The 1960s and 1970s saw the rise of popcorn ceilings, easily recognisable by the rough texture. Also called vermiculite ceilings they were mainly featured in hallways and bedrooms but sometimes throughout every room of the house. Popcorn ceilings were applied through spraying or painting in a particular way. It was a popular interior design and covered up imperfections on the plaster. But in actual fact, it catches a lot of dust and was even used in conjunction with asbestos, which was widely used in the 60s and 70s. You can remove popcorn ceilings yourself but it is a big job to take on and you must test for asbestos first.

Paintway see these types of ceilings during renovations and remove them as part of our services. We understand the process and can easily remove the old popcorn texture and replace it with beautiful new modern ceilings. 

Before you follow these tips there is a very important first step – to test for asbestos in the popcorn ceilings. The only safe way to do this is call in a professional. They will safely scrape a small amount for testing and if it shows asbestos then the professional asbestos teams will remove it for you. 

If there is no asbestos then these are the tips to follow. 

Tip 1 – Prep and Protect

Taking down popcorn ceilings is very messy work, remove all the furniture and cover any heavy furniture that can’t be moved with plastic. Tape plastic to lights switches, walls, door frames, floors and windows. Make sure it’s thick plastic drop sheets designed for these types of specific home renovations. And heavy-duty tape to keep the drop sheets in place. All of this needs to be done with great care as the wetting process during the ceiling removal can potentially cause a lot of damage. We also recommend turning off the power as obviously water and electricity do not mix.

Tip 2 – What to do with ceiling lights and fans on a popcorn ceiling

It’s also very important to protect your lights and ceiling fans from the water spray. If you have downlights then after removal of the fixture put newspaper or similar into the holes. Removing the ceiling lights and fans may be cumbersome and annoying but they will be in the way during the removal process and can easily be damaged by dust and water. 

Tip 3 – What to wear when DIY popcorn ceiling

Protect yourself – get a face mask that is HEPA or of a similar protection level. This prevents the dust and materials from being inhaled into your lungs. Also, wear gloves and eye mask protection. For clothing either buy protective plastic clothing or wear long sleeves and long pants plus boots. And make sure you throw them away afterwards as it’s easier than trying to wash the dust off! As you can see all of this work is prep and the removal process has not even happened. This is one reason we often see people decide DIY removing popcorn ceilings is better left to professional painters.

Tip 4 – Wetting the ceiling

The popcorn ceiling is removed by wetting the area with warm water which breaks down the adhesive bonds. Use a spray bottle and wet one area at a time, not the whole ceiling. The water needs to soak on the surface for at least 15 minutes. Do not overspray water and use too much as this will damage the plasterboard underneath. 

Tip 5 – Scraping the popcorn ceiling 

The most important step of the process is scraping. As scraping is what actually removes the rough texture. Make sure you have the right tools to scrape popcorn ceilings, a large wide blade is best. Keep steady and use long motions to best remove the textured effect. For hard areas like corners and edges using a putty knife works. Use a paint pan in your other hand to catch as much of the texture that scrapes off as you can. 

If you find the texture is not easily coming off then wait another 15 mins and spray a little more water then try again.

Tip 6 – Repairing the ceiling

After the scraping and texture removal then you need to repair and smooth the surface. This step must be done before any repainting otherwise it will look uneven and the paint will flake off. To repair any holes in the plaster use a joint compound. It will need 24 hours to dry before the ceiling can be sanded. Use a fine-grit sanding paper on a sanding pole. The way to sand is horizontally from one end to the other. Do not swirl the pole or apply too much pressure as this damages the ceiling. This is a very tedious process and if at this stage you have had enough, we can step and finish the process from here. We have taken on many vermiculite/popcorn ceiling renovations at this stage. 

Tip 7 – Priming and painting ceilings

Now it’s finally time to paint the ceiling. Make sure you use a primer before painting and at least two coats. Buy paint that is specifically made for ceilings and take a look at some ceiling paint interior design ideas. Believe it or not, there is a lot more than white paint for ceilings!  

Finally, removing popcorn ceilings with DIY methods is not easy and we recommend our professional painting service to get the best finished result. You are still going to pay costs for DIY with paint, primer, sanding tools, scraping tools etc.

Painting a wall in any room or space can dramatically change the look or feel.

Selecting the right colour and using a high quality interior wall paint will ensure professional looking results and a longer lasting finish.

Under an hour
Allow approx 20 minutes for standard sized wall.

MATERIALS

Here’s what you’re going to need:

• Interior wall paint*
  
• Canvas drop cloths
  
• Painter’s masking tape
  
• Angled paint brush
  
• Roller Frame 230 or 270mm width
  
• 9-12mm nap roller cover (matching frame width)
  
• Paint tray (matching frame width)
  

* We estimate you’ll need 2L of paint to cover an average sized wall. We recommend using a low sheen paint…

STEPS

1. Determine the paint colour for your wall. Remember to consider colours you have selected for doors, trim and ceilings when making your choice.
2. Determine the quantity of paint required for the area you will be painting.
3. Before you begin, make sure you prepare the wall for painting to achieve the best finish.
4. Place drop cloths on floors and on any furnishings that must remain in the room.
5. Apply painter’s masking tape to fittings which can’t be removed and any edges which may be fiddly and difficult to paint around, such as skirting boards and fixed shelving.
6. Once you’ve stirred the paint thoroughly, you’re ready to begin!
7. Start with the edges of the wall using a technique called cutting-in. Partially load the angled paint brush in paint and remove any excess.
8. Place the angled brush at the edge of the wall. Hold it like a pencil, placing some pressure on it. Begin by painting towards the top corner and working down towards the bottom.
9. Use smooth strokes and cut-IN to corners. Working from the corners OUT will create a build-up of paint and a less than ideal finish. Cut-in all wall edges and then move onto rolling.
10. Stir remaining paint in the can thoroughly before pouring into a paint tray.
11. Dip half the roller into the paint tray, then roll back and forth in the tray to get an even coat of paint around the roller. Tap each side of the roller on the sides of the paint tray to remove any excess paint.
12. Take the roller to the wall using a pole, making sure the roller is parallel to the surface.
13. Paint the wall using either a W or M technique, starting a roller’s width out from the edge of the wall, and rolling from mid-height towards the ceiling, and then down towards the skirting. Each time this step is completed you should have enough paint on the roller to cover about a 1 meter width of the wall
14. After completing half the standard wall, reapply the roller over any already painted areas, to remove excess paint and track marks for an even finish.
15. Repeat these steps for each 1 metre width section of the wall until the entire wall is completed.
16. Make sure you wait a minimum of 2 hours before painting a second coat, and remember to allow the second coat to dry completely.

• A standard sized wall is approximately 4m2
• We recommend safely using a step ladder and/or an extendable roller pole when painting higher walls.  

Sanding before painting walls⁣⁣⁣⁣Not much sanding is typically needed unless you have dings, nail pops, or a hole. If you do, you’ll need to do some patching and then sanding prior to painting.

⁣⁣⁣⁣You might want to do a light sand with fine abrasives to remove any small imperfections and to ensure better paint adhesion.

⁣⁣⁣⁣If you do a light sand, choose an abrasive sheet that attaches easily to a hand or pole sander. If you’re spot-sanding dry mud or patching compounds, consider an abrasives sponge that resists loading. And be sure to tack off any sanding dust using a tack cloth.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Trim/moulding/cabinets/furniture⁣⁣⁣⁣

If it’s new, there won’t be much sanding required. You might want to do a light sand with fine abrasives to remove any imperfections.⁣⁣⁣⁣

If you do a light sand, be sure to tack off any sanding dust using a tack cloth.

⁣⁣⁣⁣If it’s been in place a while, you’ll need to sand out any scratches. Fill any holes with wood fillers. Then, you’ll want to sand that to smooth out the surface.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣(Staining wood)⁣⁣⁣⁣

Strip off any old stain.⁣⁣⁣⁣Sand down – with the grain – and rough up the entire surface to absorb new stain.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Sand – again, with the grain – between coats of polyurethane.⁣⁣⁣⁣

Always work through a sequence of abrasives grits, from coarse to very fine, skipping no more than one grit between stages.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

As a general rule try not to paint over wallpaper😄

Most often,  I recommend removing wallpaper, so you can start with a fresh wall, If this is not an option then there are many issues to consider before you paint over wallpaper – keeping in mind the points stated above.

If removal of the wallpaper is not an option, the first thing you want to do is to clean the surface then lightly sanded seems to make them as smooth as possible.  Ultimately you want a clean dry roller and a smooth surface prior to application.

🛎 Test a quick drying latex adhesion promoting primer, there are many wallpapering Products out there – check out with your paint supplier to see the recommended system. If the primer drives without lifting and blistering, clean the surface with  the paper then the surface is ready to be primed and then top coated with a good quality latex paint

🔖 note – the seams may be visible in some areas –  repair those areas as needed.

📌 The seams may not lie down properly

📌Moisture from the paint could cause wrinkling blistering or peeling

📌The texture from the wallpaper on a Telegraph through causing a poor look on a solid wall

Any of these things could cause problems for those reasons We always recommend testing the system prior to taking on the entire job,  a test can prevent so many issues from occurring.