Our bathroom has that white spray-on crunchy stuff that's on almost
every ceiling nowadays. I don't know what it's called, but it looks like
cottage cheese. Anyhow, just above the shower, there's a spot where the
previous owners apparently "repaired" some missing bits, but they did a
poor job of it and it's all coming off again. The humidity from the
shower seems to be part of the problem.
Under the crunchy stuff is regular old sheetrock. We'd like to just
scrape all the crunchy stuff off and repaint the ceiling, but I don't know
if that's a good idea or not. Are we liable to cause more problems doing
this? Should we have something over the sheetrock or a special kind of
paint, since it's likely to get wet from humidity and/or splashing water
from the shower?
Thanks again, guys. You've been a big help, this is our first house and
it's been quite a learning experience.

Stacia

"Stacia" wrote in message
Under the crunchy stuff is regular old sheetrock. We'd like to just
scrape all the crunchy stuff off and repaint the ceiling, but I don't know
if that's a good idea or not. Are we liable to cause more problems doing
this? Should we have something over the sheetrock or a special kind of
paint, since it's likely to get wet from humidity and/or splashing water
from the shower?

Usually called a popcorn ceiling.

Get a spray bottle of water, put in a few drops of dish detergent and spray
the ceiling. After a few minutes scrape with a 4" or so wide putty knife.
Be gentle so you don't nick the drywall. Wipe with a wet sponge. Move to
another area.

Put down plenty of newspaper or a drop cloth. Dust mask and a hat are a big
help too.

Stacia,

To follow up on Ed's answer, if you want to remove the entire room's
popcorn do as he says then, then fix the nicks and other problems with
spackle, then paint with primer, then paint with ceiling paint.
If you just want to fix the problem, scrape the bad area with a putty
knike, paint with primer, paint with "popcorn" paint. Many paint stores do
carry touch up cans of popcorn paint.

Dave M.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Stacia" wrote in message
Under the crunchy stuff is regular old sheetrock. We'd like to just
scrape all the crunchy stuff off and repaint the ceiling, but I don't know
if that's a good idea or not. Are we liable to cause more problems doing
this? Should we have something over the sheetrock or a special kind of
paint, since it's likely to get wet from humidity and/or splashing water
from the shower?

Usually called a popcorn ceiling.

Get a spray bottle of water, put in a few drops of dish detergent and spray
the ceiling. After a few minutes scrape with a 4" or so wide putty knife.
Be gentle so you don't nick the drywall. Wipe with a wet sponge. Move to
another area.

Put down plenty of newspaper or a drop cloth. Dust mask and a hat are a big
help too.


Old popcorn finishes could have asbestos so dust mask in a must to be on
the safe side. Since the fiber is encapsulated in a binder, it is not
a super hazard concern as with asbestos insulation.

If you decide to remove the popcorn ceiling, I would repaint with a
mildew resistant paint or at least add a mildew retardant to the
paint.

This might end up being more work than you think. One advantage of the
popcorn ceiling is that the sheetrock joints don't have to be perfect
since the popcorn will hide minor imperfections. Paint on the other
hand tends to highlight bad taping jobs. You might have to do so touch
up work to smooth out the joints.. No big deal.

On Feb 4, 2:57*am, (Stacia) wrote:
* Our bathroom has that white spray-on crunchy stuff that's on almost
every ceiling nowadays. *I don't know what it's called, but it looks like
cottage cheese. *Anyhow, just above the shower, there's a spot where the
previous owners apparently "repaired" some missing bits, but they did a
poor job of it and it's all coming off again. *The humidity from the
shower seems to be part of the problem.
* Under the crunchy stuff is regular old sheetrock. *We'd like to just
scrape all the crunchy stuff off and repaint the ceiling, but I don't know
if that's a good idea or not. *Are we liable to cause more problems doing
this? *Should we have something over the sheetrock or a special kind of
paint, since it's likely to get wet from humidity and/or splashing water
from the shower?
* Thanks again, guys. *You've been a big help, this is our first house and
it's been quite a learning experience.

Stacia

On Feb 4, 1:57*am, (Stacia) wrote:
* Our bathroom has that white spray-on crunchy stuff that's on almost
every ceiling nowadays. *I don't know what it's called, but it looks like
cottage cheese. *Anyhow, just above the shower, there's a spot where the
previous owners apparently "repaired" some missing bits, but they did a
poor job of it and it's all coming off again. *The humidity from the
shower seems to be part of the problem.
* Under the crunchy stuff is regular old sheetrock. *We'd like to just
scrape all the crunchy stuff off and repaint the ceiling, but I don't know
if that's a good idea or not. *Are we liable to cause more problems doing
this? *Should we have something over the sheetrock or a special kind of
paint, since it's likely to get wet from humidity and/or splashing water
from the shower?
* Thanks again, guys. *You've been a big help, this is our first house and
it's been quite a learning experience.

Stacia

I've scraped off acres of popcorn crap (seems like) most easily with a
12" drywall knife duct-taped to my shop vac hose. In between the hose
and shop vac I use a Magna Sand trap to wet and deactivate any
possible asbestos and make disposal easier. Last 14' x 1'4 ceiling
only took about an hour including dragging all the hardware into
place. SWMBO was very pleased that the effluent wasn't all over the
house. HTH

Joe

"David L. Martel" wrote in message
...
Stacia,

To follow up on Ed's answer, if you want to remove the entire room's
popcorn do as he says then, then fix the nicks and other problems with
spackle, then paint with primer, then paint with ceiling paint.
If you just want to fix the problem, scrape the bad area with a putty
knike, paint with primer, paint with "popcorn" paint. Many paint stores do
carry touch up cans of popcorn paint.

Dave M.


As this is over a shower, I'd definitely get rid of it. As others have
stated, wet and let set and scrape. Easy. Wipe the remaining goo off.
Paint with a good paint because it's going to get humidity.

As per the popcorn paint can bombs, that is what they are. You get about
three seconds of spray, and it comes out like a bomb. They work for what
they are for, it just takes about three cans to learn how to do it. But, if
you don't like what is there, why do it again?

Steve

wrote in message
...
If you decide to remove the popcorn ceiling, I would repaint with a
mildew resistant paint or at least add a mildew retardant to the
paint.

This might end up being more work than you think. One advantage of the
popcorn ceiling is that the sheetrock joints don't have to be perfect
since the popcorn will hide minor imperfections. Paint on the other
hand tends to highlight bad taping jobs. You might have to do so touch
up work to smooth out the joints.. No big deal.

[snip]

Good point - it may be easier to get rid of the popcorn, then add a
knock-down texture to the ceiling to hide the drywall imperfections. It's
not as difficult or time-consuming as it sounds, especially for a small room
like a bathroom, and should be within the capabilities of any adventurous
DIY'er.

On Feb 4, 6:40 pm, "JimR" wrote:
wrote in message

...
If you decide to remove the popcorn ceiling, I would repaint with a
mildew resistant paint or at least add a mildew retardant to the
paint.

This might end up being more work than you think. One advantage of the
popcorn ceiling is that the sheetrock joints don't have to be perfect
since the popcorn will hide minor imperfections. Paint on the other
hand tends to highlight bad taping jobs. You might have to do so touch
up work to smooth out the joints.. No big deal.

[snip]

Good point - it may be easier to get rid of the popcorn, then add a
knock-down texture to the ceiling to hide the drywall imperfections. It's
not as difficult or time-consuming as it sounds, especially for a small room
like a bathroom, and should be within the capabilities of any adventurous
DIY'er.





Most popcorn ceilings do not contain asbestos ... popcorn ceilings
have the large size pebbles. The old asbestos type was much smaller.
We had that in a house we owned that was built in 1962. Anyway, it
was safe to remove it as long as it had been painted. The paint kept
it from flying around much.

"Dottie" wrote

Most popcorn ceilings do not contain asbestos ... popcorn ceilings
have the large size pebbles. The old asbestos type was much smaller.
We had that in a house we owned that was built in 1962. Anyway, it
was safe to remove it as long as it had been painted. The paint kept
it from flying around much.

I would say less than one in a thousand poses an asbestos threat. As long
as you wet it, the fibers can't float around like dust, which is the
hazardous condition. Best to be a little messy than having it float around.
It's like fiberglass insulation. When the sun shines through the cloud you
create by disturbing it, you can see what looks like short pieces of tiny
hair.

HTH

Steve

writes:

If you decide to remove the popcorn ceiling, I would repaint with a
mildew resistant paint or at least add a mildew retardant to the
paint.

This might end up being more work than you think. One advantage of the
popcorn ceiling is that the sheetrock joints don't have to be perfect
since the popcorn will hide minor imperfections. Paint on the other
hand tends to highlight bad taping jobs. You might have to do so touch
up work to smooth out the joints.. No big deal.

Oh, that's a good point. I hadn't thought of that. We're definitely
hoping to get some mildew-resistant paint because mildew occasionally
builds up on the popcorn. The steam from the shower seems to affect the
popcorn, too, which is what's causing the popcorn to crack and come off.
What a pain the bathroom has been. The previous owners did cosmetic
stuff to cover problems and we're having to take it all down and repair
the actual problems -- mainly mildew stains -- and it bites.

Stacia

"SteveB" writes:

As per the popcorn paint can bombs, that is what they are. You get about
three seconds of spray, and it comes out like a bomb. They work for what
they are for, it just takes about three cans to learn how to do it. But, if
you don't like what is there, why do it again?

That explains why the old repair job looks so bad! It looks like
someone splorted a bunch of this popcorn stuff on the ceiling by hand,
just smashing it into the drywall. I didn't know it came in cans, but it
certainly explains the current state of the ceiling.

Stacia

"SteveB" writes:
"Dottie" wrote

Most popcorn ceilings do not contain asbestos ... popcorn ceilings
have the large size pebbles. The old asbestos type was much smaller.

I would say less than one in a thousand poses an asbestos threat. As long
as you wet it, the fibers can't float around like dust, which is the
hazardous condition.

This is a house built in 1994 or so, and while it's proven to be of
cheap and, er, "interesting" construction, I'm reasonably sure the popcorn
on the ceiling doesn't have asbestos.
Why it's in the bathroom above the shower, I have no idea. If getting
popcorn wet is the way to take it off, why would anyone put a popcorn
ceiling in a place it's *sure* to get wet? I'd love to have a word with
the guys who built this house.

Stacia

"Stacia" wrote in message
...
"SteveB" writes:
"Dottie" wrote

Most popcorn ceilings do not contain asbestos ... popcorn ceilings
have the large size pebbles. The old asbestos type was much smaller.

I would say less than one in a thousand poses an asbestos threat. As long
as you wet it, the fibers can't float around like dust, which is the
hazardous condition.

This is a house built in 1994 or so, and while it's proven to be of
cheap and, er, "interesting" construction, I'm reasonably sure the popcorn
on the ceiling doesn't have asbestos.
Why it's in the bathroom above the shower, I have no idea. If getting
popcorn wet is the way to take it off, why would anyone put a popcorn
ceiling in a place it's *sure* to get wet? I'd love to have a word with
the guys who built this house.

Stacia


They put it there because it was the cheapest way to cover up a bad drywall
job with sloppy joints, mud and taping.

Steve