Fixing Stippled Ceilings
Our house was built in 1984, and as such came with a few features we’d rather not have. One of those features is stippled ceilings. Last year, I read and read on how to remove the stipple texture. A simple Google search revealed many methods for removing it: sanding, wetting down the stipple, scraping. Many people said removing the stipple was easy… It wasn’t.
I decided to try the most endorsed method I could find, which consisted of wetting down the stipple and scraping it off. That was in our upstairs bathroom. The process destroyed the underlying drywall, and I ended up replacing the drywall ceiling (what a pain!). Later, when Kim finished the lower bath, she decided to give sanding a try. The results were much better. We decided to use the technique on the dining room. The key to Kim’s method was not sanding so far down as to remove the pattern altogether, but rather just enough to get rid of the stalactites. The major problem with stipple is that the large (1/2″+) stalactites create shadows on the ceiling, making the room feel like it is “coming down on you.” Sanding off the hard edges eliminates this, and creates a nice, nearly smooth, visually-pleasing texture.
Both of these pictures are links to larger versions. Let me know what you think.
Before:
After:
In response to 4KM’s question on prep method and time for the sanding: We cut two large trash bags and taped them over the two doorways to the dining room. (It has no real doors). We opened the room’s two large windows (making the place freezing cold), donned our drywall masks, and began sanding with two electric palm sanders. The total sanding time was about 15-20 minutes for two people for a room that is about 12′x14′ (168 sq. ft.). Of course, we were covered in powder.
We didn’t cover the carpet because we’re planning to get rid of it. I regret that decision, because now I think about the powder that is lodged in the carpet in the interim, and, we ended up covering it to paint anyway. When we do future rooms, I’ll put down the plastic sheeting first. (By the way, Walmart sells .6mil 9′ x 12′ plastic sheeting rolls for about $1.29/each).
Safety Information: The other regret I have is that we did not first check the ceiling stipple for asbestos. Now, our house was built in 1985, and from all my reading on the internet, interior products that could be sanded to a powder (like drywall compound) would very likely not have had asbestos in them at that time. That said, in older homes (particularly from the 60s and 70s), asbestos was used in some popcorn and stipple ceiling textures. For a small fee, a number of labs will perform an asbestos check. I decided to go ahead and send a few samples to a lab I found through Google. Click here to read my asbestos testing lab review.
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15 Responses to Fixing Stippled Ceilings
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January 27th, 2008 10:38 pm
Down with stipled ceilings! I never understood the appeal of that texture. Seems like it would also make more work for the stipler.
Also, there’s no such thing as a “stalagtite.” A stalactite hangs from the ceiling and a stalagmite comes up from the ground. (Sorry, probably not the type of comment you were hoping for.
)
January 28th, 2008 6:14 am
I edited the post, so now I can claim innocence. Also, a bigger problem is that stiple is actually spelled “stipple”. I fixed that too.
I should have included this in the original post, but stippling is easier and cheaper than finishing drywall to a smooth surface (if you’ve ever tried to tape, mud, and sand a ceiling, this quickly becomes evident). Builders like “stipple” and “popcorn” because they substantially reduce labor on the job.
I agree, smooth ceilings are best, and there’s certainly a range for offensive stipple. Ours was in the moderate-worse range. So, we had to do something about it.
January 28th, 2008 7:18 am
I never would have guessed that stippling was the “natural” result of the process. I’ve never done this or seen it done, so I guess that’s why I’d claim ignorance.
January 28th, 2008 3:03 pm
The difference is quite something! I just have to get off my butt and test my ceiling for asbestos… and then I might be right there with you!
January 29th, 2008 6:22 am
Jennifer, when I did the upstairs bathroom last year, I looked online to see if drywall compounds in use around 1985 would have had any asbestos. The information I found then gave me pretty high confidence that they didn’t. But, I just saw your message and felt like I should check again. I could find no such reassurance. Now, I’m sure that to some degree the asbestos labs are relying on a level of fear to drive their sales, but, I decided just to be safe (and so I could do something about it), I better get the texture actually tested for asbestos.
I sent away samples this morning to Western Laboratories (www.asbestostesting.com). It was real easy to gather than sample. Hopefully, the test comes back negative. I’ll post a follow-up with my experience with Western.
January 29th, 2008 6:37 am
Fred,
Very nice technique. We have that that silly texture throughout our house. Your technique is a cheaper alternative to new ceilings.
Questions: How much preparation went into containing the dust? How long did it take, approximately per sq.ft.?
January 29th, 2008 8:21 pm
4KM – Your question was so good I decided to modify the post again. You can see the information under a section dedicated to you. Also, Jennifer raised a good point on asbestos that you should be aware of – I also modified the post for that.
February 11th, 2008 4:04 pm
I’ve used Western Analytical to test for asbestos content in vinyl flooring, the guy there was prompt with my sample and answered my email quickly.
I’ll be sending ceiling samples shortly, hopefully no asbestos will be found…
February 16th, 2008 8:25 am
I used western analytical as well. I’m working on the follow-up post that I’ll link back to here.
February 27th, 2008 9:30 am
Finally got around to sending the samples on the 18th. Received the results a week later; No asbestos!
Now for the reno…
February 27th, 2008 12:14 pm
No asbestos is a very relieving feeling. I have a post coming about my experience, but I’ll let the cat out of the bag here: I’ve got no asbestos either. I found Western to be really responsive.
May 3rd, 2008 10:34 pm
Your post inspired me to remove the stippled ceiling in my vacation house. Ok it is a Trailer. Well the entire mobile home is about 1200′ sq. ft. ALL OF IT WAS STIPPLED.
First I want to say we did achieve a nice result by leaving some of the texture, but cleaning up the hangers. It is now more of a Knock-Down or Stucco type of appearance.
Now I’d like to say that the sander I used was much too heavy as we nearly killed ourselves doing this job! I think the little orbital sander is four or five lbs. But when you are holding it up over your head for two days… Ouch. It took us about 2 hours to do a small bedroom (avg.) and about a day to do the living room, dining room, and kitchen. So if you are going to attempt this go for the lightest sander you can find that seems like it is up to the job.
We preceded the sanding by using a wide blade putty knife to scape off the first batch of ugly hangers. This sometimes popped off a bit of plaster/compound to the sheetrock underneath but we can patch or paint right over it. I believe that helped move it along. Also be careful not to stay in one spot too long since we did grind through to the paper more than once. (side effect of exhaustion?) We used a huge box fan to help exhaust the dust. The googles and dust mask combo really stunk. The googles fog up almost right away. I’d stick with safety glasses next time. Or one of those face masks dental hygenists use.
Good luck if you decide to try this. If you can afford it, just remove it however you can and re-rock the place. It may cost more and take longer but it is less of a comprising fix.
February 13th, 2009 7:01 am
[...] As we did in our dining room and powder room, Fred and I took a Saturday, sealed off the room, and sanded the stippling down to just a swirly texture. Less ominous, less cobweb-friendly, makes the (7 1/2 foot) ceilings [...]
October 1st, 2009 1:15 pm
i checked out both your before and after pictures and wanted to tell you “nice job”! It looks so much better AFTER.
October 3rd, 2009 10:06 am
Hey Karen, Thanks! We like the look much better, too!