This question is coming from a resident. The asbestos question should really go to the management, but I’m posting it here anyway because anyone who can answer the first question has probably already looked into the second.
I was wondering if any residents had any luck with popcorn ceiling removal in their condos.
- Are there any companies they recommend to do popcorn ceiling removal?
- Asbestos was present in popcorn ceilings before the 80s, but can still be found in late 80s buildings. Do we have info whether there is asbestos in Canal Place One popcorn ceilings when the building was converted to apartments?
I think it’s very unlikely that there is, but it’s best left for management to answer.
That said, I removed my first floor popcorn ceiling myself. It’s a lot of work but not impossible!
If there is indeed easily disturbed asbestos in the ceilings our living space this is a huge safety issue for every single person in our building. It’s one thing to have it in your basement, entirely another to have it in a low ceiling within reach and easily disturbed enough to go airborne in its most dangerous state.
More info on MA regulations here:
https://www.mass.gov/guides/massdep-asbestos-construction-demolition-notifications
I had a professional crew test 8 spots in my unit before doing the removal, none came back positive for asbestos. I’d be happy to share the report if I can dig it up.
The previous owner of my unit had painted over the popcorn so the removal was a bear. I personally removed the popcorn in my unit with a 2 inch taping knife, a water sprayer and many, many hours of elbow grease. After that, two layers of skim coating. The worst part is accessing the portion of the ceiling over the stairway which was achieved with several ladders and a plank. Happy to provide more detail as is useful, but do know that it is a rather large investment.
Let me know if you’d like to chat further about it. (908) 246-6204.
I scraped the popcorn ceiling off the entire first floor. It was a mess once done and ended up having a plasterer do a scratch coat then plaster. It would have been better to put board over and plaster.
Related to this topic, has anyone torn their ceilings out and done anything like the exposed beam ceilings you see on higher roof lines?
Example: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/exposed-ceiling-beams/