Using Planex to remove popcorn ceilings and have some questions
- Thread starter KG29
- Start date
antss said:
Not even worth my time to give a proper response :
Goof!!, I just don't get the replies. I won't be back bitching in 3 days saying I wrecked my ceilings. These kind of responses is what drives people to figure stuff out things themselves.Don't sell/rent the Planex to the General public then???
I've learned everything myself, as we hire nothing but losers around here. I Finished the bathrooms myself after they left and never came back. (learned using a 10" wetsaw,installing Ditra etc)
Started/finished the kitchen by myself other then the counter tops.
Re-did the basement with Crown-moulding,chair rail etc
I just shake my head when people say that want work, or keep saying the trades are dying. I asked about 3-5 guys to finish my ceilings so the electrician can install the pot lights.
From the ones I could reach again!!! was told I live to far away, but will post the ad looking for work again.
You clearly don't want work or the $700-800.
So when I see stupid AZZ comments it really pisses me off, that a man has asked for proper help.
I'm a easy person to deal with, just don't push my buttons.
AlexThePalex
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KG29 said:Not even worth my time to give a proper response :
Please drop the attitude, people are doing their best for you.
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[member=63390]KG29[/member],
A few years ago I had to do finish work in 9 condos that had popcorn ceilings. The Planex was not yet available here although I had seen a sneak peek of it at a training class. My ceilings were painted and unpainted. I grabbed what I had - my Rotex 150 and went to town sanding the crap off. One day into the job, based on upper body pain I ordered the ETS150.
I called my brother who lives in Palm Springs, CA. He had worked on renovating the very first hotel in Palm Springs into an assisted living center as well as renovating 5 other homes that also had popcorn ceilings. He told me that the normal procedure there - where popcorn ceilings ruled for a decade or more was to put down plastic on the floor and then use a garden sprayer set to a fine mist to wet the popcorn and then walk away. The popcorn would then fall to the floor. Sometimes you would have to spray some more.
The resulting surface would then need to be finished because the popcorn would cover many sins and shortcuts. That is where the Planex will come into play in my opinion. You have been given valid advice.
Good luck on your project.
Peter
A few years ago I had to do finish work in 9 condos that had popcorn ceilings. The Planex was not yet available here although I had seen a sneak peek of it at a training class. My ceilings were painted and unpainted. I grabbed what I had - my Rotex 150 and went to town sanding the crap off. One day into the job, based on upper body pain I ordered the ETS150.
I called my brother who lives in Palm Springs, CA. He had worked on renovating the very first hotel in Palm Springs into an assisted living center as well as renovating 5 other homes that also had popcorn ceilings. He told me that the normal procedure there - where popcorn ceilings ruled for a decade or more was to put down plastic on the floor and then use a garden sprayer set to a fine mist to wet the popcorn and then walk away. The popcorn would then fall to the floor. Sometimes you would have to spray some more.
The resulting surface would then need to be finished because the popcorn would cover many sins and shortcuts. That is where the Planex will come into play in my opinion. You have been given valid advice.
Good luck on your project.
Peter
Some people are just beyond help.
They'd rather do it their way , which is certainly their prerogative.
There are usually multiple ways to accomplish a job, and multiple tools that can be used to lessen the human effort needed for a task. Finding the most efficient combination of those for a given task is often found through trial and error - experience.
I do find it ironic when ignorant newbies solicit advice, then complain that it's no good or not to their liking.
They'd rather do it their way , which is certainly their prerogative.
There are usually multiple ways to accomplish a job, and multiple tools that can be used to lessen the human effort needed for a task. Finding the most efficient combination of those for a given task is often found through trial and error - experience.
I do find it ironic when ignorant newbies solicit advice, then complain that it's no good or not to their liking.
So this is what was hiding underneath after 30 years, interesting they covered everything up being it looks pre-finished [huh]
Looks like fixing those big sagging joints is my biggest issue, We may look into trying to hire someone after the electrician installs the pots.
Just not sure how to fix those sagging joints as I want a nice and smooth ceiling.
about me not taking advice from people, I already did the wetting/scrapping and can't go back with the mess it caused. i still find popcorn bits here and there sometimes.
Looks like fixing those big sagging joints is my biggest issue, We may look into trying to hire someone after the electrician installs the pots.
Just not sure how to fix those sagging joints as I want a nice and smooth ceiling.
about me not taking advice from people, I already did the wetting/scrapping and can't go back with the mess it caused. i still find popcorn bits here and there sometimes.
Holmz
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I am not sure where "around here" is, but the United States is less than fully United. Plaster was used in SoCal in the mid 60s. And I have seen a ceiling from the late 40's / early 50's with plaster.
Since the thing is looking like a 1/2-mongrel anyhow, maybe pulling the ceiling out is the easiest/best?
(I dunno, just asking)
Since the thing is looking like a 1/2-mongrel anyhow, maybe pulling the ceiling out is the easiest/best?
(I dunno, just asking)
I live in Florida, home of the popcorn ceiling. Pretty much every home pre-mid 90's has it or has had it. Some time, in the 90's, knockdown became the latest trend for ceilings (and walls as an alternative to orange peel), and by late 90's it was pretty much all they did.
My home has/had popcorn. I've had it removed by 3 different companies, and have removed some myself. I've talked to a bunch more companies beyond those I used. Not a single one of them will sand popcorn to remove it. It could have asbestos in it, and even though it was banned in late 70's, popcorn ceiling material sitting around in 50 gallon drums means homes well into the 80's could have asbestos in their popcorn ceiling.
Everyone here scrapes popcorn.
As another member had said, the method they pretty much all use is to put down big tarps, spray the ceiling with water (make it good and wet), let it sit for a bit, then scrape with a 12" scraper. Some companies will scrape into a container, and others just scrape right to the floor and walk all over it. The later method is messy but it's much quicker than trying to contain it. You can scrape down an entire ceiling in a 200 sq ft room using the later method in 10 minutes or less.
In most instances, 20+ year old popcorn literally falls away giving you drywall that looks like it did when it was installed, completely unharmed. If your drywall gets scraped up, it's generally one of three things: 1) not enough water, 2) your blade is damaged, 3) too much pressure
Heck, 20+ year old popcorn will fall away much of the time if you look at it wrong. You can easily scrape popcorn without wetting it much of the time but then it's very dusty, and you have that asbestos thing. Wetting it is to contain the airborne mess.
The most common place for the popcorn to stick is in the corners, or if there was a prior repair job and it's newer. But even in those instances, the pros will just scrape at it more with a smaller blade. When they are prepping the ceiling for re-finishing (usually knockdown), there's some work needed to re-tape/mud joints (many companies re-do all of them even if they look good), and thus sanding comes into play at that step, and they can get any stubborn little bits of popcorn remaining.
My home has/had popcorn. I've had it removed by 3 different companies, and have removed some myself. I've talked to a bunch more companies beyond those I used. Not a single one of them will sand popcorn to remove it. It could have asbestos in it, and even though it was banned in late 70's, popcorn ceiling material sitting around in 50 gallon drums means homes well into the 80's could have asbestos in their popcorn ceiling.
Everyone here scrapes popcorn.
As another member had said, the method they pretty much all use is to put down big tarps, spray the ceiling with water (make it good and wet), let it sit for a bit, then scrape with a 12" scraper. Some companies will scrape into a container, and others just scrape right to the floor and walk all over it. The later method is messy but it's much quicker than trying to contain it. You can scrape down an entire ceiling in a 200 sq ft room using the later method in 10 minutes or less.
In most instances, 20+ year old popcorn literally falls away giving you drywall that looks like it did when it was installed, completely unharmed. If your drywall gets scraped up, it's generally one of three things: 1) not enough water, 2) your blade is damaged, 3) too much pressure
Heck, 20+ year old popcorn will fall away much of the time if you look at it wrong. You can easily scrape popcorn without wetting it much of the time but then it's very dusty, and you have that asbestos thing. Wetting it is to contain the airborne mess.
The most common place for the popcorn to stick is in the corners, or if there was a prior repair job and it's newer. But even in those instances, the pros will just scrape at it more with a smaller blade. When they are prepping the ceiling for re-finishing (usually knockdown), there's some work needed to re-tape/mud joints (many companies re-do all of them even if they look good), and thus sanding comes into play at that step, and they can get any stubborn little bits of popcorn remaining.