I'm planning to use a drywall sander on the popcorn ceilings in my home before installing wood slat acoustic panels. I'm interested in hearing about other people's experiences with this kind of project or any advice they might have. Are there specific products you would recommend? After sanding down the textured ceiling, do I need to seal it in some way? From what I've read, the panels can be applied with construction glue and sometimes secured with screws. To clarify, I don't believe there's asbestos in my ceiling; my house was built in the 70s and it's more of a knockdown texture than traditional popcorn. Here's an image of the ceiling: [link].
3 Answers
Looks like your ceiling is knockdown rather than popcorn. Sanding is probably necessary if you're aiming for a smooth finish. However, asbestos is unlikely—just make sure to use proper ventilation and a good mask while working to handle the dust. Another route you might consider is covering the ceiling with 1/4 inch drywall, which can often be quicker than scraping everything off.
As an architect, I would caution you to ensure there's no asbestos before you start sanding, even if it's not a typical popcorn ceiling. If you're worried about the mess, it might be easier to just install those wood slat panels directly over the existing ceiling without removing the texture. However, if you need to address the texture for a clean finish, consider having the ceiling tested for asbestos first. If that checks out, you can install furring channels to get the new panels on smoothly. Also, just a heads-up, the panels you're looking at might not be the highest quality; it’s worth checking out better options for ceiling installations. Here’s a link to some quality panels I used in my own bedroom: [YouTube link]. There's even a discount code in the video description!
I’m not sure why you’d want to remove the texture at all! The acoustic panels come with a polyester backing that should be fine over some texture. If you’re just going to cover it up, why not just leave it and save yourself the hassle?
Thanks for your input! I’ll definitely consider the furring channels strategy.