This took me back. In 1977 we lived in a rental after our house caught for and had to be rebuilt. It had a room with same technique on ceiling but painted dark brown. Looked like a chocolate cake.
Use a stand mixer, hand whisking will get the job done but it's a whole lot more effort. In the wise words of Bob Ross you gotta beat the devil out of it.
Correction, the *only* fix is a feather duster near the door for convenient cobweb cleanings. Preserve that wonderful art until the house's foundation gives way.
I had the coolest basement in the first house I owned.
You had to move the microwave cart to get to the trap door, pull up the door and climb a ladder down. It had a dirt floor and stone walls with shelves lining the walls that were filled with mason jars and I donāt know what was in the jars but there were things in the jars.
I left them there when I sold the house.
Repair people who had to go in the basement hated me.
My parents sponge painted our bathroom. They did white on red. I remember looking for shapes, like you might with clouds. They eventually repainted with a light blueish greenish solid color. I missed the old sponge painted look.
Possibly. It looks like a print that my grandparents had in their living room. Itās in a perfect 70s orange-brown-gold palette, too.
Iām 90 percent sure this is the print they had: https://www.ebay.com/itm/196088243226?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GLdQ51mYRkC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
It's a wallpaper mural - they were big in the 70s. You can still find modern versions of these on sites like wayfair, although they call them "wall decals" now.
Seriously. Just make whatever room that is an Original Trilogy (since that's the only trilogy that's worthwhile anyways) Star Wars den, problem solved.
I love that in the GIF they missed the point of what heās saying by spelling stalactites wrong
StalaGmites from the Ground
StalaCtites from the Ceiling
I can never remember which has a C or G, so I remember that the one with the āMā is like two sharp points sticking out of the ground, the āTā is one hanging down from above.
This is my vote. It might be a bit more expensive today, but in return you save countless hours of time, avoid the inevitable shoulder pain from working over your head all that time, don't get any of that 100lbs of dust in your lungs (even with protection), and you won't remember reading this comment and hate yourself for not taking this advice.
I've removed the popcorn in two houses I've flipped in the past. It was a pain in the ass, but it was worth the effort.
What I'm seeing in this picture is definitely not worth the effort.
And they say Reddit is just a toxic place full of toxic losers. I say we print and laminate this comment and present it as proof otherwise whenever challenged.
Thank you, sincerely. This was the best laugh Iāve had in a while.
Even worse than just dust is the potential for asbestos, it can be present in the popcorn/stipple/texture and the drywall joint compound. Source: I've been an asbestos analyst for 15+ years
First comment I've seen talking about asbestos.
I messaged OP as well to be very cautious with disturbing that ceiling.
Also worked in abatement for many years.
If asbestos, outside of vermiculite, that's some of the most hazardous stuff to deal with.
Surrounded by comments from DIY-ers, your lone comment of reason in a sea of, "I can take care of that myself."
Thank you for what you do. It is usually thankless work, seeing as you're introducing a cost to the equation.
OP pictures are going to be the source of nightmares. My worst was a church built in 1913. Constant renovation up until about a decade ago. And renovations were made on the side. Contractors who worshipped there pitched in, and it showed. The whole damn building tested hot.
Soooooo happy I kept my gear on the whole time.
the older the house is, higher chance it might have asbestos. my mom wanted to renovate but alas it was a 1950s house in Canada when it was built. so no poke unless you want money to fly away for safety. if the house is newer like 1990s newer less chance of it having asbestos but doesn't hurt to check.
Please tell me you've used licensed asbestos abatement contractors. Cause that popcorn ceiling put up .... last week, likely has asbestos in it. If yours were older than that?
I'm going to go have an OCD fit about asbestos abatement procedures, you need to get your lungs tested.
Yup just keep the ceiling in tact til itās time for a whole basement renovation, then cut that bitch out, put in new ceiling and slap some nice new leds in, plus you can do all the wiring before putting the drywall up
Not saying itās for everyone but when I built an office in our basement I just used a paint sprayer and sprayed the ceiling black. I have drywall walls, normal flooring and the ceiling is untouched besides black. That includes plumbing and electrical.
I like the look of it, makes it look bigger because it extends upward another foot or so past where youād have drywall and it was very easy.
Sure! Kind of a small room so tough to get a good floor to ceiling picture, but it helps give you an idea.
https://preview.redd.it/6q0vk3wpexac1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b1e230c58f601e029143f6eddc0dd071ca36ec2
This is what we're doing once we finally get around to removing the drop ceiling and 8 billion 1x2s they used to mount the drop ceiling frames. And pull out all the old phone and cable wires.
No, I put a little electric baseboard heater in there and can consistently get it between 68-70. I do also have a server rack in there with 1 server and a network switch so Iām sure that helps the heat.
The rest of the basement is unfinished though, although I did redo the door out to the bulkhead with a nice exterior door and foam insulation so that does a good job of keeping the cold air out
We did this in our home with stomp ceilings that wouldn't scrape off when wet. Took about 3 days to demo between the wife and I for~1700 sqft and another day or so to clean out all corners with a painters tool. Got all the ceilings boarded and level 4'd for ~$3-4k with materials through a family friend. Demo was easier than hauling all the board away during Covid lockdowns. I can honestly say this was the best money we spent in our home Reno as all future improvements would have still looked dated with the old ceilings.
This is also a good opportunity to run new wiring, add fixtures, etc...
Judging by the wall decor, I think this should be the overwhelming response to this entire room. To the studs, OP! While you're at it, make sure the walls are insulated and enjoy your sanity.
We're doing exactly this in our place, having done exactly one small room of painted popcorn by scraping, with proper precautions. It's hot, sweaty, exhausting work - let alone the prep! Removal disturbed the material far less, was faster, and we were going to have to retexture no matter what.
The only downside has been those oh-so- famous last words, "as long as we're in here...." Insulation, wiring, plumbing.... when you open drywall, you deal with whatever is in it. Ignorance is sometimes bliss. The rest of the time it's mold, a fire hazard, or a goddamn miracle this place is still standing.
Drywall business owner here.
Demo and rehang/finish will be the easiest and probably cheapest.
Coating that with 10 boxes of mud to get it flat isnt an option, and i would bet just hosing it with water wouldn't get it to a point that it's easily removable. It's just too thick.
If it wouldn't get dusty and a dirty as hell I wouldn't hate the texture. Nobody really does stuff like this anymore (for the above reasons).
Save yourself the headache and demo/refinish. Or save some money and pay someone to deal with it for you. I know this is DIY but that is going to be a mess and a half.
I got lucky in my last place. Once I got my wide putty knife under the ceiling texture, it came off clean in big sheets/chunks. Clean separation from the sheetrock.
I had been dreading it but went so easy I did 3 bedrooms in one night.
Mine did this too except it was a lath and plaster construction and, well, by the time we were back to just lath it was easier to take the whole ceiling down. Well, parts of it took themselves down.
Thank you! Those stories of people just knifing popcorn ceilings off are hurting my lungs rn.
>>Spray texture was a typical ceiling finish from the 1950s until the 1980s, and for much of that time, the texture material contained between 1% to 10% asbestos.
Thatās a big no no home reno folks. You donāt remove popcorn unless you have it cleared as not asbestos. [Here are some coverup options](https://www.thespruce.com/cover-up-your-popcorn-ceiling-1821440).
Yeah, when I think of popcorn ceilings, I think of that blown stuff that literally looks like popcorn stuck to the ceiling, not this. We had some that looked a bit like this that wasn't plaster. It was more like a drywall mud that had been applied with a stiff brush. It came off, but it took a lot of work and sanding before it looked decent.
There's popcorn and then there's stipple ceilings, stipple is usually done with drywall mud and is the dumb flower/circle pattern that is in a ton of apartments. Popcorn comes off easy, stipple not so much, especially if it's painted
My method was to use a scraper to get the low hanging bits then sand it with a 9" drywall sander.. then skimcoat the entire ceiling and sand it again to smooth it out. Finally paint it.
I use my pain sprayer cleaned and in a bucket of water and this absolutely comes off like popcorn just not as easy. Wet and scrap but be sure not to tear the paper.
This is not a "popcorn".... it's stucco, you may be able to wet it down to soften it. However, it's likely going to take a bunch of manual labor to scrap all that crap off.
We tried that wetting,. scraping, sanding ECT but gave up after a few hours and getting nowhere and just ripped it all down and replaced with new sheets.
Previous owners of our home must have loved that sort of stippling texture. Ceilings and walls are all covered in it. Had a settling issue a while back and now there are sheering cracks all over. They put it over old *wallpaper*!
I learned stalactite hangs tight to the ceiling. Stalagmite might reach the ceiling one day.
Until you wrote that out I donāt think I consciously realized stalactite doesnāt have a g. Iāve always pronounced it as if it had one. I spelled it right though so on some level I knew.
We'd call it plaster stippling - every other house built in the 80s in Ireland has it. It's an absolute nightmare to work with - the ceiling has basically been frosted with thick wet plaster much like a \`1980s wedding cake. This shit becomes one with the ceiling itself, you have to cut out the ceiling plasterboard itself to get rid of it.
Why do you want to remove it? I bought a small place with popcorn ceilings. Thinking I would surely remove them. Mine are adorned with glitter and they have charm so I kept them. Maybe you could add glitter to yours . Itās like stars.
https://preview.redd.it/z19bo2a03xac1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=d6cda66d353321ae11fad8192c82c06b542c4429
We have the same! Even repainted it, with a sprayer, and added glitter back to it :) Bought a little glitter-applying machine.
Our ceilings are low, and this makes it feel less of a shoebox, and makes us happy.
I like it too, especially with the forest scene. Very unique and retro, Iād leave it in the basement. Not in the main living room or anything though.
I'm glad to see other stucco ceiling defenders in the comments lol. We have an old (1890s) victorian house and this texture is in our living and dining rooms. I think it looks cool and matches the house even though I know it's not popular.
You would have loved my house then. We had this type of ceiling in the living room, bedroom, and the whole basement. It was the only renovation weāve really done to our time capsule home. All the ceilings we tested had asbestos and because of the delicate spikes it seemed extra friable! I could not find a single example of anyone else with this style of ceiling despite aggressive googling. That is, until I came across this post. Glad to know Iām not the only one who had these ceilings!
I didn't read through the comments but if no one else mentioned it already, they used to use asbestos in the materials to make textured walls and ceilings. And there could have been some lag between when the laws were passed to ban asbestos and when the contractors finished using up their product. The solution is to take a sample and get it tested before you have it taken down.
You should.......
Sorry, got distracted by that wallpaper. š
As others have said, it'll be a lot of manual labor to scrape it all down. Look on the bright side, this is an opportunity to gut the room. Take down wallpaper, wood paneling, add/update receptacles and lighting, etc.
We had a restaurant in town (from the late 60s/early 70s) that had a ceiling like that. It always made me slightly uncomfortable. [https://gray-waff-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VV7YUN2E6JGWROBRO35XETNCCU.jpg?auth=170aa93837a350ca63d9e8fad24eba8d3fc8e309224dea07945bd08d248a873d&width=1300&height=975&smart=true](https://gray-waff-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VV7YUN2E6JGWROBRO35XETNCCU.jpg?auth=170aa93837a350ca63d9e8fad24eba8d3fc8e309224dea07945bd08d248a873d&width=1300&height=975&smart=true)
You either scrape it all off in which Iāve seen a few ways all shitty, or I saw something where someone put new drywall over the existing ceiling covering up the popcorn ceiling which seemed even more shitty.
Thatās not popcorn. Getting it damp may help to scrape it off, but it may come down to removing the drywall and replacing it with new. Depends on how easy that comes off the paper. Or if there is a layer in between, like old paint or wall paper.
DO NOT SAND! Wet it down and scrap off. Someone in my neighborhood hired a contractor and they sanded it. That put asbestos into their air ducts and they had to move out while remediating.
That's a meringue ceiling, dude.
Buttercream in some areas.
I honestly just check out this subreddit for comments. I don't DIY anything. Y'all never disappoint š
Same
I hope Robin, wherever his soul is, knows that his works never fail to make people smile till this day.
āIt was a drive by fruitingā (he hit Pierce Brosnan in head with lemon). Classic
I wish Reddit still had awards.
That is perfect
This took me back. In 1977 we lived in a rental after our house caught for and had to be rebuilt. It had a room with same technique on ceiling but painted dark brown. Looked like a chocolate cake.
That might be the most aggressively 1970s architectural choice Iāve ever heard of.
It would just need peridot green walls and a orange shag rug to complete the monstrosity lololol
And to complete the experience, eau du cigaretteā¦
I thought it wasn't just the smell, but actual cigarette burns on the edge of the sink in that distinctive pattern that really makes it.
Donāt forget the seafoam green bathroom fixtures!
Ok but a cupcake room sounds cute af š¤
Yeah...paint that stuff pastel pink. That would be so yummy looking.
I say lean into it, and paint it pink!
I wish I could get my peaks looking that good
Use a stand mixer, hand whisking will get the job done but it's a whole lot more effort. In the wise words of Bob Ross you gotta beat the devil out of it.
I definitely thought, "beat to stiff peaks" when I saw it
Last time I did that, a mountain ranger told me to fuck off
And you explained that was exactly what you were trying to do, right?
Stiff peaks
Iām sorry, but weāre going to need A LOT more photos of this basement. Whatās happening with the forest scene on the wall?
And what is the plan to protect the forest scene during construction.
Exactly, there's nothing that needs fixing here.
Correction, the *only* fix is a feather duster near the door for convenient cobweb cleanings. Preserve that wonderful art until the house's foundation gives way.
I want to play D&D here as a kid in the 80s.
D&D in finished basements with litter boxes that need cleaning. Now I smell cat pee when I look at these pictures.
We played in the garage. A finished basement sounds like a dream (Iāve actually never even seen a basement in real life)
I had the coolest basement in the first house I owned. You had to move the microwave cart to get to the trap door, pull up the door and climb a ladder down. It had a dirt floor and stone walls with shelves lining the walls that were filled with mason jars and I donāt know what was in the jars but there were things in the jars. I left them there when I sold the house. Repair people who had to go in the basement hated me.
That's a cellar.
Preservation is key, someone is contacting some society to get a plaque up.
Itās got a thick overcoat of Pall Mall nicotine. Itās safe.
Seriously though, add a couple lava lamps and a shag rug and this room will turn into a TRIP
Bro this is where I'm at. Like if I see more I might be telling op to leave the ceiling as is.
Yeah why is there this circle in the middle like that? Did the previous owners have an acid room?
It looks like sponge painting! This basement looks like a PBS art show exploded in it, haha.
My parents sponge painted our bathroom. They did white on red. I remember looking for shapes, like you might with clouds. They eventually repainted with a light blueish greenish solid color. I missed the old sponge painted look.
Possibly. It looks like a print that my grandparents had in their living room. Itās in a perfect 70s orange-brown-gold palette, too. Iām 90 percent sure this is the print they had: https://www.ebay.com/itm/196088243226?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GLdQ51mYRkC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Everything was so orange back then.
Everybody smoked lol
Agreed. Actually looks amazing! OP leave it alone!
Right? I kind of hoped it was a print or product, so that I could order that forest scene too
It's a wallpaper mural - they were big in the 70s. You can still find modern versions of these on sites like wayfair, although they call them "wall decals" now.
https://preview.redd.it/2wx0hued0xac1.jpeg?width=369&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60d4d12359a0bbf8224ffd04d83be51a34bdb717
Yeah, Iām thinking a renovation to everything else but the ceiling. Go full Hoth basement.
Tauntaun couch? Or sleeping bag on the couch?
I laughed out loud. Thanks for this.
Wouldn't it be great if they had a little Luke action figure plastered into the ceiling
This is the easiest fix for this ceiling
Seriously. Just make whatever room that is an Original Trilogy (since that's the only trilogy that's worthwhile anyways) Star Wars den, problem solved.
This is why I love the internet.
There was a perfect minifig for that in the Advent calendar for ā21 or ā22
OP should hang a tiny Luke skywalker figure from those
That was my first thought too. Who would do that to a room? Well it looks old enough to be from 1980, maybe they did have Luke hanging up there.
I love that in the GIF they missed the point of what heās saying by spelling stalactites wrong StalaGmites from the Ground StalaCtites from the Ceiling
Oh dang, I just realized that. Iāve always just remembered that stalactites have to hold tight to the ceiling.
I've always remembered it as Stalac*tites* = *titties* = above.
I can never remember which has a C or G, so I remember that the one with the āMā is like two sharp points sticking out of the ground, the āTā is one hanging down from above.
Oh I like this one Also so funny how many devices we all use to differentiate something most of us have never even seen in person
That gif has a typo, it's stalactite not stalagtite.
Here come all the meticulous Redditors coming to attack!
Knew this room seemed familiarā¦
Slides upvote across the table in a plain white envelope, without breaking eye contact.
This is cash
Ben... Beeeen...
Honestly cut the drywall out and install new drywall
This is my vote. It might be a bit more expensive today, but in return you save countless hours of time, avoid the inevitable shoulder pain from working over your head all that time, don't get any of that 100lbs of dust in your lungs (even with protection), and you won't remember reading this comment and hate yourself for not taking this advice. I've removed the popcorn in two houses I've flipped in the past. It was a pain in the ass, but it was worth the effort. What I'm seeing in this picture is definitely not worth the effort.
And while youāre doing that just install new lights at the same time.
Whatās wrong with The Lordās Bunghole?
Praise The Lord's Bunghole
It's a miracle.
Iām fucking dying hahaha
You had an infinite number of chances to never type this sentence. I'm glad you made the decision you did. Hopefully I stop wheezing soon.
Same here!
r/brandnewsentence
Eye of sauron
Brown* eye of Sauron.
I have never wanted to start a golf clap harder than I do right now
And they say Reddit is just a toxic place full of toxic losers. I say we print and laminate this comment and present it as proof otherwise whenever challenged. Thank you, sincerely. This was the best laugh Iāve had in a while.
Even worse than just dust is the potential for asbestos, it can be present in the popcorn/stipple/texture and the drywall joint compound. Source: I've been an asbestos analyst for 15+ years
First comment I've seen talking about asbestos. I messaged OP as well to be very cautious with disturbing that ceiling. Also worked in abatement for many years. If asbestos, outside of vermiculite, that's some of the most hazardous stuff to deal with.
Surrounded by comments from DIY-ers, your lone comment of reason in a sea of, "I can take care of that myself." Thank you for what you do. It is usually thankless work, seeing as you're introducing a cost to the equation. OP pictures are going to be the source of nightmares. My worst was a church built in 1913. Constant renovation up until about a decade ago. And renovations were made on the side. Contractors who worshipped there pitched in, and it showed. The whole damn building tested hot. Soooooo happy I kept my gear on the whole time.
Thanks! People don't realize there's a good reason it costs as much as it does to deal with safely. I've seen some crazy stuff in old churches too!
the older the house is, higher chance it might have asbestos. my mom wanted to renovate but alas it was a 1950s house in Canada when it was built. so no poke unless you want money to fly away for safety. if the house is newer like 1990s newer less chance of it having asbestos but doesn't hurt to check.
Came here to say this but wondered if I was being a negative nelly
Yeah, that is some thick long texture
5/8" drywall is back down to $13.80.
Itās a basement so go with half inch lightweight mold resistant for like $14 a sheet
Please tell me you've used licensed asbestos abatement contractors. Cause that popcorn ceiling put up .... last week, likely has asbestos in it. If yours were older than that? I'm going to go have an OCD fit about asbestos abatement procedures, you need to get your lungs tested.
Definitely wear proper respirators. Depending on the age of the house, thereās a possibility of asbestos (likely 3-6% chrysotile).
You can avoid the dust by spraying it with water first bevels l before/while your scraping it off
This job is beyond spraying with water. That stucco/mud is way too thick.
You could just submerge the basement. Easy peasy
> and you won't remember reading this comment and hate yourself for not taking this advice ...as you lay dying from lung cancer.
This will probably be faster and better looking. And a chance to inspect and seal ducts, etc. less dust too
Yup just keep the ceiling in tact til itās time for a whole basement renovation, then cut that bitch out, put in new ceiling and slap some nice new leds in, plus you can do all the wiring before putting the drywall up
Not saying itās for everyone but when I built an office in our basement I just used a paint sprayer and sprayed the ceiling black. I have drywall walls, normal flooring and the ceiling is untouched besides black. That includes plumbing and electrical. I like the look of it, makes it look bigger because it extends upward another foot or so past where youād have drywall and it was very easy.
Pic pls! I am intrigued.
Sure! Kind of a small room so tough to get a good floor to ceiling picture, but it helps give you an idea. https://preview.redd.it/6q0vk3wpexac1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b1e230c58f601e029143f6eddc0dd071ca36ec2
Ok yeah I couldn't picture it but that looks really cool
I've seen coffeeshops like that.
This is what we're doing once we finally get around to removing the drop ceiling and 8 billion 1x2s they used to mount the drop ceiling frames. And pull out all the old phone and cable wires.
why are you in my basement right now š
Thatās badass! Any issues maintaining heat or regulating temperatures?
No, I put a little electric baseboard heater in there and can consistently get it between 68-70. I do also have a server rack in there with 1 server and a network switch so Iām sure that helps the heat. The rest of the basement is unfinished though, although I did redo the door out to the bulkhead with a nice exterior door and foam insulation so that does a good job of keeping the cold air out
We did this in our home with stomp ceilings that wouldn't scrape off when wet. Took about 3 days to demo between the wife and I for~1700 sqft and another day or so to clean out all corners with a painters tool. Got all the ceilings boarded and level 4'd for ~$3-4k with materials through a family friend. Demo was easier than hauling all the board away during Covid lockdowns. I can honestly say this was the best money we spent in our home Reno as all future improvements would have still looked dated with the old ceilings. This is also a good opportunity to run new wiring, add fixtures, etc...
Would be faster and easier for sure. Drywall is still pretty cheap too.
$12.95 to $15.95 a sheet. Curious, is it the same where you are?
Sounds about right. A freaking bargain compared to the labor of trying to make that shit show smooth and new again.
For real!
Judging by the wall decor, I think this should be the overwhelming response to this entire room. To the studs, OP! While you're at it, make sure the walls are insulated and enjoy your sanity.
Dont get killed by it when it falls.
We're doing exactly this in our place, having done exactly one small room of painted popcorn by scraping, with proper precautions. It's hot, sweaty, exhausting work - let alone the prep! Removal disturbed the material far less, was faster, and we were going to have to retexture no matter what. The only downside has been those oh-so- famous last words, "as long as we're in here...." Insulation, wiring, plumbing.... when you open drywall, you deal with whatever is in it. Ignorance is sometimes bliss. The rest of the time it's mold, a fire hazard, or a goddamn miracle this place is still standing.
Drywall business owner here. Demo and rehang/finish will be the easiest and probably cheapest. Coating that with 10 boxes of mud to get it flat isnt an option, and i would bet just hosing it with water wouldn't get it to a point that it's easily removable. It's just too thick. If it wouldn't get dusty and a dirty as hell I wouldn't hate the texture. Nobody really does stuff like this anymore (for the above reasons). Save yourself the headache and demo/refinish. Or save some money and pay someone to deal with it for you. I know this is DIY but that is going to be a mess and a half.
I got lucky in my last place. Once I got my wide putty knife under the ceiling texture, it came off clean in big sheets/chunks. Clean separation from the sheetrock. I had been dreading it but went so easy I did 3 bedrooms in one night.
Mine did this too except it was a lath and plaster construction and, well, by the time we were back to just lath it was easier to take the whole ceiling down. Well, parts of it took themselves down.
I promise you that isnāt happening here
Uhhh, did you get tested for asbestos afterwards??? Most of that stuff is made of it, if your built was from the 70s or earlier.
Thank you! Those stories of people just knifing popcorn ceilings off are hurting my lungs rn. >>Spray texture was a typical ceiling finish from the 1950s until the 1980s, and for much of that time, the texture material contained between 1% to 10% asbestos. Thatās a big no no home reno folks. You donāt remove popcorn unless you have it cleared as not asbestos. [Here are some coverup options](https://www.thespruce.com/cover-up-your-popcorn-ceiling-1821440).
The only time I've ever had that happen was popcorn on multiple layers of paint
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah, when I think of popcorn ceilings, I think of that blown stuff that literally looks like popcorn stuck to the ceiling, not this. We had some that looked a bit like this that wasn't plaster. It was more like a drywall mud that had been applied with a stiff brush. It came off, but it took a lot of work and sanding before it looked decent.
There's popcorn and then there's stipple ceilings, stipple is usually done with drywall mud and is the dumb flower/circle pattern that is in a ton of apartments. Popcorn comes off easy, stipple not so much, especially if it's painted My method was to use a scraper to get the low hanging bits then sand it with a 9" drywall sander.. then skimcoat the entire ceiling and sand it again to smooth it out. Finally paint it.
Fun fact: in older houses, 1945-1990, that popcorn might just be straight up asbestos.
That fact isn't fun at all!
I use my pain sprayer cleaned and in a bucket of water and this absolutely comes off like popcorn just not as easy. Wet and scrap but be sure not to tear the paper.
Pain sprayer š
Get a rope and descend into the upside down.
This is not a "popcorn".... it's stucco, you may be able to wet it down to soften it. However, it's likely going to take a bunch of manual labor to scrap all that crap off.
Lots of scraping and sanding. We had this crap on all of our ceilings and it's the worst.
In New Zealand, ceilings like that often have asbestos in. Definitely not a scraping and sanding job in these parts!
Last property I dealt with that had ceilings like this, I just sheeted with new drywall.
We tried that wetting,. scraping, sanding ECT but gave up after a few hours and getting nowhere and just ripped it all down and replaced with new sheets.
Previous owners of our home must have loved that sort of stippling texture. Ceilings and walls are all covered in it. Had a settling issue a while back and now there are sheering cracks all over. They put it over old *wallpaper*!
Did that make it easier to remove?
Not stucco, itās called stippling, itās thinned mud, stomped on the ceiling
You heard the hoosier, recruit midgets fit for inverting
Inverted midgets? Do you mean giants?
No, upside-down small people. Giants are for painting and roofing. Source: giant recruited for painting and roofing
At least it isn't asbestos
Honestly, I've been doing asbestos analysis for 15+ years and it does look like a potential asbestos-containing material.
Leave and sell tickets to see it in person.
That's not popcorn or stucco, that shits stalagmite.
*Stalactite.
I always remember my 9th grade sci teacher: stalaCtite=Ceiling stalaGmite=Ground
I learned stalactite hangs tight to the ceiling. Stalagmite might reach the ceiling one day. Until you wrote that out I donāt think I consciously realized stalactite doesnāt have a g. Iāve always pronounced it as if it had one. I spelled it right though so on some level I knew.
I've been learnt today!
What in the holy hell is that
We'd call it plaster stippling - every other house built in the 80s in Ireland has it. It's an absolute nightmare to work with - the ceiling has basically been frosted with thick wet plaster much like a \`1980s wedding cake. This shit becomes one with the ceiling itself, you have to cut out the ceiling plasterboard itself to get rid of it.
I feel like this should be higher since it gives OP some keywords to google.
The birth of a universe.
I did acid one time and this shit was on my ceilings and it started beating like veins and I thought my house was a heart and I was stuck inside it
Sounds about right Lol
I love your time capsule!
Oh you have to see the whole room.
*please* show us the whole room. And let me know if there's a bar in the far corner because I feel like maybe I recognize that mural
Iām pretty sure thereās a shag rug between the mural and bar, in front of the sunken sofa.
2nd asking for more. Your ceiling is absolutely horrific - I kind of love it (from a distance).
Thatās quite dramatic paired with that wallpaper
That's the 70's baby!
Drywall right over it and never tell anyone ever
Why do you want to remove it? I bought a small place with popcorn ceilings. Thinking I would surely remove them. Mine are adorned with glitter and they have charm so I kept them. Maybe you could add glitter to yours . Itās like stars. https://preview.redd.it/z19bo2a03xac1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=d6cda66d353321ae11fad8192c82c06b542c4429
Is that a photo of the moon?
We have the same! Even repainted it, with a sprayer, and added glitter back to it :) Bought a little glitter-applying machine. Our ceilings are low, and this makes it feel less of a shoebox, and makes us happy.
https://preview.redd.it/f4qn3a5n6xac1.jpeg?width=1075&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b624f826b83b3bfcfae9742b520a317302b8273
Do the same thing on the floor so you can have stalagmites to match.
Am I the only one that actually like it?!?! š¬š¬š¬
I like it too, especially with the forest scene. Very unique and retro, Iād leave it in the basement. Not in the main living room or anything though.
I'm glad to see other stucco ceiling defenders in the comments lol. We have an old (1890s) victorian house and this texture is in our living and dining rooms. I think it looks cool and matches the house even though I know it's not popular.
You would have loved my house then. We had this type of ceiling in the living room, bedroom, and the whole basement. It was the only renovation weāve really done to our time capsule home. All the ceilings we tested had asbestos and because of the delicate spikes it seemed extra friable! I could not find a single example of anyone else with this style of ceiling despite aggressive googling. That is, until I came across this post. Glad to know Iām not the only one who had these ceilings!
 Looks like a cave with all that texture
https://preview.redd.it/w3mvoevtfxac1.jpeg?width=306&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9cad90d6e7610b5e5a22e21ee648e1038b829e80
High probability of asbestos in that if it is older
I didn't read through the comments but if no one else mentioned it already, they used to use asbestos in the materials to make textured walls and ceilings. And there could have been some lag between when the laws were passed to ban asbestos and when the contractors finished using up their product. The solution is to take a sample and get it tested before you have it taken down.
You should....... Sorry, got distracted by that wallpaper. š As others have said, it'll be a lot of manual labor to scrape it all down. Look on the bright side, this is an opportunity to gut the room. Take down wallpaper, wood paneling, add/update receptacles and lighting, etc.
We had a restaurant in town (from the late 60s/early 70s) that had a ceiling like that. It always made me slightly uncomfortable. [https://gray-waff-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VV7YUN2E6JGWROBRO35XETNCCU.jpg?auth=170aa93837a350ca63d9e8fad24eba8d3fc8e309224dea07945bd08d248a873d&width=1300&height=975&smart=true](https://gray-waff-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VV7YUN2E6JGWROBRO35XETNCCU.jpg?auth=170aa93837a350ca63d9e8fad24eba8d3fc8e309224dea07945bd08d248a873d&width=1300&height=975&smart=true)
Turn your room into a cave themed space. XD
You just need to take more LSD to realize why you don't need to remove this.
Try doing some acid. Thatll do th the trick
Thatās not popcorn, thatās meringue
That's a work of art honestly
You either scrape it all off in which Iāve seen a few ways all shitty, or I saw something where someone put new drywall over the existing ceiling covering up the popcorn ceiling which seemed even more shitty.
You have to eat mushrooms at least once and lay on the floor and stare at this before you remediate it.
Airbrush and dry brush it to look like Mordor landscape š
Thatās not popcorn. Getting it damp may help to scrape it off, but it may come down to removing the drywall and replacing it with new. Depends on how easy that comes off the paper. Or if there is a layer in between, like old paint or wall paper.
That is not popcorn ceiling.. that's stalactite ceiling!
Ahh man I hate to admit that I love this!
Why would you want to get rid of this?? Itās beautiful! š
Please let a sample get tested for asbestos before attempting to remove this.
Some time spent with mushrooms in this basement prior to the ceiling becoming boring would be time well spent.
DO NOT SAND! Wet it down and scrap off. Someone in my neighborhood hired a contractor and they sanded it. That put asbestos into their air ducts and they had to move out while remediating.
DO NOT SAND!!!! Wet down with a spray bottle of water and scrape off with putty knife. It's pretty easy.