The Manufactured Housing Forums

other than scraping off the texture of a popcorn ceiling is there any other way to cover it? Would the ceiling be strong enough to drywall and paint over the texture or is that possible at all? Thanks for the help

Depending on how dense the "popcorn" is, you may be able to rent a texture sprayer, apply a heavy enough coat to cover and then drag a wide taping knife across it to do a simple knockdown effect. Trying to drywall over it may pose a real challenge due to the inconsistent thickness.

I UNDERSTAND YOU DO NOT WANT TO REMOVE THE POPCORN BUT COMPARED TO THE ALTERNATIVES THIS WOULD BE YOUR BEST BET.WE HAVE REMOVED THE POPCORN FROM NUMEROUS CEILINGS AND IT IS A SIMPLE PROCEDURE.AFTER REMOVING THE POPCORN WE SPRAY A TEXTURE ON THE CEILING AND THEN REPAINT.THIS MAY SOUND LIKE A LOT OF WORK BUT IT IS MUCH EASIER THAN INSTALLING DRYWALL TAPE AND FINISH AND THEN TEXTIURE AND PAINT

Note: Asbestos was used in some sprayed coatings for ceilings from 1935-1978 and can cause health probllems. It’s a good idea to have a sample tested by an NVLAP approved testing center before getting started. If there is any asbestos, experts recommend you do not try to remove the popcorn yourself. Either have it removed professionally or cover it with a new drywall ceiling.


Remove all the furniture the room if possible, or cover it with waterproof plastic sheets. Spread plastic sheets or tarpaulins on the floor to protect it.

Put on a long sleeved shirt, wear a hat and make sure your eyes are covered. Safety goggles with sides are best.

Use that spray bottle and water to moisten an area of 2 to 3 square feet. Alternatively, you could us a long nap ceiling paint roller dipped in water. The objective is to wet the popcorn enough to soften it and make it "easy" to scrape off without soaking the ceiling above.

Once a section has softened, use an 8 or 10 inch taping knife to scrape the popcorn off the ceiling.

Move across the ceiling, section by section, moistening and scraping until all the popcorn is gone.

Once the popcorn has been removed, sand the ceiling and paint it. You will probably have to Spackle some sections of the ceiling, some maybe more than once, to get it as smooth as you would like.

A Couple of Pointers

Putting too much water on the popcorn could cause water spots on the underlying ceiling drywall, something that can be just as unattractive as the original popcorn texture. Try not to catch the corners of the taping knife. This can create holes in the ceiling that will need to be repaired.


An alternative method to wetting and scraping would be to use a sander and dry sand the popcorn. While this technique would probably work, it would create all kinds of drywall dust (a very fine powder) that would spread throughout your house, and probably rule this method out as a viable option.

Rather than going to the trouble of either wetting/scraping or sanding, a third alternative would be to simply install a new drywall ceiling over the popcorn. You would lose about 1" of ceiling height but it might be the most hassle-free way of getting rid of that popcorn.

Source: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/paintpopcornceiling

Hi - I have a 1986 Champion New Haven 24' x 52'. The ceilings throughout the house are panels with strips hiding the fasteners. In the living room and dining room, the ceilings are cathedral. I would like to texture the ceilings to hide the 16' panel look. Will textured paint adhere to the panels? Could I have "popcorn" sprayed on and would it adhere? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

An experienced dry wall finisher can popcorn almost any ceiling type that has been installed in mobile homes.

you can spray a lite mist of water with maybe a bug sprayer,wait a couple of minutes then scrape off,dont foreget the drop cloth