Mudroom part 2:

I hate, detest, abhor and loathe "popcorn" ceilings.
DH doesn't see the big deal.

They collect dust, cobwebs, and unwanted attention. Since the texture draws your eye up, it seems to make the room shorter. They are outdated and impossible to clean or "repair" if you ding it or change a light fixture. Ick all around!
Unfortunately, every single house we looked at (besides one) had the dreaded "popcorn" ceilings. So I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to live with it, pay to remove it, or figure out how to do it myself... you can guess which route I took.

Of course I wanted to start small in an inconspicuous area in case I really screwed it up. The mudroom closet is the perfect place to start! Yes, they even popcorned inside the closets. (Insert eye-roll here.) One thing going for me is that in our house they didn't paint over the popcorn, which makes it easier to remove.

After a lot of on-line research I procrastinated, bought supplies, procrastinated some more, and finally decided to just go for it. (I am a coward and did it while DH was on a business trip so he didn't see the mess... or the fall-out if it ended up going awry.)

So I forgot to take a "before" picture... hindsight, 20/20 and all that. So instead, here is a picture of the popcorn ceiling right outside of the closet.

On to the removal! http://www.todayshomeowner.com/removing-textured-popcorn-ceilings/ is a great reference site.

Here is what I did:
1. Wash the walls with TSP to remove dust, dirt, and grime. (Only because I will be painting them after)
2. Tape up plastic tarp to walls at the top edge next to the ceiling.
3. Lay down plastic on the floor. (I did this half-heartedly and ended up with extra cleanup)
4. Spray ceiling with warm water. (I bought a hand-pump weed sprayer)
5. Wait for it to soak in. (One of the hard parts, I know)
6. Scrape in smooth long motions (I used a cookie sheet covered with cling-wrap to "catch" a lot of the popcorn)

Well, let's just say it is a good thing I practiced inside the closet...
I was expecting it to be more difficult to remove, so on my first pass I scraped with all my might. Evidently I also sprayed too much water because I started to scrape off the paper layer of the drywall. Crud.

<--- See that darker spot in the middle? Yeah, that is where the drywall paper is peeling off. Oops







After that, I started to get the hang of it, and it was really pretty easy. But now I have to sand down the paper I scraped up, then plaster, then sand, then plaster, then sand... you get the idea. All this to get the ceiling as smooth as... well, as smooth as a ceiling should be.

Finally! The first popcorn-free ceiling in my house!
Now just to prime and paint...