock it back enough that it's virtually unnoticeable. In any case protect yourself from breathing any of that crap.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1z2bp7 wrote

That is the plan, do a test patch with a scraper and a sander.

Definitely hasn’t been painted, I was able to chip a piece off and you can tell the surface is the exact same as the interior, I’m REALLY hoping it sloughs off with spray and scrape, I have a lot of health complications that get exacerbated by using a sander so I’d need to hire someone if that happens

And yeah I don’t need a perfect flat, if I can get it something like this, I’ll be completely happy with it, cuz that will look nice with a coat of paint over

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reefercheifer t1_j1z8fty wrote

Liberally spray with water, scrape, sand to level, apply skim coat (watered down drywall compound to the consistency of yogurt), sand, apply skim coat to any problem areas, sand, paint

I have done this all over my house to great success. No reason to think it wouldn’t work for you.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1zcgfk wrote

That is plan A for sure! I’m still getting moved in and settled, but figured I’d lay the groundwork for long term projects

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reefercheifer t1_j1zdor7 wrote

Right on. Shoot me a message if you have any specific questions once you get around to it.

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butteryt0ast98 t1_j1ze06l wrote

This type of texture is what can be called "stomping". It's just a large and flat brush that's dipped in watered down drywall mud and "stomped" against the ceiling. If it's painted, getting it off will be a bit of a pain, but all you need to do is take a scraper and scrape off the mounds before sanding the rest down. It's the same process whether it's painted or not, but painted texture is much harder to sand off as paint is designed to withstand that sort of thing.

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4get2forgetU4gotme t1_j1zhi0p wrote

Re: the asbestos comments… Can you just screw new drywall over top of it so you don't have to deal with it at all?

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kharmatika OP t1_j1zhpcx wrote

I mean it was built in 93 and I think the ceilings actually even newer than that. They’re already low ceilings, I done want to lose anymore space. I’ll probably get a sample tested but I don’t have concerns about asbestos at all tbh

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The_Riner t1_j1ziaft wrote

Old drywaller here. To remove texture ceiling we used to trowel drywall compound over it,

wait for it to soften, an hour more or less. Then scrap the resulting goop off the ceiling with a 5 or 6 inch trowel.

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kharmatika OP t1_j1zilbm wrote

Neat, thank you for that! Is there a reason you do that as opposed to water or wallpaper remover?

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RogerRabbit1234 t1_j1zsc25 wrote

This will not scrape off! The high spots have to be knocked down with a floor scraper and the entire surface has to be skim coated and sanded several times, and it’s a shit-ton of work…Source: just did redid this exact ceiling in a 3000 sq ft house. It was weeks of waking up with drywall dust in every orifice of my house and body…also pretty sure some of this stuff is asbestos mixed in, so don your PPE as if your life depends on it, because it probably does.

The other option that was considered was laminating 1/4 drywall with spacing shims, and then tape and texture and paint everything, but when I added up the cost of material and time, I went with the skim coats option. It was 3 weeks of my life, I don’t care to think about; TBH.

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JORDA-BOSKI t1_j20ao28 wrote

Yeah my grandpas place has this ceiling everywhere in his house. He had black mold in the bathroom and this ceiling tore up all the sponges I had to remove the black mold. It sucks.

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Helgafjell4Me t1_j1xxvta wrote

That's just joint compound someone stamped on the ceiling and failed to knock it down like they're supposed to. Normally you stamp it, let it dry for a short time, then come back and knock it down with light pressure using a circular motion to blend the texture a bit and make it look good.

I had a room in my basement like this. I used my 10" mud knife to just scrape across it and flatten all the really pointy parts off so it was close to how texture is supposed to look. Then I used a wet rag to soften the edges, let it dry and then repainted it and it looked a lot better.

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