I made a big fuss about why we had to remove our popcorn ceilings. I hated them; they had to go. Well, they’re gone.
Can you be proud of a ceiling? Oh yes, you can. I’ve never subscribed to a project so big – not for a long time. Our blog addictions, home show favourites and glossy magazine spreads tell us that ‘before’ and ‘afters’ should be startling and delicious – and that the ‘during’ isn’t worth much of a mention.
Want to know what “during” feels like? Let’s skim coat a ceiling.
- You have to scrape at it. Plead with it. Swear at it. Wear your muscle fibres so thin you wonder what’s left.
- Not super strong? Tough. This project requires carbo-freaking-loading.
- You’ll stand on a ladder. Straddle window sills and chairs. Twist and contort yourself into unseemly angles, just to get the finish straight. All this while wearing a shower cap and a 3M dust mask that doesn’t fit. For four days straight you’ll cancel plans with friends:
Sorry, can’t, still sanding. Sorry, fell asleep. Sorry, must postpone, too sore to move.
- You might even forget you had plans in the first place, or lose your long-dead phone. As much as Canadians love the word sorry – there’s a limit.
- It’s all-consuming. Can you remember ‘going dark’ in university? Was it a scary midterm or a 4th-year thesis that consumed you whole? What about athletic dedication? It’s rare our in beeping-texting-Tweeting world that we spend eight hours on any one task.
Going to work today? Great. You’ll do fifty things, if not a million. Writing a book? Even then, you’ll research and rewrite, and certainly hit the fridge. With me & skim coating our ugly bedroom‘s ex-popcorn ceiling, it was war. A long, physical battle. We went head-to-head for eight long hours, until I was finished, utterly spent.
My hand clutched into a claw, bent to the shape of the palette knife. My fingers – black. Strangely coloured by the rubbed-off rubber handle.
Actual war. I’ve never spent eight hours doing anything. One single task.
How to skim coat a ceiling?
- Scrape on, scrape off twice. Scrape on, scrape off twice.
- Over and over across a ceiling that seemed to span larger than a soccer pitch. Did it? No. Perhaps only 12‘X12’.
- Over and over across a grid of my own making.
- Sand it.
- Wipe it down.
- Repeat.
- Twice.
- Would it need a third coat? I almost didn’t mind.
I was so proud of my work. Outstanding quality and totally glorious. My baby.
{Update: It was all worth it. But skim coating the ceiling was just the beginning of a brand new bedroom. Next was rampant wallpaper removal, then we acquired expert spackling tips & painted it yellow. Here’s the bedroom before and after.}
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Photo credit to Louis via Flickr Creative Commons
Hey, you want a s'more? Some more of what?
Congratulations! That did not sound like fun–working over your head takes so much more strength and effort. You should have some muscles to show off once they stop being sore.
I think popcorn ceilings should be banned forever.
Thanks!!! I’ve got a girly gun show on limited-time offer, definitely.
This sounds like the beginning of a nail-biting tale of survival!
I am proud to say that I have been successfully ignoring our popcorn ceilings for 2 years and will continue to do so after reading this!
Haha oh dear – did that come across as a total whinge? It’s more than worth the results, promise!
Yippee for banished popcorn ceilings! Seriously, whoever thought them up should be punished. It sounds like it was completely miserable, but I’m sure the final result is awesome!
Yes – sooo very much so!!! I think I’m going to apply for sainthood.
Thanks Lauren, you have officially made me terrified of removing popcorn ceilings. I guess I will have to see some Before and After shots of your place before I can decide whether it’s worth it!
And yes, us Torontonians are all good looking! Ha!
After enjoying the “please-paint-me-i’m-naked-up-here” smooth ceilings for a few days now – I assure you, it’s definitely worth it. Unbelievably so!!!! The evangelism continues.
Congrats on getting rid of those popcorn ceilings!
Just FYI that for those folks thinking of attempting this, its important to know that some popcorn compounds actually contain asbestos. You should have the ceiling tested if your house was built before the early 80s before removing it, because the airborne dust created by removal is the worst kind for your lungs. There are several places online where you can get tests done with a few samples. We have a stipple ceiling in our house and I got it tested just to be sure, even though our hose was built in 1984. The law was passed around ’78 I think, so if the house is older than that, you should definitely check. Suppliers were still allowed to “use up” what they had on hand until it was gone, even after the law passed.
Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly why we’re only getting to this slice of fun just now – and it really was frustrating to have to wait. But I think coughing up our lungs would have been the far greater inconvenience. Good reminder, thanks Fred.
That sounds awful! But congrats on getting rid of the popcorn. Who ever thought that stuff was a good idea in the first place?!
Thanks Heather! Let Miley Cyrus and popcorn ceilings teach us that, yes, you can get rich by being awful.