Texture type for a Ceiling

[djcannon]

So the LOML and myself are expecting the first of July this will be our third and we are thrilled. (No I'm not from Florida and did have power through Ike's visit to the US.) We are excited and have chosen to buy a home with more space. It has accoustical Popcorn Ceilings and we will be removing those prior to moving in and having the baby... or at least that is the plan and I not to argue with the LOML.

Here is the question... With knock down texture on the walls what is the best thing to do with the ceiling once it is cleaned off? Orange Peel, Smooth and painted, Knockdown texture, hand texture or is there something else I should be considering trying?

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

[chopnhack]

Congrats! I too await, but a 2nd one next month. Popcorn removal can be a bear, especially if it has been recently painted. Otherwise one way is to soften it with a pump sprayer and a little water. Then use a large drywall taping knife and scratch it off. I have even seen some people use snow shovels. hey, whatever works After you have removed it you will likely find whatever it was they were hiding, so take some time to try and float it out and make it look a little better. After that personally I would either spray it with thinned out joint compound to a light lace pattern (very fine knockdown) or go with the finer sand finish, just to break up the flatness of the ceiling. Remember to use flat on the ceiling, lol - not me, but someone i know recently painted their ceiling with semi it didnt look too bad, but it was a needless expense. Benjamin Moore recently came out with a new zero voc paint, might be important for you with a pregnant wife and i assume two smaller children. Enjoy!

[LinuxRandal]

So the LOML and myself are expecting the first of July this will be our third and we are thrilled. (No I'm not from Florida and did have power through Ike's visit to the US.) We are excited and have chosen to buy a home with more space. It has accoustical Popcorn Ceilings and we will be removing those prior to moving in and having the baby... or at least that is the plan and I not to argue with the LOML.

Here is the question... With knock down texture on the walls what is the best thing to do with the ceiling once it is cleaned off? Orange Peel, Smooth and painted, Knockdown texture, hand texture or is there something else I should be considering trying?

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

First thought, WHATEVER, the LOYL, TELLS you to do, especially with those pregnancy mood swings.
Second thought, don't let her see the ceilings UNTIL you have all the texture removed, that way, if you gouge it, she can see how hard it was to get off, if she decides to have a smooth ceiling.

Third thought, If she DOES want a smooth ceiling, find a local drywall place (NOT THE BORGS), and price 1/4" sheet rock, it might be easier to add that, to flatten it out. (fill plaster cracks, etc)

[thrytis]

You are going to redo all of your ceilings and move in one month? I wish you luck!

I like the smooth and painted look, though it'll take the most time. You'll have to fix up all of the joints which were most likely done very poorly when the house was first built. For me, this is by far the part that takes the longest time. Adding another texture would require less work on the joints, but depending on the texture you still have some of the negatives of the popcorn texture, such as collecting dust.

A couple of tips. This is a very dusty job. Get a good dust mask that fits well and is very comfortable. Wear safety goggles so you don't get dust in your eye (at least as often as not wearing them). Get a 20" box fan and blow the dust out the window, or use a furnace filter to catch it.

Prioritize your rooms based on the hardest to do after you move in. You think you have until July to finish, but the baby may have different plans, including showing up tomorrow.

[dlminehart]

Caution about those popcorn ceilings. If done before 1970, many contained asbestos fibers in the vermiculite (exploded mica) used for the texture. If left in place, especially if painted over to seal it in place, you'll have no problem. If you remove the stuff, you'll release literally billions of microscopic needles that float in the air, inhale down to the deepest recesses of the lungs, and can cause lung diseases including cancer. The youngest lungs are the most susceptible so, given you're talking about having a baby in that house, you really want to pay attention to this caution.

Check your yellow pages or google for an asbestos test center. You'll have to provide them a small piece of the stuff, perhaps from the corner of a closet ceiling. If it contains asbestos, you can remove the popcorn yourself, or pay a licensed hazardous waste abatement place to remove it. Lots of painters will agree to remove it for you, but using none of the hazmat precautions required for the safety of those living in the space.

I've done one room, following the stringent instructions about enclosing the entire space in plastic sheeting, sealing off the rest of the house, installing a blower with negative pressure in the house so any wayward particles went outdoors, wearing disposable tyvek suits and booties, using an asbestos-suitable breathing mask with disposable disk filters, double-bagging everything, arranging with hazardous-waste center for disposal, etc. Took two of the worst working days of my life (tyvek doesn't breathe very well, so I was drenched in sweat within 10 minutes, and working with arms raised the entire time). I saved about $900 over what the hazardous materials remediation would have charged. And decided that I'd leave the rest of the ceilings alone.

Frankly, I liked the effect of the untextured ceiling. It had a sky-like effect . . . nothing for the eye to settle on, so there was an illusion of depth. It looked a couple feet higher than the popcorned ceiling in the hall that abutted this room. I used the Behr matte white ceiling paint from HD.

My neighbors, before selling their houses and moving away from the consequences, had their house interiors repainted. They asked the painters if they'd remove the popcorn. "Sure! Minor extra charge for doing that." Both houses must now be completely contaminated with asbestos fibers. Wouldn't want my kids living in them.

[JR]

We had a couple good, spirited threads on the topic of asbestos in ceilings a couple of years ago. You should review them before moving forward with the project.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...pcorn+asbestos

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...pcorn+asbestos

A knock-down texture will be the easiest to do, covering whatever mistakes you make in addressing the poor mud job they will have done under the popcorn.

I have scraped and re-textured ceilings prior to moving into a new house. IMHO you would be well-served to have an experienced craftsman do the work, if you can afford it. They can do the whole house in a couple of days, particularly if it's empty. You will require more than a week to do the deed as you climb up the learning curve, run to the BORG, climb curve, run to BORG, chase down the other projects you're working on, etc.