Asbestos in 'popcorn' ceiling texture
- Thread starter 1100011CS
- Start date
The flip side is if it tests positive you have to report it on the seller's disclosure if you ever sell.
Me either, oops, I removed mine myself a couple years ago in my house. Built in 1974.
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Any house from 1940's to early 1980's is at risk. That risk is worth knowing before you dig in.
I won't vouch for its safety level, but I've spoken with a few construction guys who claim that wetting it down and wearing a mask mitigates the problem. As long as its wet, the fibers won't be flying around which is the hazard. Use a standard spray bottle, wet it and then scrape.
To add onto this, I used a small spray bottle with water. I would spray a section and then scrape it off. Letting the popcorn soak a bit really just made it fall right off when hit with my 6" putty knife. Most of the time, the drywall was pristine under.
My point was, if you just cover it up either by painting or with sheetrock without disturbing it you don't have to report and it is still safe. The danger is disturbing it.
This works for asbestos as long as you keep it wet until you get it sealed in plastic. And, *VERY IMPORTANTLY*, turn off your HVAC system while you're doing it. You don't want that **** getting in your ducts. And, it is illegal to just take to the landfill. They have a special place for it.
Not to be a **** but if this is an issue, you might wanna get some help doing it. It should be fairly easy to tell which way they run and they’re evenly spaced, so find one and you should be able to find the rest.
Doing something like this is far down the list of things we want to accomplish to our house. But your right, once you find one, the others should be easy.
I recently bought a ‘77 built house from original owner with practically nothing updated since 70s. In CA, not IA. Entire place tested negative for asbestos but very important to test before buying.
Every inch of the place had pretty nasty gritty popcorn ceiling, even cabinets and closets. Because of how old and painted over it was several contractors said it could not be scraped and I would have to drywall over it effectively lowering entire ceiling of house, did not seem ideal to me and was not cheap.
Found a guy who said he could scrape 90-50% of it and skim coat after. Ended up doing fantastic job that looks great and actually one of few guys on remodel that wasn’t a nightmare to deal with.
I did countless of hours of repair/patch/sand/prime/paint on the walls myself but those ceilings were definitely not DIY and I’m glad I didn’t try.
Every inch of the place had pretty nasty gritty popcorn ceiling, even cabinets and closets. Because of how old and painted over it was several contractors said it could not be scraped and I would have to drywall over it effectively lowering entire ceiling of house, did not seem ideal to me and was not cheap.
Found a guy who said he could scrape 90-50% of it and skim coat after. Ended up doing fantastic job that looks great and actually one of few guys on remodel that wasn’t a nightmare to deal with.
I did countless of hours of repair/patch/sand/prime/paint on the walls myself but those ceilings were definitely not DIY and I’m glad I didn’t try.
Problem with sheetrock is the current uppers in the kitchen graze the popcorn texture, so I’ll run into problems there.
I have a couple bids from companies who seem very affordable but I believe operate under the assumption that there is no absestos if there hasn’t been a test.
And the biggest problem is everywhere I look on the internet, I either get groups saying it’s no big deal and only people who worked with it daily for months should be concerns, and I see groups who say I might as well buy my casket if I go forth without testing
I have a couple bids from companies who seem very affordable but I believe operate under the assumption that there is no absestos if there hasn’t been a test.
And the biggest problem is everywhere I look on the internet, I either get groups saying it’s no big deal and only people who worked with it daily for months should be concerns, and I see groups who say I might as well buy my casket if I go forth without testing
There isn't enough material in that small amount of texture to hurt anyone. Especially a one time exposure. It is true, most if not all of the meso cases are from people who have been exposed daily for a long time. You aren't going to get lung cancer from one cigarette.
So if they come back too expensive and you are then inclined to do it yourself, but still a little worried, paint it (gloss finish) to cut down on any dust and scrape slow. The paint will also act as a binder (don't use flat) which will help it come down in small sheets. Do one room at a time and have the entry covered in plastic. Cover any air intakes as well. Have a good shop vac with a HEPA filter and a Swiffer Wet Jet. Do a good job of cleaning and it's done. Then prime and paint your ceiling and it's like it never existed.