Prior to 1980, substances like popcorn ceilings were made with asbestos, a dangerous material that could pose health risks if dispersed into the air. Therefore, caution is necessary when removing popcorn ceilings.
Whether you or a contracted professional does the work, it is important to take steps to prevent asbestos exposure. This article discusses all aspects of popcorn ceiling removal to help you do it the right way. Keep reading for more information.
History of Asbestos
Asbestos is a white material discovered in 1876 in Thetford Township, Quebec, Canada. It is a fibrous silicate mineral used as building material. In pre-1980 houses, it was used to make cottage cheese ceilings composed of one to ten percent asbestos.
Later on, asbestos was discovered to cause lung cancer. But that didn’t mean that the materials were totally banned. Today, it’s still imported into the country and used for many applications. However, you cannot put it to unauthorized illegal use.
What Is an Asbestos Popcorn Ceiling?
The first Asbestos popcorn ceilings were invented in Canada before spreading to the U.S. The popularity of popcorn ceilings grew until 1979 when the use of asbestos was stopped. With popcorn ceilings, it was possible to create a ceiling with imperfections and later apply asbestos.
Here are tips to live in a house with an asbestos popcorn ceiling:
- Avoid disturbing the ceiling with tape, screws, or nails
- Don’t place shelves too high to risk scratching the ceiling
- Avoid scraping the ceiling with long objects and furniture
- Instruct children not to throw toys and pillows at the ceiling
- Avoid putting bunk beds in rooms with an asbestos popcorn ceiling
- If your ceiling starts to peel off due to age or dampness, remove or encapsulate it
How to Tell if Your Ceiling Has Asbestos
In 1979, the Environmental Protection Agency enacted the Clean Air Act and banned the unauthorized illegal use of asbestos in commercial residential buildings. At that time, scientists had established asbestos exposure to be harmful.
By checking the ceiling’s installation date, you can establish if your popcorn ceiling contains asbestos. Any popcorn ceilings installed before 1979 would contain asbestos. On the other hand, ceiling panels installed in the late 1980s are likely free of asbestos.
You can also ascertain if ceiling panels contain asbestos by acquiring an appropriate test kit or hiring an asbestos abatement professional. With a test kit, you can scoop a sample of the ceiling material, and send it to a lab through the mail. However, hiring a professional makes it possible to test the ceiling for lead paint content.
What to Do If Ceiling Contains Asbestos
When you discover that your ceiling contains asbestos, you should take measures to remove or encapsulate it. Encapsulating asbestos involves covering it to prevent the release of asbestos dust. Even though encapsulation makes asbestos safe, it is a temporary measure. In the future during renovation or demolition, the asbestos might be exposed and become dangerous.
It is essential that any renovation or demolition work be handled by a licensed professional who will apply professionalism when handling asbestos. You may also remove popcorn ceilings yourself so long as it remains intact. The slightest disturbance may spread asbestos dust in the air, causing contamination.
How to Remove Popcorn Ceilings
Once you have decided to remove an asbestos popcorn ceiling, you must choose the best method to do it. After removal, you need to install new ceiling panels right away. Here is how you can safely remove asbestos popcorn ceilings:
Step 1: Getting the Right Protection
When removing anything containing asbestos, you should have the right protection. You can wear disposable coveralls, long-sleeved clothing, goggles, gloves, and a mask. Besides, you should turn on the fan and ensure it blows outward.
Asbestos isn’t harmful to the skin. Asbestos contamination only happens when the dust fills the air. That’s why you need a high-quality mask. It can prevent the dust from reaching your nose and lungs by extension.
Step 2: Preparing the Room
Before you start removing an asbestos popcorn ceiling, you should cover furniture and other surfaces in the room with plastic flaps. Turn off the HVAC system, lights, and other things that can prevent air circulation within the room. However, you can need to turn on your air purifier to quickly dissipate dust.
After placing the plastic flaps on the fixtures and fittings, cover the floor with a drop cloth. Use painter’s tape to secure all the plastic sheets. That can stop any asbestos residue from setting within the house.
Here are useful safety precautions to observe when removing asbestos popcorn ceilings:
- Take furniture out of the room and cover the remaining fixtures with plastic. Throw toys into a bag and keep them away.
- Turn off your home’s HVAC unit to prevent asbestos contamination beyond the room
- Use plastic flaps to seal doors and windows
- Keep pets and people away from the room, if they have no protective gear
- Wear a respirator with an effective air filter and set up the air purifier
- Wear disposable coveralls to prevent your hair and skin from keeping asbestos dust
- Wet the popcorn ceiling material to prevent dust from saturating the air
- Place asbestos-containing waste in sealed, labeled plastic bags
Step 3: Scraping Off the Popcorn
Did you know that you can use a putty knife or paint scraper to remove an asbestos popcorn ceiling? You may want to remove it dry or wet. If you choose the latter option, use a spray bottle to wet the surface.
Wetting the ceiling helps contain asbestos and prevents the likelihood of there being too much dust. It is advisable to attach a pole and to stay on the floor while scraping asbestos from the ceiling.
Step 4: Finishing Up and Patching
After removing the large patches, you can use a putty knife to remove the tiny, stubborn pieces. Mostly, there would be some asbestos fibers left around lights and molding. Now you place asbestos-containing waste in a plastic bag.
You may have to spackle and knock loose or patch cut any loose areas as you remove the popcorn ceiling. Take care of any ceiling asbestos popcorn ceiling imperfections before performing the final clean-up.
Step 5: Removing Debris and Decontamination
Once you have removed all popcorn ceiling material within a given room, fold and roll up the loose plastic layers with fallen debris. Place the folded plastic layers in double plastic bags. Remove asbestos material from the room and use a wet rag to wipe the ladders and tools.
Spray water on the floor and walls one more time to wet any visible debris. Further, spray yourself and your colleagues with water to wet any asbestos debris. Remove boots, disposable gloves, and coveralls. Get rid of the respirators and their filters. Wipe down the boots and respirator before keeping them away.
Step 6: Painting or Stomping
After cleaning up, make up your mind if you will paint or stomp the ceiling. If there are many ceiling imperfections, choose to paint the surface. Otherwise, a drywall texture would be the best if stomping is your option.
Clean the surface to prevent asbestos from getting infused into the wet paint. It is important to choose a painting beforehand. It could be water-based or oil paint. Once the paint dries, you can decide whether or not to stomp with a drywall texture. Drywall improves the ceiling texture, making it look wonderful.
Step 7: Safe Disposal
Now is the time to safely dispose of the asbestos fibers. Remember, asbestos is not like regular landfill waste. Therefore, you have to be careful to dispose of it only at license transfer stations or disposal sites.
In most cases, you need a waste manifest from the disposal site to handle asbestos debris. Asbestos-containing waste should, of necessity, be disposed within the first 10 calendar days after its removal. If you want to store the packaging waste before disposal, keep it in a garage, basement, or any other secured space.
The Bottom Line
It’s generally easy and inexpensive to remove popcorn ceilings. You can either choose to do it yourself or hire a proposal. Take all safety precautions to carry out the asbestos removal process properly and prevent contamination.
Potential buyers would want to know about the presence of asbestos materials in the house. Therefore, you can inform them about what you did to remove the stucco ceiling. With that, you can fetch a good price for the house.
References:
https://www.asbestos.com/blog/2018/07/24/asbestos-popcorn-ceiling-safe/
https://www.swcleanair.gov/docs/misc/asbestos_popcorn_ceiling.pdf
https://www.homedit.com/asbestos-ceiling/
https://buyersask.com/interior/asbestos/requirements-remove-asbestos-popcorn-ceiling/