Monday, May 2, 2011

Popcorn Elimination Treatment

Today is the big day: I began the Popcorn Elimination on All the Remaining Ceilings. ("Popcorn" is a euphemism for that ugly bumpy ceiling texture in most tract homes.) This is a huge task since I haven't yet removed it from the master bedroom and bathroom, the bedroom hallway, the entry, living room, and dining room, and the back hallway.

Today I began on the master bathroom. Small room=simple task, right? Wrong. The obstacles I ran into were the tub, the toilet, and the tiny linen closet. It was a challenge to get the ladder in or around all of them in order to reach the ceiling. The closet was the worst; at one point I thought I might be wedged in so tightly that I would need help to get out. My shoulders really took a beating.

I persevered and the popcorn is now gone from the bathroom.After the texture is removed, I will need to do some patching to cover my mistakes, and then sand. Primer and paint are the final steps. After that I'll be able to go have fun with the redecorating.

5 comments:

Carol Noren Johnson said...

Are chemicals released when you do this? How long will this take for all the rooms you want to do? Can you hire this out?

Adie said...

New Kid,
I don't think chemicals are released. The texture is made up of tiny, tiny styrofoam balls under the layer of something like joint compound. It's just hugely messy to spray it with water, then scrape it into a pail using a putty knife. Even then, lots of it spills onto the floor. Wet, goopy stuff on the floor.

It took me most of the day to do the bathroom. Most of the other rooms should take about the same. The living room, with 10 ft ceilings, will take at least two days I imagine. That's just the scraping. The sanding should take half a day or a day per room. Maybe the painting will go more quickly: 3 days for all of it?

So lets call it 5 rooms, times three processes, means 15 days as a generous rough estimate. But I know I will not do just that project for 15 days straight. Give me a month; I'll aim for May 31 to have it complete. Ok?

Adie said...

Your one last question: Can I hire it out?
Yes, people will do it for a fee. But it is very expensive because it's a nasty job. No one wants to get the serious crick in the neck from all that ceiling work. That's why builders put it up there in the first place.

Marj Swierenga said...

Wow. That is a serious amount of work Adie. But I know it will look beautiful once it's finished!

Carol Noren Johnson said...

Your life reminds me of what I posted today in my Facebook notes section:

"Prov. 14:23 Work bring profit, but mere talk leads to poverty."

Not to mention the Proverbs 31 woman, Prov 12:4 and the Proverb about making good use of everything you find. You found a use for that chair!

Glad you gave up on refinishing the chair and put it on the porch as is. Love to sit on it and chat with you! Thanks for our chats in person last week.

Carol