How to remove Asbestos Popcorn Ceiling ?

Many building products, over the years, have contained asbestos. Many of these products are still present in homes that were built prior to the mid-1980’s. So What exactly should you know about asbestos ?

The general guideline is that, as long as asbestos is confined – so the fibers cannot escape and become airborne, it is not much of a problem. Of course if, down the road, a remodel is in order any asbestos material has to be treated as hazardous waste. There are two very common household products that might – or might not – contain asbestos. It is hard to guess. Those products are vermiculite attic insulation and popcorn textured ceilings.

If vermiculite insulation or asbestos popcorn ceilings are present in the home, to establish whether or not they contain asbestos, one must collect samples and send them off to a lab. Inexpensive lab tests will confirm the presence of any asbestos. For further information on asbestos or asbestos testing, you should visit the EPA website.

Residential Asbestos  Popcorn Ceilings

Asbestos Popcorn ceilings were not really ceilings but rather a spray-on coating applied to an existing ceiling. They were excellent for covering up any blemishes in the construction. In addition, they added a sound-proofing quality to the ceiling that made it less likely for a noise in the room to carry throughout the house. In these ways, they were extremely useful.

When the ceiling contains asbestos, it is very dangerous to put up a ceiling fan or drill anything into the ceiling. Another huge problem is that when they are cleaned, the asbestos in the ceiling easily flakes off and becomes airborne. This is because the asbestos in a popcorn ceiling is extremely friable. To say that it is friable is to say that the asbestos easily escapes the confines of whatever structure it is in. Asbestos in flooring materials is not nearly as friable as that in a ceiling.

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!

A huge hazard arises when a family or couple or individual buys an older home with the intent of remodeling it. Many older homes in older neighborhoods have established landscaping and lots of charm making them popular for remodeling. Asbestos Popcorn ceilings are not “in style” anymore for homes and so they are one of the first things that a home will have ripped out of it. This, if done improperly or without checking for asbestos first, can cause huge health hazards and expose everyone to asbestos.