[Wickedgood!]

Going to give an estimate on my FIRST job being out on my own... It's for a friend of a friend so, I'll most likely get it.. Here's the thing.. It's a textured (not popcorn) ceiling that is failing in a few spots and the H/O wants to have all of the texture removed and then painted flat..

I know I read something here about removing the popcorn and someone said that you can just wet it down and it scrapes right off and even posted a pic of their job (looked amazing by the way) but I can't seem to find that thread again..

Question: Does "texture" the swirly stuff (might just be a East Coast thing) come off the same way? Has anyone ever worked with it?

Also, I'm thinking about giving a price by Sq ft.. Smart? Dumb?

Thank you all.....again...
WG!

 

[BenPaintinTooLong]

Going to give an estimate on my FIRST job being out on my own... It's for a friend of a friend so, I'll most likely get it.. Here's the thing.. It's a textured (not popcorn) ceiling that is failing in a few spots and the H/O wants to have all of the texture removed and then painted flat..

I know I read something here about removing the popcorn and someone said that you can just wet it down and it scrapes right off and even posted a pic of their job (looked amazing by the way) but I can't seem to find that thread again..

Question: Does "texture" the swirly stuff (might just be a East Coast thing) come off the same way? Has anyone ever worked with it?

Also, I'm thinking about giving a price by Sq ft.. Smart? Dumb?

Thank you all.....again...
WG!

I just finished a ceiling that had crows foot or (stomped) texture on it and it came off like scraping morter after weting it , tough job, had to float 2 coats of compound over all of it to fix the gouges and roughness, lost money on that one.

If I was you I would have the home owner alow you to test a 2x2 ft area before you bid it , the job I did I bid for $600 it should have been $1,200.
Pop corn comes off way easier than drywall compound.that is what makes most of those textures!

 

[PressurePros]

Would it be less expensive (and messy and time consuming) to just replace the ceiling? Jobs for friends... bad news. Jobs for friends (or friends of friends) that are difficult to estimate and perform.. disaster. Good luck on this one. I will not work within six blocks of my home. You never win. Either you are too expensive (because they assume they will get a discount) or the work is not good enough (you took advantage of them because you know them)

 

[Thepaintman]

If I was you I would have the home owner alow you to test a 2x2 ft area before you bid it [/quote]


I think this would be a good way to approach the job. This would help you
decide on how much to charge. For me, this is much like removing wallpaper - you never know how much it will involve unless you test an area. Some folks will not allow this so in those cases I walk.

 

[Tmrrptr]

Yep.

Hang with the Painterman...

Protect yourself, and the client!
Test run.

Use plenty plastic!

 

[Wickedgood!]

Thanks guys! I hear ya Press but, this girl has $$$ and doesn't mind paying for a job to be done.. I think she knows that I don't do the discount thing. And she is going to let me go in tomorrow and do a test on all the affected rooms.. LR, Hall, and 2 BR's.. The good thing is that the place will be empty when I do it.. I need the $$ and I need to get the "Word of mouth" thing going.. Keep you posted..

Thanks again!
WG!

 

[timhag]

http://www.painttalk.com/showthread.php?t=824&highlight=popcorn here is that thread you are looking for

 

[paulingrad]

If you have to soak it put a touch of washing-up liquid in. the bubbles cling to the ceiling and keep it wetter longer.

paul

 

[painttofish]

If it is a bear to get off (wich I'm sure it is)you could probably float two or three coats of compound and avoid SOME of the mess. You will most likely have to float one coat after you scraped anyway as BPtolong had to do.

 

[Rich]

...and even posted a pic of their job (looked amazing by the way) but I can't seem to find that thread again..Question: Does "texture" the swirly stuff (might just be a East Coast thing) come off the same way? Has anyone ever worked with it?Also, I'm thinking about giving a price by Sq ft.. Smart? Dumb?

thank you, that was my texture job. I would assume the swirls will come off the same, depends if it was simple joint compound they used. I personally would bid by the hour. You absolutely NEVER know what you'll get with removing a texture ceiling-not even if you test a small area.

Good luck, look forward to the pictures.

 

[JTP]

Popcorn and Texture--Be Careful

Wicked--Although no one did respond to the asbestos issue I raised in that thread, I can tell you that it is highly likely that popcorn, 20 or more years old, contains asbestos. If you Google asbestos and textured ceiling, you are going to find a number of informational sites attesting to this fact.

I don't know about you, but the job I wrote about in that thread never happened--meaning--yes we did a paint job, but I refused to remove the ceiling unless a sample was sent to a certified asbestos testing lab.

The h/o said forget taking the ceiling down. So we did. I tried the best I could to repair the damage the maid had left to the ceiling (you'll have to read the entire thread to get an idea of what this is about), but my work turned out really badly. The home/owner's husband had a fit. Said I should have removed it. I told the homeowner I was sorry the repaired ceiling was not great and that I too was disappointed in the outcome. But, I had gone over the possibilities with his wife and the wife was the one that ok'ed the proposed fix--even if it turned out not to be great.

I reiterated to the husband that asbestos was no joke and that laws governed its removal. He also happens to sit on a local town planning board. He was fine with having me exposing myself to the asbestos, but once I let him know that wasn't going to happen, he calmed down somewhat.

The reason I am sharing this with you and here now is: Be careful with this stuff--You could unknowingly expose yourself and the home owners to asbestos. That might just be your first and last job if the ceiling does have asbestos in it.

JTP

 

[Wickedgood!]

So I went and did the test on several spots in each room.. The texture seems to come right off however, there is another, thicker, textured, cement-like layer under that.. Most likly where any asbestos would be hiding.. I told the h/o about it and she said that if I can just get the top layer that is failing; off and then paint it that'll be fine.. SSSoooo, after measuring it out it's roughly 420spft and I told her that I'd do it for $800.. Being that I don't have to sand anything, just getting all the other stuff out of there and then paint I'm thinking that it won't take much.. But, knowing my luck, I'm sure to shoot myself in the foot with this one.. JTP, thanks for the info about the asbestos.. I'll be masked up and what not.. The place will be empty and cleaned through out before new tenants move in there.. I'm going to do my best as to not create too much dust..

Pics to come.. I hope..

WG!

 

[timhag]

I would think you would have to skim coat the ceiling before painting. Will there be many scratches and scrapes? What about the cement like layer, is it smooth?

 

[vermontpainter]

I reiterated to the husband that asbestos was no joke and that laws governed its removal. He also happens to sit on a local town planning board. He was fine with having me exposing myself to the asbestos, but once I let him know that wasn't going to happen, he calmed down somewhat.
JTP

JTP -

Good for you for holding your ground. I'm sure we have all encountered that customer who could give a $h!t about your safety on the job. Worse yet, think of all the desperate guys who are not educating themselves through forums like this and are putting themselves at risk without knowing it. Even worse yet again, those who know and do it anyways...not worth it.

 

[JTP]

JTP -

Good for you for holding your ground. I'm sure we have all encountered that customer who could give a $h!t about your safety on the job. Worse yet, think of all the desperate guys who are not educating themselves through forums like this and are putting themselves at risk without knowing it. Even worse yet again, those who know and do it anyways...not worth it.

Vermont--Exactly. I was somewhat surprised that the response to this thread really ignored the safety concerns I posed. I'm glad to see a couple of folks have picked up on the notion that removing asbestos is:

1) A real threat and hazard
2) Have laws in most states governing its removal
3) Needs more than a cursory wet down and scrape approach

And for sure, there are people out there who will come in, ignore all good sense, either from lack of knowledge, terrific need for the cash, or plain poor decision making and take this stuff off.

JTP

 

[vermontpainter]

JTP

As far as you and I are concerned, those guys can have every single stinkin one of those jobs!

 

[JTP]

Exactly!! Exactly!

 

[premierpainter]

SSSoooo, after measuring it out it's roughly 420spft and I told her that I'd do it for $800.. Pics to come.. I hope..

WG!

I thought that you said she had "$$$" Shoulh have bidded higher
and what is spft?

 

[JTP]

Nope-- and Could Be

So I went and did the test on several spots in each room.. The texture seems to come right off however, there is another, thicker, textured, cement-like layer under that.. Most likly where any asbestos would be hiding.. I told the h/o about it and she said that if I can just get the top layer that is failing; off and then paint it that'll be fine.. SSSoooo, after measuring it out it's roughly 420spft and I told her that I'd do it for $800.. Being that I don't have to sand anything, just getting all the other stuff out of there and then paint I'm thinking that it won't take much.. But, knowing my luck, I'm sure to shoot myself in the foot with this one.. JTP, thanks for the info about the asbestos.. I'll be masked up and what not.. The place will be empty and cleaned through out before new tenants move in there.. I'm going to do my best as to not create too much dust..

Pics to come.. I hope..


Wicked--don't know about what is under the popcorn, but I thought I mentioned that the asbestos is IN the popcorn mix of 20 years ago and earlier. It is also a possbility that asbestos is in the underlayment you are speaking about.

JTP

 

[crow]

Anytime I see a job that involves ceiling damage (water perhaps) I wont do anything to it till they get a roofer/plumber ect. to find and fix the problem before I put ant work into it, I for one do not want the unhappy customer calling me a year later with that "look what your paint did"!!! I have recomended that the entire ceiling be replaced (by me, as I built homes "turn key" before turning to just painting.) before taking a chance on wasting hours to only find a halfassed looking job! I try to help my customers make the best choices that will benifit both my work and the quality of job. thats why they say,, damn that halfbreed can do good work!