When it comes to home improvement, many of us wish someone else could do it (me included).
For parts that aren't even so important such as a ceiling, it can be pretty discouraging to have to put time and energy into it.
Especially if your task is to remove popcorn ceiling.
However, letting someone else do the job might not always be best depending on what kind of job you require.
Although in this case you should seriously let a professional handle your ceiling.
The main and only reason would be a health safety issue.
Not all popcorn ceilings are alike but the earlier versions of popcorn texture contained traces of asbestos.
If you still haven't caught on, asbestos is a substance that is proven to cause cancer.
A professional will know how to test for it and how to remove it with the proper equipment or suggest to you what should be done if it's not part of his job skills.
You, on the other hand can test for it because it's easy but probably won't be able to remove it without the proper equipment.
So here are 3 small advice I can give you before you decide to remove popcorn ceiling on your own.
Planning Your Final Ceiling Is More Important Removing the texture from your ceiling doesn't require much design knowledge and the process is pretty much the same for all the ceilings.
Best of all, the result is what counts and as long as the surface is flat at the end you can remodel the ceiling however you want to.
It's definitely more important for you to take the time and determine if you plan on using another type of texture or what kind of paint or even design you would like up there.
Who knows maybe you'll end up keeping your textured ceiling and simply add your improvements to it.
Reduce Damage To Your Drywall This is where you should be very careful.
Although some may suggest not to spray water on your ceiling, the truth is it's easier to remove popcorn ceiling when it's wet.
However if you spray too much water, you'll end up with a bad surprise which will cause sagging and eventually holes in your drywall.
If that happens, removing the texture on the ceiling won't be the only thing you'll be doing.
Oh and as an additional challenge, if your texture has paint, the water won't stick.
You'll need something more powerful such as chemical products to remove it.
Cover Up Whenever you need to renovate a room, furniture must be moved, walls, floors and windows must be covered.
But the principle applies to you to.
It's great to keep your room clean but you'll definitely want to keep your lungs cleaner.
This is the kind of job that will create a lot of dust and if you don't wear a mask, you'll quickly know how it feels to work in a mine.
With a pair of safety goggles and protective mask your job is going to be much easier.
You might also want to cover any open wounds as it may sting a little if the dust settles in.
As you've probably realized, if you still plan to remove popcorn ceiling by yourself, there's no shortcut.
You may find tools that will simplify the process but overall, it's going to take effort and time.
Of course the easiest way to hire a local contractor to do the job which would be fine in this case since all you care about is removing the popcorn texture.
Remember installing something new is always more fun then removing something old.