Popcorn Ceiling Removal: Affordable DIY Guide to a Refreshing White Ceiling for your home in Calgary

Have you ever wondered how to remove a popcorn ceiling?  We bring popcorn ceiling removal to you, using an affordable DIY guide for a refreshing white ceiling for your Calgary home.

The “popcorn” effect ceiling is a process that was widely used since the 1930s and extended until the early 1980s. It is also known in the paint market as acoustic and despite having enjoyed a good time of popularity, its use has been declining in recent years. 

If you are looking for a professional who can support you with this service in Calgary, keep the same, because below we will give you instructions on how they carry it out in that region. 

In the beginning, the popcorn finish was made up of vermiculite with mud used for drywall and they are called that way because they become many Styrofoam balls sprinkled with mud.

These days, people don’t utilize these roofs because they turn yellow with time, especially after they have been installed for a long time. For this reason, many clients seek to give their home a better view and the best option is to remove them and paint them matte white.

Benefits of a popcorn ceiling

The well-known Popcorn Ceiling goes through a spraying process that gives it the appearance of popcorn or cottage cheese. 

Its placement was previously dangerous because it contained asbestos, however, now materials have been created that do not contain asbestos, which provide the same advantages, including: 

• This method allows the contractor to spray the ceilings in a variety of ways, but it’s also easy for you as the homeowner to use.

• They provide soundproofing to houses, muffling any noise that may occur in a large or multi-story house. 

• Popcorn ceilings are widely used due to their affordable cost and because this type of finish covers certain imperfections in the slab. 

• Its installation is simple and can be carried out with a low budget, so if you don’t have a lot of money, you can apply it yourself. 

• One of its benefits is that the spray lasts for many years, however, this advantage is often undermined because it is more prone to getting very dirty and cleaning is complicated. 

• It is also conducive for insects such as spiders to nest inside.

Disadvantages of placing a popcorn ceiling

Like everything, this type of ceiling also has a series of disadvantages, which is why homeowners are looking more than ever to remove these textures for a more modern finish. Among these disadvantages we can find the following:

• Being a rough texture, it could complicate cleaning, as it tends to get dirty easily and affect even a roof repair. That is why it is recommended not to use it, at least in bathrooms and kitchens.

• When people saw that a lot of dust and dirt was generated on their ceiling, they decided to paint it, but it fell off and was very difficult to remove. 

• Another point is that when dry scraping it, people can risk scraping too much and taking away a lot of drywall, which will generate damage and therefore, expense in repairs. 

• At Calgary, City Coatings we are sought after a lot to help with the removal process, because it entails a lot of wear and tear, sometimes even physical, since when scraping it, the shoulders end up hurt or very tense.

Preparing to remove the popcorn ceiling

To begin preparing the removal of the popcorn, you must disconnect electrical appliances such as fans, air conditioning, or light bulbs, you must also remove them from the room and disconnect the light current, as water will be sprayed and thus we will avoid any accident.

You must also cover the walls, this is an important step to prevent the floor or carpet from being filled with wet popcorn material, which will undoubtedly be difficult to remove later. 

You can cover the walls and floors with plastic cloths, which you can purchase at specialty stores such as Home Depot. We recommend getting large packages since you will use a good amount. 

Depending on the height of the rooms, plastic of various sizes will be purchased, generally 400 feet long by 12 feet wide. 

Tools you will use to remove the popcorn ceiling

An essential tool is a spatula of approximately 10 inches, which will help us scrape the popcorn ceiling. 

In addition, you are going to need blue paint tape, there are many prices and different quality, but many resort to the cheapest one, which will work well during the process. 

Once you have covered everything, use a spray machine with a pump, although you can also use an air sprayer, although its cost is higher, it will expel the water as if it were a hose. The latter is more important and necessary if you dedicate yourself fully to professional painting. 

The easiest way to remove it is to use airless or pump sprays to saturate the texture, which will cause it to soak in and you can scrape it off after a while. When sprayed you will see a gray tone, but it is a very good sign.

After this step, we are going to mask everything with adhesive tape, creating a kind of tent that will protect your walls and all the things you have in said space. Ideally, use larger knives to remove large sections when it is wet, as it comes off better. Plus, removing it when it’s wet will remove excess powder. 

Be careful with the sharpness of the knives, but in general, it is a simple job, just a matter of having some of the right tools. To make the task easier, use stilts or a ladder and scrape the texture with your spatula or a large knife, which will already be as wet as possible. Keep the spatula straight and scrape in a linear manner.

A simple way to confirm that you have soaked it enough to remove the texture more easily is that the popcorn is going to drip, so the best option will be to moisten it a lot so that, in the end, it does not cost you so much work. If at a certain point, it is more difficult for you to remove it, you can spray more water to moisten it and be able to remove it more easily. 

Another advantage of this is that it will be too wet to wash away the popcorn, but not wet enough to wash away the drywall. Enjoy the process, because with these tips you can even have fun while you scrape the popcorn. It is the easiest part to carry out, the most complicated part comes later. 

Tips for Successfully Removing a Popcorn Ceiling

Before removing the roof, we advise you to carry out an asbestos study on the ceilings, especially if it is a construction that dates back to 1979 years before. If it is later, said study is not necessary. This is because before that year most acoustic ceilings had asbestos. 

On the other hand, in the 70s and 80s, it was almost mandatory to place 5/8 thick plasterboard. After all, it acted as a fire code because it did not sink and was thicker. So it will always be a good option to hire a professional painter to do it, in addition, they use protective equipment for this type of asbestos abatement work. 

It is more lucrative, but it will give you peace of mind, especially to keep the house free of exposure, since it is dangerous because if it is done dry, fibers or dust can be released and affect your respiratory health. 

To make your task easier with the spatula, we recommend attaching a paint tube or post to it to make it longer. You can stick it with sufficiently strong adhesive tape, as long as it is very well secured. This step will undoubtedly make scraping your popcorn ceiling much easier. 

Cover the walls to protect them

Get a ladder and place the plastic sheets or clothes that you have purchased on all the walls, windows, and furniture that you have not been able to move to another place. Apply the tape near the popcorn. 

Later do the same with the floors, many professional painters enjoy this step, given its simplicity and comfort to move during the process. It is also infallible to arrange the plastic on the floor so that it traps moisture. 

To place the cloths or plastics, stick them with adhesive tape to the ceiling, and if you are not looking to paint the ceiling soon, stick them as close to the texture of popcorn.

Scrape the roof once it is wet

To scrape the edges or corners of the ceiling, use a smaller spatula, as there are spaces like these where there will be a lot of popcorn residue. 

They must be highlighted so that they do not affect the subsequent layer or layers of paint and avoid straight lines between the junction of the ceiling and the wall itself. 

If at the end of scraping you notice that there are imperfections on the ceiling, don’t worry, you can repair it with a special drywall product, just wait for it to dry before you can start sanding it. 

Meanwhile, pick up the plastic protection or tarps and simply start with the walls, place them in the middle of the room, since you have to wrap them along with the plastic on the floor and throw it in a large garbage container. It will look like a big ball of plastic, but you can get it out without a problem if you put it together well. 

It is best to wait a day for the drywall to dry completely, this will enable sanding. Before sanding, we highly recommend that you protect yourself with face masks and gloves and completely cover your body because when sanding, many particles and dust are released that can damage your lungs in the long run. 

Another tip is to open the bedroom window and place a fan on the edge so that it takes away as much dust as possible and blows it out the window, otherwise, it will contaminate the space, where you probably live. 

It is also necessary to turn off the air conditioning and wipe the vent with a cloth to clean it and remove any dust particles lodged in the vents.

The sanding process 

For sanding, you will again need the paint post that we had previously used for the putty knife, then attach it to a pole sander. In order to use the sander, you will also require very long, medium-rough sandpaper. 

In order to prevent shoulder strain while sanding, the pole should be extended to allow for easy forward and backward movement.

Dust will now be formed everywhere, so at this point, remove everything from the room that you don’t want to get covered in. 

The process is quite simple and will be even more so if you remove the popcorn properly. You will realize this because, in general, you do not have to sand as much, although if you detect cracks, ridges, or brown spots, you will have to sand more in those areas. 

Now the time has come to remove or clean everything that has fallen on the floor or carpet so that it can be vacuumed and that no dust affects the painting work, which is the next step.

Primer: A necessary step to cover imperfections

Before painting, we suggest that you put primer on the panels, since if you only add paint it will not adhere well, much less look good. Therefore, buy a bucket of primer, which will help you cover stains and colors that have remained for a long time. 

Steps for a good primer

To help you with the painting, use a roller, they come in various sizes, but a generic one will work well, place it on the post you used for scraping and sanding, and get a three-inch flat paintbrush. The brush will be used to pass through the areas where the roller cannot reach. Let’s start: 

• Now, place a good amount of primer paint in a tray and cover the roller well.

• Then roll the roller back and forth over a specific area with at least two coats to make sure it covers perfectly, because if you only add one coat you can neglect various areas and notice it later. 

• Also in the case of imperfections, you can cover them perfectly with a matte paint after priming and with this, you will forget to notice these types of errors. If it looks good from six feet up, we can ensure that everything turns out as it should. 

• Then cover the corners evenly with the brush. In this case, if you later want to paint the walls the edges can be balanced. 

• It might take a while with the first coat, as removing the popcorn dries the ceiling a lot, but the next few passes will be easier to do. 

• We will let this first layer dry and in one or two days we will return to apply two layers of the matte white paint.

• Then it will be left to sit for another two days to acquire an attractive and modern ceiling, nothing like the popcorn ceiling that looked dirty and dated.

Last steps of the primer

• Make sure that the last two coats of matte white paint cover the entire area well and remember to roll the roller back and forth over each area several times for better fixation.

• Then with the brush touch up the corners to cover them perfectly as in the primer step. 

• Shine a lamp on the ceiling from the corner of the room to see if there are any bright spots. If so, it will be a sign that the coverage was missing and the primer is still visible on the ceiling. 

• Use a fan to dry faster. 

• Come back a few hours later to see how everything turned out and verify that you did not miss any steps to follow and to be able to wash the roller, and the brush that we used.

• To use them again and prevent them from drying out, clean them well, you can wrap them in transparent film and use them again without problem.

Matte white paint: The best option to cover imperfections 

As for matte white paint, there are many brands and prices, but we can recommend Promar 400, which is for professional contractors, depending on your pocket, you can get any other brand without a problem. 

As for the imperfections that usually exist on ceilings, this finish is ideal because when applied it can erase, in a certain way, all kinds of dents, cracks, or things like that. 

Conclusion

We hope this tour of removing a popcorn ceiling has helped you with your purpose. Don’t forget that at Calgary City Coatings we can advise you at any time on budgets and professional painting labor in various provinces of Calgary. 

In this case, we take you by the hand of the most sought-after professionals in Taradale and provide you with an ideal offer for your pocket. We invite you to visit us online: https://www.calgarycitycoatings.ca/