If I remove a popcorn ceiling, would I have to tape and finish it?

Question

Would I have to tape and spacle it?

Answer 1

At construction, the ceiling drywall is taped and mudded. The worker normally does not spend much time floating out the mud to make a real nice flat surface because it will have the popcorn blown on covering up a lot of defects. Once you have removed the popcorn, you should check to make sure the drywall is tight up against the rafters. They sometimes sag over time. Check this by pushing up with a 2 x 4. If the ceiling moves you should install some drywall screws to secure it. If this isn't done you may find that when you paint, and push against the surface with a roller, that it will cause nail pops (unsightly little holes). After the ceiling is tight, check the joints with a straight edge and float out some mud as needed. You probably want to match the texture or finish of the walls. There is a number of different styles of texture, from orange peel, knockdown, and many others. This is usually done using a hopper and compressor which allows you to blow (splatter) the texture on the surface. Good luck.

Answer 2

I have heard some of the popcorn material used contained asbestos. I would wear a dust mask and make sure it was nice and damp when I removed it to keep particles from getting airborne. After removal clean up the area immediately and wash your clothes seperate from any other clothing and then run the washer for one cycle with nothing in it to clear it out. I would also take a shower not a bath to rinse any particles off instead of soaking with them in a tub. I would rather err on the side of caution than find out the hard way later in life.

Answer 3

That depends on the ceilings it is adjacent to. In my house we took down a wall in the kitchen, which was shared with our living room. Our living room had a popcorn ceiling and our kitchen had a small spackle so when we took the wall down we had to take off the popcorn and spackle it to blend it with the kitchen's ceiling. If this isn't an issue though, you can just remove it, you may have to sand it a little to even it out, then prime and paint. You'll want to prime it first because you'll be down to the bare drywall which may soak up the paint.

Answer 4

no problem. ceiling was already taped. popcorn is just joint compound watered down and sprayed on with a texture gun. scrape it, light sanding, prime, and paint.

Answer 5

No. Just scrape the popcorn off and repaint.

Answer 6

I have used a util knike to cut away the lifted part (cut go into some of the good part just to be sure). Then go over with joint compound. It seemed to work for me. However, the more I cut, it seemed like the larger the lifted areas were - pehaps I disturbed it too much.

Answer 7

it can be scraped off, water it with a water bottle then scrape it off, still...expect a mess plus it a pain for your arms