Painting Up To A Popcorn Ceiling

Q. I am going to paint some walls in my house and we have popcorn
ceilings (which I hate). What is the best way to not get pain on the
ceiling around the edges? I can't tape..can I?

A. Taping the a popcorn ceiling is difficult, the paint will usually get behind the tape, because you cannot get a tight seal.

Use a 12" wide, plastic drywall knife held in the angle of the ceiling where it meets the wall, hold it at about a 30 degree angle and using a paint brush, paint the wall. The drywall knife will keep the paint from touching the ceiling.

Make sure you wipe the edge of the knife often, as paint will build up there and will run to the ceiling side of the knife.

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Drywall Over Stucco Ceiling

Q: When we bought our home, the plaster walls had allot of cracks. None of them were due to structural issues. Merely old plaster that cracked. I've always been of the mind set that if you love plaster you have to love the cracks. But anyway, at the time my wife and I really liked the south-western look of stucco. I fixed all of the cracks, then applied a stucco finish with joint compound. It looks very nice. Now the misses wants a new kitchen with smooth ceiling and a boxed beam ceiling. My question is, can I apply new drywall over the stuccoed ceiling? or is it better to just tear it out and start the new drywall from scratch. Another option that I am pondering would be to add sleepers to the ceiling with 1x4 lumber and attach the new drywall
to it.

A: If you can find the roof joists in order to screw in the drywall there is no reason to remove the stucco or add sleepers. The key is to screw (use screws that will provide at least 1" penetration into the joists) the new drywall to the ceiling joists not to the stucco. Remove any high spots in the stucco with a scrapper.

Removing the stucco will create a real mess and you may also have to install new insulation if it is loose fill insulation as it will most likely come down with the stucco.

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Removing a Popcorn Texture From Walls & Ceilings

Q: Our bedroom has popcorn texturing on the ceilings AND the walls. Why oh why?? Who knows...but I want it gone - it hurts when you graze by it, and is ugly. I was reading about skimming joint compound over rough walls to smooth them out - would this be the easiest way to deal with this? I am not trying to achieve a perfectly smooth wall, I don't mind a little texture...but this is a bit much!

A: You can remove the popcorn texture by scraping it off with a 8" or 10" drywall knife. Be careful not to gouge the wall surface. It should come off quite easily.

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