Library Popcorn Ceiling Removal – Preparation

Warning: There is a chance that popcorn ceilings can contain asbestos. If there is any doubt you should use a asbestos services professional to test for it.

This is the first of three posts on the removal of the popcorn ceiling in the library, what used to be a formal dinning room (who needs them).

Other posts for the process:

I easily spent an hour and a half doing the preparation for the scraping and re-texturing of the ceiling.

Preparation Tools and Supplies:

200 x 12 foot roll of 1 mil painter’s plastic
staple gun
duct tape
painter’s tape

The ceilings had the heavy popcorn texture that was popular in the 70s and 80s.

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Original Popcorn Ceiling

First was the removal of all furniture from the room and taking the register vent cover off. The new hanging light had not been installed yet. I duct taped the mount opening to help prevent moisture and texture from getting into it.

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Duct Taped Ceiling Mount

If your not lucky enough to have this, then using a combination of masking tape and a big trash bag does a good job of protecting a hanging light. Make sure to tape off anything you don’t want to be textured.

Next was to plastic off the area where I would be walking to and from the room I was working in. Painter’s tape was used to secure the plastic to the floor. I know from past experience that there will be a big mess in any entry / exit areas.

Plastic In Entry to Library

When I was laying down the plastic for the floors I secured it with duct and painter’s tape up the wall at least a foot to make sure no water got under the plastic. Two 12 foot wide sheets of the 1 mil plastic were necessary to cover the entire floor. Duct tape was used on the seams.

Plastic On Floor

Duct Tape Seam

For the walls, I walked the room’s perimeter unrolling plastic from the roll as I went. Starting from where my entry / exit for the room was, I stapled the plastic to top edge of the wall.