Scraping off a pop
corn ceiling that contains asbestos can be deadly, environmentally harmful and
you can get sued! Not all spray-on popcorn ceilings contain asbestos. To know
for sure, submit a popcorn ceiling sample for laboratory analysis. Cost for such
testing is minimal, typically $25 per sample. Laboratories are listed in the
yellow pages of your phone book under "Asbestos - Consulting and Testing." For a
more thorough step-by-step guide on how to safely remove a sample, see http://www.pscleanair.org/forms/asb-popcorn.pdf
Now, if you are absolutely sure that there is not asbestos in your pop corn
ceiling, to actually scrape off the pop corn is quite easy.
How to Remove Popcorn Ceiling
The key is to wet it! Get a hand-held spray bottle and use just water should do
it. Spray in a small area to test it out. If you wet the popcorn just right (let
it sit for just about 30 seconds), it should come right off when you push the
putty knife into it.
A couple of pointers:
1. Do not overwet your popcorn ceiling, it can cause your ceiling to sag, and
you can easily put a dent/tear in the drywall paper. We learned this the hard
way =)
2. Wet just the section of the ceiling at a time. If you wet an area and let it
sit too long, it becomes hard again and you will need to re-spray.
3. Invest in a good water sprayer, don't use the cheap hand-held bottle sprayer
if you are scraping a large area of popcorn ceiling. Get one like the one in the
picture. This way your hand won't get tired from squeezing the trigger so many
times!
