February 16, 2015

Can you texture over a popcorn ceiling without removing the popcorn texture?  Maybe.  The bigger questions are… what are the reasons would you want to? Secondly, if it can be done, how will it look once it’s finished?  

To answer the first question:  Asbestos!  Asbestos is a concern for many homeowners with popcorn ceilings. In addition, many people find popcorn ceilings to be unattractive, and they believe that it takes away from the attractiveness of a room.  On the other hand, many building contractors favored popcorn ceilings because of the ease, speed and relatively low cost of installation.  But what may have been a real darling for home builders decades ago, has become a real pain in the derriere for today’s homeowners, especially those who love to DIY.

To remove a popcorn ceiling, you first have to determine if it contains asbestos, and that requires sending a sample to a lab for a determination.  Secondly, there’s the whole removal process itself, which can be extremely messy and labor-intensive, even when asbestos is not an issue.  So, this leads us back to the original question of whether or not you can texture over a popcorn ceiling.  Maybe, and here’s why: If the popcorn texture has not been sealed with either a paint or primer prior to applying the new texture, the moisture in the joint compound, combined with the suction action created by a brush or roller can suck the popcorn right off the ceiling! And then you would be left with a ceiling which resembles a puzzle with missing pieces.

If, on the other hand, the new texture is applied successfully without the original popcorn peeling away from the ceiling, you may still not like the end results.  This is because ceilings that are re-textured to hide an old texture seldom completely disguise the original texture. And in the case of  popcorn texture, one can clearly see the pea-shaped particles showing through.  In other words, it clearly looks like a popcorn ceiling that has been textured over.  This may perhaps be better than the original popcorn texture, but the popcorn will not be completely disguised.

So, it basically all boils down to aesthetics and whether or not you can be happy with less-than-perfect results. As an added note, if you do plan to texture over an existing pattern, always make certain to test a small area of the ceiling first to determine whether the new texture will adhere, before committing to the entire project.  

by See Jane Drill, Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved