Author Topic: Question on ceiling material  (Read 7268 times)

rolliefingersbarber

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Question on ceiling material
« on: December 08, 2012, 06:30:39 PM »
I have cracks in my living room ceiling but I don't know what it is or how I would go about repair/replacing it, I've attached some pictures, any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 


darkk2b2

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2012, 08:52:24 PM »
It looks like spray texture, so I would guess it is sheetrock up there. But I couldn't say for sure without being there. Are the cracks through to the other side? or is the texture just flaking off? If it is just flaking off you can buy a can of spray texture from the hardware store and just spray right over it. If it is cracked through to the other side, you should probably figure out what broke it before you attempt to fix it.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2012, 08:55:46 PM by darkk2b2 »

rolliefingersbarber

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2012, 11:15:24 PM »
Thank you very much, its flaking off, the ceiling underneath is intact, so it sounds like I can just respray.  Thanks again. 

kudy

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2012, 11:23:26 PM »
FYI: cracked walls and ceiling can be a sign of a sinking/un-level foundation.

rolliefingersbarber

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #4 on: December 09, 2012, 08:40:31 AM »
Thanks, the house does have a slant, its 100 year old and just settled that way. 

Another Reader

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #5 on: December 09, 2012, 08:52:38 AM »
Be careful working with the ceiling and the existing texture.  Both materials may have asbestos.  Scraping or removing may release asbestos fibers.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #6 on: December 10, 2012, 01:24:44 PM »
Be careful working with the ceiling and the existing texture.  Both materials may have asbestos.  Scraping or removing may release asbestos fibers.

Second this - do not disturb it until you get a sample of it tested. 

FYI: cracked walls and ceiling can be a sign of a sinking/un-level foundation.

Can be this but it would be a recent change.  It may also be due to a moisture issue of some kind (it doesn't have to be a full leak) - if you have any plumbing above those areas my guess is that is the problem.

ultrarunner

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2013, 11:03:45 AM »
Be careful working with the ceiling and the existing texture.  Both materials may have asbestos.  Scraping or removing may release asbestos fibers.

Second this - do not disturb it until you get a sample of it tested. 


Though, keep in mind, once it's tested, it's a disclosable item on the next sale and you will *have* to get it mitigated... nobody is going to buy the house unless you do (well, they may, but it's highly unlikely, due to the mitigation costs).  I just closed on a rental house last week were this happened.  We wrote into the contract that the popcorn ceilings had to be removed and the owner tested the popcorn ceilings, found they contain asbestos, and decided he didn't want to remove it. 

We required it before we'd close and it wound up costing him $4500 for 400 sq ft of mitigation.

You *can* mitigate your own owner-occupied home in most states (though generally not an investment property). You have to follow all the environmental regs on how to go about , but it's not terribly hard, nor terribly expensive, nor terribly dangerous, if you follow the precautions.   

James

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2013, 11:17:14 AM »
I have cracks in my living room ceiling but I don't know what it is or how I would go about repair/replacing it, I've attached some pictures, any help would be greatly appreciated.


What is above that ceiling?  If attic, first thing to do would be to go up there.

Skyn_Flynt

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2013, 05:43:49 PM »
Don't freak out over asbestos, it has not been used in spray on textures for 30 years. My high school was discovered to have had it (built in the 1960s) and they told us: "don't go poking at it", then did a full removal over the summer while the students were gone.

Just wear a dust mask if you remove any, then get some fresh popcorn spray at Lowes or Home Depot and patch it. You'll probably end up repainting the whole ceiling to get everything to match.

« Last Edit: January 26, 2013, 05:46:11 PM by Skyn_Flynt »

Another Reader

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2013, 07:32:00 PM »
Asbestos was banned in home construction circa 1978.  Standard dust masks are not adequate.  Please do your research and use the appropriate protective gear if you work around friable asbestos.  Disturbing ceiling texture containing asbestos = creating friable asbestos.

TomTX

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2013, 09:53:11 PM »
Don't freak out over asbestos, it has not been used in spray on textures for 30 years. My high school was discovered to have had it (built in the 1960s) and they told us: "don't go poking at it", then did a full removal over the summer while the students were gone.

Just wear a dust mask if you remove any, then get some fresh popcorn spray at Lowes or Home Depot and patch it. You'll probably end up repainting the whole ceiling to get everything to match.

Hahahahaha. Nope. Asbestos is NOT that simple. It's not like the 1978 ban on lead in housepaint.

Vermiculite in the USA had significant asbestos in it into the '90s thanks to the Libby mine. Lots of talc in the USA was 10+% asbestos, thanks to a couple of mines in California. Et cetera. Since it wasn't "deliberate" asbestos, the producers skated by for decades longer.

Talc's a major component in many indoor house paints. Vermiculite was used for texture, insulation and potting soils.

Skyn_Flynt

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Re: Question on ceiling material
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2013, 09:17:07 AM »
I view it like the second hand smoke debate. Encountering a little, a few times, is not like working as a waitress in a smoky bar and breathing it all day.

I scraped all the popcorn off my bathroom ceilings a few years ago. Just wet it down with a sprayer first, so that it makes very little dust, then bag it up and repaint. I breathed more grout dust doing the regrouting of shower tiles, than from messing with the ceiling texture.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2013, 09:25:12 AM by Skyn_Flynt »