A popcorn ceiling, the sprayed acoustic texture common in homes from the 1950s to the 1980s, can come down and be replaced with a smooth or lightly textured finish. The one step that can't be skipped comes before any scraping: a test for asbestos.
Why the age of the ceiling matters
Asbestos was used in sprayed ceiling textures and in joint compounds for years. In 1977 the Consumer Product Safety Commission banned asbestos in wall patching compounds, and in 1978 the EPA banned spray-applied surfacing materials under the Clean Air Act. A ceiling sprayed before then, or soon after while older material was still being used up, may contain it. The date alone doesn't settle it either way, and neither does how the ceiling looks. A sample tested in a lab does.
Don't scrape to find out
Intact, painted texture left alone is one thing. Scraping, sanding or drilling it is how fibres get into the air. Take a sample the right way, or have an inspector take it, and leave the rest of the ceiling as it is until the result is back.
What the South Coast AQMD asks for
All of Orange County and the urban parts of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties fall under the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Its Rule 1403 calls for an asbestos survey before renovation or demolition that disturbs building materials. The exceptions are narrow: a homeowner doing the work personally on the house they live in, and very small areas of intact material in a single-family home. If you are hiring the work out, plan on the survey. The AQMD's own pages say it doesn't recommend homeowners remove asbestos themselves.
If the test comes back positive
In California, removing asbestos-containing material is the work of a licensed asbestos abatement contractor: the CSLB's C-22 classification, which also requires registration with Cal/OSHA's Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The abatement comes first. The drywall work starts once the ceiling is clear.
After the texture is gone
Scraped ceilings are rarely flat. Old texture hides joints, fasteners and patches, and they show the moment the ceiling is bare. The usual course is to repair what is there, then either finish it smooth (a Level 4 or Level 5 skim, depending on paint and light) or spray a new, lighter texture. A ceiling under a skylight or along a wall of windows is where a Level 5 skim earns its keep.
Sources
- U.S. Federal Bans on Asbestos U.S. EPA.
- Asbestos demolition and renovation: owners South Coast AQMD, Rule 1403.
- About South Coast AQMD South Coast AQMD.
- C-22 Asbestos Abatement Contractor and the C-22 classification and DOSH registration Contractors State License Board.
