Popcorn Ceiling Removal

 

Now that the wallpaper is down, the next step is to remove the popcorn ceiling.  This isn't just any popcorn ceiling- there's gold flake in the popcorn.  This isn't a very difficult process...just time consuming.  The first thing we did was tape the room off.   Since the popcorn material come off easier when we, we put down plastic drop clothes just in case the water penetrated the carpet and got to the hardwoods below.

Most people suggest using a garden sprayer; but we just used the garden hose with an adjustable nozzle to make sure the water soaked in really good.

Wait about 10 minutes for the water to penetrate the popcorn.

Using a floor scraper, carefully scrape the popcorn off.  I say carefully because the scraper can gouge the drywall causing pits that will need to be filled.

You may find that some of the ceilings have cracks in the joints.  If so, purchase some joint compound and fill in the cracks before priming and painting.

   Although the brand of joint compound we used goes on pink and dries white, we waited overnight to ensure the compound was completely dry before we attempted sanding.

Wall Paper: Round 2

I'm pretty sure that Hell is NOT a lake of fire but in fact a place where you scrap terrible wall paper 24/7.  If I thought my back and shoulders hurt from the first day, I'm in for a rude awakening tomorrow.  The Master bedroom is kicking my ass for sure.  I've been using piranha wall paper removal and its amazing.  Definitely worth every penny.  The problem I am running into is that one wall of the bedroom has a different glue than the rest.....and by different I mean freaking super glue.  Additionally there is wallpaper under the crown molding....which was going to be taken down anyway.  Brian has been stuck with duty the last few days, so its been up to me to be the wallpaper remover and keep us on track. I'm just so darn lucky.

If you find the wallpaper under moldings and its not coming off easy....just do yourself a favor and remove the molding.  I didn't do this at first (because I was being lazy) and it doubled my efforts.  A molding removal bar (aka skinny crowbar) will do you wonders.  Once the crown molding and wall plates were removed, it came off easier.  Everything is completed except my pain the butt wall.

 The next step in our remodel is finding out what was under the linoleum in the kitchen/mudroom and the carpet in the nook.  This is what we found.  As Nicole Curtis from Rehab addict would say "Why the hell would you cover that up???"  The wood runs in the opposite direction of the all the other wood in the house.  Additionally its cover in felt with a tar adhesive under it and in some places more linoleum.  After scraping the better part of an hour, we decided to tile.  The wood isn't in the greatest of shape and this will be easier than scraping and sanding my life away in the hopes that it will pan out.

We went to Lowes and chose this tile.  Looks like this ----->
Now we just need to figure out a pattern that doesn't place the accent pieces in a straight line.

 I also went to my local Sherwin Williams paint store and grabbed some idiot proof color palettes.  My ability to match or think that certainly colors go together is nonexistent.  Its not that I don't have good taste.  Its just I'm not good with wall paint.  Sounds weird but its a big commitment so I stick with whites/beige...you know "normal;" but this time I want to get bolder in my paint selections. But watch I will end up with a super hip shade of beige lol. 
 

DAY 1: Tackling Wallpaper

Dear Wallpaper Lovers,
We don't like
Signed,
The Future Owner Of Your Home

Wow.  What a day!!!  Of course after closing we jumped right into it.  We are trying to not pay for two places for too long; but of course want to get major things done before we move in furniture.  I wrote out a plan for renovations so that we aren't getting the cart before the horse.

Day #1:  Remove Wall Paper

 Every room in this house has wallpaper....even the door inlays have wallpaper.  What a colossal pain in the ASS!!!  
Most of the "wallpaper" actually wasn't wallpaper at all instead it was vinyl from the 60s.  I originally thought that this would be disastrous because of the type of adhesive chemicals they used and the amount of time it had stuck to the walls/doors.

But in fact it wasn't that bad to take down.  Most of the vinyl came down in sheets relatively easy with nothing but a good tug.  For the areas that needed a starting point of where the glue was tough to get off I used a scraper.  Very easy and you can find it at Home Depot or Lowes for about $3. 

Warning: Removing Wallpaper/Vinyl is a very good back/shoulder/arm workout.
I'm super sore today!!!

Just when I thought it was going to be easy, I hit the REAL wallpaper.  You know, the cheap thin stuff from the 80s with terrible paper backing.  Thank God it appears to be in one room.  Unfortunately that room is the master bedroom. (Don't be distracted by our lovely brown 60s shag carpet!!! lol)  When trying to take this off, it just flakes and peels which makes it a serious pain.  I'm resorting to a steamer.  Unfortunately our water company didn't turn our water on and its scheduled for tomorrow.


In the end,  most of the wallpaper/vinyl came off okay with nothing more than a scraper and elbow grease.

<~~~~  That's my handsome fiance Brian and our dog Blu :)








I think all in all this was a great first day.  90% of the wall coverings down. Tomorrow we will finish the rest and figure out what's under the vinyl floor covering in the kitchen/nook/mudroom
(Fingers crossed its hardwood!!!!)

We Close Tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow is a very exciting day.  We FINALLY close on the "Grandma House"!!! 
We nicknamed it the "Grandma House" because we are buying it from the original owner and as you can imagine....she's old!!!  Mrs. Irene is a sweet old lady and when walk into the home it takes me back to the late 50s/ early 60s.  God bless Mrs. Irene but that woman wallpapered EVERYTHING including the doors.

As you can see we have our DIY work cut out for us!!!