The Ceiling Contractors Have Ghosted Us
Over the weekend Ed and I finished putting the final touches on the last outdoor repair that was needed after the tree crashed onto the house and into a guest room during Hurricane Helene back in September.
For most of the repairs we hired contractors to do both inside and outside work that needed to be done.
Most of the contractors showed up when they said they would, but not the ceiling repair contractor who removed the popcorn and redid the guest room and kitchen ceilings that were damaged.
We removed the popcorn ceiling in what is now the multi-purpose room ourselves since it wasn’t damaged and covered by insurance.
In the living room the contractors were scheduled to do the ceiling right after Christmas. We have emailed, called them all through January and into February, but we never heard back.
They even left supplies in the garage, so it felt like they would be coming back after doing the guest room and kitchen, but we figure they just didn’t want the job anymore and have ghosted us.
We didn’t lose any money as we paid them after each room was completed. So what did we do?
We removed the popcorn on the living room ceiling ourselves with the best two contractors ever – my husband, Ed and my brother-in-law Dave who is retired now, but was a professional painter. I called them “B-B-I-L Contractors” – short for best-brothers-in-laws home improvement services. :-)
They had the job done quickly! Prep work, removal, spackling and primer/paint.
Removing the Popcorn Ceiling
Removing a popcorn ceiling is very inexpensive and not hard to do, but it is extremely messy!!! Everything needs to be removed from the room including ceiling fixtures and lights.
The most time consuming part is the prep work of masking the floor and walls with plastic sheeting. Doing this will keep the wet slop/sludge of the textured popcorn when it is scraped and falls off contained on the plastic sheeting. With all the wet slop on the plastic sheeting, clean-up is easy.
Popcorn ceilings, in pre-1970s often contained white asbestos fibers. If your home was built before this time, you can get a test kit online and have it tested.
I did this back in 2017 when I removed the popcorn on the ceiling when I made over the second floor bathroom. The test came back negative and I had the popcorn removed the next day.
Five years ago we covered the popcorn ceilings in the two guest rooms with Armstrong Woodhaven white planks. One of theses rooms no longer has it after the tree came in, now it has a smooth sheetrock ceiling.
To remove the popcorn ceiling, we had to first thoroughly saturate the surface with water using a pump spray bottle and allow it to soak in for a few minutes. This encapsulates the popcorn material and allows for dust free scraping.
Then used a wide drywall scraper section-by-section to scrape off the wet popcorn texture and watch it fall to the covered floor.
Once the popcorn texture is gone, we cleaned the ceiling with warm water and rags and let dry overnight. Next we spackled a few uneven areas and sanded until smooth. Then a coat of primer and two coats of Sherwin Williams Ceiling Paint in the color Pure White – 7005.
Before the popcorn removal, the ceilings were white, but I didn’t realize just how dingy they were. It wasn’t until the popcorn was removed that I saw just how much the ceilings affected the light in the rooms where the popcorn was removed..
Now the ceilings are clean, smooth and make the rooms look so much fresher and brighter.
Putting the Living Room Back Together
Now it’s time for the fun part. I put the furniture back into the room, but will leave it as is until I am ready to give the room a spring refresh that has a way of loosening what’s been stagnant in the room.
The first item on the room refresh list is updating the family photos I have in the gallery wall between the kitchen and living room.
I removed all the frames so the wall is empty now which in a way is nice to see as it gives the wall and my eye a rest for a while. When I put the gallery back up it will have a new freshness and energy just in time for spring.
Now I am just enjoying the new smooth white ceilings and how happy they are making me. :-)
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