Cottage cheese ceilings, also known as "popcorn" or "acoustical" ceilings were popular with builders in the 1960s and 1970s. They were inexpensive to install and provided sound insulation. Over time, though, cottage cheese ceilings fell out of favor with builders and homeowners. Made primarily from a mixture of plaster and Styrofoam, cottage cheese ceilings are not difficult to remove but are a fairly messy project. Prepping the room before you begin will make cleanup easy.
Instructions
1. Remove the furniture from the room or cover furniture and all other objects with large plastic sheeting. Remove curtains and draperies from the windows.
2. Cover the floor with plastic sheeting, taping the overlapping edges together. Tape the plastic sheeting up over the baseboards, covering any electrical outlets as well. You can cover the plastic with newspaper or large sheets of paper to prevent slipping.
3. Cover the ceiling fan or light fixture with plastic sheeting. Tape it well to keep the ceiling material from falling into it.
4. Put on eye protection and a respirator mask.
5. Spray the ceiling with water in small sections of about 4 feet at a time. Give the "cottage cheese" a few minutes to soften. Standing on a sturdy ladder, begin scraping off the material with a wide scraper.
6. Continue the step above working around the room in 4 foot sections. If the cottage cheese is resistant when scraping, wet it again and work in another section to give it time to soften.
7. Clean up by removing the tape and folding the edges of the plastic sheeting inward to gather up all the ceiling material.
Tags: plastic sheeting, cheese ceilings, cottage cheese, ceiling material, with builders