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LIFE AFTER ACOUSTIC (POPCORN) CEILINGS...GIVING YOUR CEILINGS A FRESH NEW ATTRACTIVE LOOK Now that the acoustic (popcorn) has been successfully removed and properly disposed of you can finally begin to breathe a sigh of relief! Gone are the unattractive little pebbles that held pockets of dust, dirt and allergen. Gone are the cobwebs and those awful insect bile stains that you could not remove without damaging the acoustic. Good riddance. And now that the ceilings have completely dried from the acoustic removal process, we are ready to now ascertain some of the questions about what should we do next and how should we go about doing it. In the article "How To Remove Acoustics (popcorn) From Your Ceilings Once And For All", I briefly described how to repair areas on your ceilings that might have been damaged by scraping off the acoustics. And in another article I wrote " How To Finish Drywall...And Achieve Excellent Results", I gave a step by step guide on how to finish drywall. But in this particular article I will assume that you have read them both and I will focus on outlining a plan to help you achieve a nice attractive ceiling that looks beautiful and yet is very easy to maintain. If you have not read the two articles that leads up to this one, please feel free to click on the links and discover how it's all done. At this point you should have ceilings that are clean, smooth and dry. Although it has taken quite a bit of work to reach this step, you should feel pleased to see that underneath all that popcorn stuff--your ceilings don't look so bad after all. But it is not finished and that is the journey we are about to embark on. For the sake of simplicity we are going to implement a plan that will help us acquire ceilings that are just the opposite of the acoustic/popcorn mess. We want ceilings that are environmentally safe (no asbestos), non allergenic, lovely in appearance and down right easy to maintain...for years to come! And my overwhelming choice for a solution to the acoustic/popcorn ceiling is a light application of "orange peel" texture. Yes, this type of texture gets its name from its similar appearance to the hull of an orange. The fruit that so many of us love has a texture that is named after its hull. In essence, that's how we get the name "orange peel". Once it has been sprayed on your ceilings you should be able to see the close resemblance it has to the exterior hull of an orange; it really is astoundingly similar. PREPARATION In order to spray orange peel texture on your ceilings you will need certain tools and equipment. If you have an air compressor that can deliver about 6 cfm (cubic feet per minute) at 40 pounds per square inch (psi) that should suffice, but if you do not have a compressor that does that or if you don't have one at all--don't worry. You can rent all the tools and equipment you need to texture your ceilings from your local hardware or rental store. Really, all you will need is an air compressor, air hose and a hopper; there are also texture sprayers that might be available for rental as well, just ask the sales representative or even the manager, they should be able to point you in the right direction. MIXING UP THE TEXTURE The texture that you will be using is just a simple mixture of joint compound diluted with water. Depending on the size of the job you will be doing that will determine how much texture you should mix up, but as a rule of thumb one box of all purpose joint compound will easily make 5 gallons of texture. Simply get you a clean 5 gallon bucket and add about a gallon of water initially into the bucket, then dump the box of joint compound into the 5 gallon bucket. Do this slowly so that the water that is already in the bucket will not splash out all over you and the floor as well. Now slowly add more water as you stir the joint compound to assure a well mixed solution. You should mix this solution with a power drill and mixer paddle. You can do this manually but it is a lot more taxing to the body but it can be done. The main objective here is to thoroughly mix the joint compound into a soupy solution that can be sprayed. Try not to over saturate with too much water--avoid having a solution that is to soupy to work with. As I stated earlier that one box of joint compound should yield about 5 gallons of texture--with the proper mix of clean tap water. Remember to stir at regular intervals to keep it at the same consistency, only adding a little more water if necessary. One 5 gallon bucket of texture should cover about 400 square feet of drywall/sheetrock, or a ceiling that is about 20x20. It will actually depend on how thick you are applying it and of course how thick your mixture is. But ordinarily 5 gallons of texture should cover 400 square feet of ceiling. GETTING READY TO SPRAY TEXTURE If removing acoustics/popcorn ranks among the most messiest jobs of all, then spraying texture has got to be number two. With that said be sure and cover every thing and I mean every thing that you do not want to get any texture spray on; trim, walls, floors, furniture, appliances, fixtures, electrical features/outlets, family heirlooms...everything. Spraying texture can easily turn into a nightmare if you do not take all necessary precautions before you begin. I learned this the hard way so take my advice and avoid falling into this deep pit. Now that every thing is completely covered and well protected let's begin. Make sure you follow the instructions on how to safely operate the equipment that you have purchased or rented. Always proceed with caution and never, never use the equipment in any way that is not in accordance with the manufacturers' operating manual. Employ all safety measures and safety protective gear to ensure a safe and successful job. APPLYING THE TEXTURE When it comes to texture application one word stands paramount to all others and that word is "methodically". That's right. In order to achieve a quality looking job you must employ a system to dispense with the texture evenly and uniformly to avoid areas that are overly saturated and other areas that hardly have any at all. I personally prefer to work in patterns and I keep that pattern throughout the job. I spray horizontal patterns across the ceilings then I turn around and spray vertical patterns, keeping the hopper or texture gun moving at about the same pace. I also make sure that I'm spraying about the same amount of texture spray, whether it's a vertical or horizontal application that I'm doing. In other words be as consistent as you possibly can. After you have finished and the texture has dried take a moment and look the ceilings over carefully to see if there are any areas that did not receive enough texture as opposed to other areas that actually received a little too much. In order to remedy these trouble spots all you have to do is simply respray areas that did not receive enough texture the first time around: gently spray enough texture in that area to match the existing texture that you sprayed previously and do your best to make it as inconspicuous as humanly possible. You should lightly feather out the spray pattern or don't just spray in the area that has too little texture but kind of spray around the area as well to avoid bringing attention to the area that you are repairing. And oh, by the way--you are now repairing textured ceilings; now add that to your resume'. And the area that had too much texture just take your drywall sanding pole (after the texture has dried) and lightly sand down the area to remove the over build of texture and gently and "methodically" go about respraying the texture evenly and uniformly to the area in question and the immediate areas that surrounds the sanded spot. Be careful and just take your time...you can do it! Follow these same techniques from start to finish and you will be amazed at the quality of results you will be getting. This is not a difficult job to do and it does not require an awful lot of experience or high level of skillfulness. Instead, it requires patience, attention to details and a willingness to do the job correctly...that's all. You can do a great job without a mountain of experience under your belt. As I have so often stated 'commit to the job and give it your best...and be patient'. Never, never, never, rush to get the job done, take your time and do it right--the first time. You can do it and I'm confident you will. And in closing I wish you all the success in the world. Good luck.
As a disclaimer the author of this article assumes no responsibility for any/all injuries that might occur to any one that has read this article or any other article written by this author. The content of this article and all other articles written by this author is for the sole purpose of informing and entertaining. Please consider hiring a certified contractor in your area. Thank you.
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