Repairing, Restoring and Repurposing Old Decking: Tips. Ideas and Facts
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Repairing, Restoring and Repurposing Old Decking: Tips. Ideas and Facts

A deck is a beautiful outdoor asset to your home, and the right deck can make your living space seem larger. Hi, my name is Jackie, and I am a lover of all things related to the home. I enjoy decorating, repairing, restoring, and reading about ideas and even cleaning. Thanks to the success of our family business, I am able to work from home, and as I spend so much time here, I want it to look beautiful. If you want to have a beautiful home, I want to help you as well. In this blog, I am going to focus on decks in particular. I want to talk about repairing them, restoring them and reusing their old wood in new projects. If you want ideas or inspiration, I invite you to stay, take a look and enjoy these posts.

Repairing, Restoring and Repurposing Old Decking: Tips. Ideas and Facts

How to Get Rid of That Unwanted Popcorn Ceiling in Your Home

Esperanza Arias

Back in the 1930s, somebody came up with the bright idea of covering the ceiling in a typical home with a special type of product, called "popcorn." Evidently, they thought it would improve the appearance of your typical living quarters, for reasons unknown. Today, many "period" houses still have this form of decoration, but new owners may have different ideas. If you want to remove this unwanted attraction, what do you need to consider?

Safety First

Firstly, you need to proceed with caution. Back in the day, these ceilings were designed and created using a product that we now know to be very carcinogenic. It is possible that your popcorn ceiling does have asbestos within and you will need to get this tested, before you do anything at all. Don't be tempted to remove it without getting the all clear, as even a small amount of asbestos can be very damaging to your health.

If you have tested the content of the ceiling and found that it is okay, then you need to get ready for a major renovation project. This is not going to be easy and will definitely be messy, but you can certainly remove this vestige of the past with some effort.

Preparations

Start off by taking all of the furniture out of the room and covering the carpet carefully with plastic sheeting. You should also attach the plastic sheeting to the walls from the top down, as they are likely to get messy, as well. You should tape all the sheeting together, so that the dust does not get through to the rest of the room. If you have a ceiling fan or a light fixture in the middle of the ceiling, it is best if you remove it and you might have to contract a licensed electrician, in order to disconnect it safely.

The Process

Next, make sure that you put on some protective clothing, a dust mask and some eyewear before proceeding. Yes, it's definitely going to get that messy and you want to protect yourself as much as possible.

With a spray bottle, dampen a small area to start with and then use a putty knife to remove the popcorn texture without cutting into the surface beneath. You might have to use a lot of water, in order to soften it properly, but work across the room gradually until all of the popcorn texture has been removed. Then, fill in any marks that may be left in the plasterboard with putty and let everything dry. When you are happy that the surface is ready, you can repaint it and breathe a sigh of relief.

What's the Alternative?

If you simply want to sit there and curse the inventor of the popcorn ceiling, get in touch with a ceiling repairs contractor to come in and do the job for you instead.


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