How To Remove Popcorn Ceiling
Popcorn ceilings are made up mainly of chalk, clay and an aggregate. To remove it you have to wet it, which turns it into a soft gooey mess. Its not going to be an easy project, but with a little preparation you can control the mess.
Start by removing anything possible from the room. Protect the floor and anything that had to stay in the room with a thick sheet of plastic. Lay out some old newspaper on the floor on top of the plastic to soak most of the wet mess up.
A note of caution if your popcorn ceiling is from the early 70s it may contain asbestos. If you suspect your ceiling may be from that era, remove a small piece of the popcorn ceiling and send it in for testing. If it does contain asbestos, it will have to be removed by professionals who can also dispose of it properly to reduce the cancer risk asbestos can pose for you and your family.
Wear some old clothes, a hat to keep the goop out of your hair, and protective eyewear. A respirator of some sort or at least a mask to keep most of the dust particles out of your lungs is a good idea as well.
Use a spray bottle and completely saturate part of the ceiling. Let it soak in for a few minutes and then use a scrapper tool to scrape the gooey mess of your ceiling. A drywall-finishing knife works well. Hold a bucket under the tool to catch most of the removed popcorn ceiling. Work in small section and keep repeating the process until the popcorn ceiling is removed. Use a wet sponge to wipe off any remaining residue on the ceiling.
You may have to rewet some parts of the ceiling to get the popcorn to soften up enough to remove it. Try not to wet it more than 2 to 3 times. You dont want the drywall beneath to get too saturated with water. It may warp or grow mold.
Once the entire popcorn ceiling is removed, let the ceiling dry completely. Now its time to sand the entire surface to remove any rough patches. A pole sander works great for this. Give the dust a chance to settle and then use a joint compound to patch any wholes, cracks etc that may have formed on the ceiling. Let the compound dry for about an hour, then lightly sand over it to smooth it out.
Once you get the mess on the floor cleaned up your new smooth ceiling is ready to be painted.
Visit http://www.LearnHowToRemove.com for a growing library of tips to remove those annoying messes in your life.
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Refinish Your Hardwood Floor Like a Pro
This article is written by a pro of refinishing hardwood floors since I have done too many to count. Maybe 300 would be a good guess. My father was in the business full time (as well as aluminum windows and doors (which I'll write another article about that soon) and while I attended college, and for a short time after, I worked with him as well as on my own refinishing hardwood floors.
In fact, I just did my mother-in-law's last summer and my back still hurts!
Before you even think of starting this DIY project, you need to be fairly good shape. There is a lot of bending, kneeling and scraping...if you do it right.
Ok, you still are here reading so I guess you are serious :o)
Here are the easy? steps to a beautiful, shiny hardwood floor:
Determine what kind of finish you would like first. There are a couple choices, flat, medium gloss and high gloss. It's strictly taste as they both wear the same. I prefer a polyurethane paint but some like varnishes. I found urethane to be a durable finish and won't yellow over time. Look for 'non-yellowing' on the can. They come in either oil or water based, and I prefer water base for the ease of clean up.Go to your local hardware store that carries floor sanders, edger sander, pain scrapers, sandpaper (medium) and the floor paint.Prepare your floor by filling in any blemishes, depressions, cracks and nail holes.Sweep and then vacuum floor. (at this point I would hang a plastic sheet over any door openings if the door has been removed (new construction etc). Sand main floor being careful to keep sander going in same direction. Start with a coarse sandpaper and switch to finer for second sanding. The first sanding is to get to bare wood and the second for a finished look.Sand the edges. The trick here is to use a fairly light touch and rotate the sander in semi-circle reducing sand marks.Now the fun part. Take your scraper in scrape the corners and under heaters. Don't worry about under heaters too much as it won't be that noticeable.Whew! The hard part is done. Now the fun part. Sweep and vacuum floor and if you see a swirl or sanding marks scrape the out.Put the sealer down. Wait at least 2 hours, hand sand the whole floor, vacuum and apply the urethane. If you don't have air conditioning, put a fan on the floor to dry it quicker.I usually waited at least 4-5 hours for it dry, most of the time overnight. I recommend at least 2 coats of urethane for a durable, hard finish.You're done! Wow not so bad was it?
Oh yeah,
Email me for a chiropractor lol
Dan Farrell is the owner of http://www.closet-organizer-plan.com where you can get a free closet organizer plan and other home improvement ideas and articles.
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