So you’re thinking of selling your home? However, your home has those ugly, “dated”
popcorn ceilings. Did you know that not
only are those popcorn ceilings unsightly, but they can also be very hazardous,
and cost you more money in the long run.
Popcorn ceilings have the potential of containing hazardous
asbestos. To find out if your home
contains asbestos, take a small piece of the “cottage cheese” like texture and
have it tested at a lab. A list of
credited laboratories can be found at: http://ts.nist.gov/Standards/scopes.plmtm.htm
If you’re considering selling your home, and your home was
built as late as the early 1980’s then your home could very likely be at risk
of containing asbestos.
You can either “cover” or encapsulate asbestos in your home,
and the hazards will diminish. By far
the easiest, yet most cost effective way to rid your home of asbestos before
selling, is to simply “paint” your ceilings with an airless sprayer. By doing so you the popcorn will soak up the
paint with a sponge like effect.
You must start out with a good quality primer coat on the
popcorn to obtain the most absorption. Follow with a good quality paint, only
after letting the primer to fully dry.
In most cases, it may take a full day for the primer to dry to its
entirety, before painting. The ceiling
may take as many as three coats of primer and finish.
Sure this is very time consuming, however the least cost effective
route to take. Look on the bright side, you could always have a scene from “ET”
where the pros come with their little plastic jump suits and moon mask with
their little plastic tents, and professionally cut the asbestos out. Something tells me that will be more costly
than painting.