Ceiling plaster falling off in Redman Manufactured Home

[SteveC1116]

We purchased a Redman Manufactured home 5 years ago. After about 18 months the plaster in the bathroom started to "come loose" and chip. At first it was just a small amount, then about 6 months ago it started to really fall off. Then about 4 months ago it started in the master bath only at a much faster rate. Last week we noticed it was starting in the kitchen above the stove. The bathrooms may be one thing, as they would be contained, small and easier to redo, but if it continues in the kitchen it will spread to the livingroom and hall, making a huge mess. Under the plaster it seems to be very smooth and I think this is part of the reason its falling..nothing to adhere to. So how do we stop it, is this a manufacturing defect, what if anything can we do about it and has anyone else ever had or heard of this problem. Any help will be appreciated, before the entire ceiling comes off!

[David Oxhandler]

You have what is called a popcorn ceiling.

A popcorn ceiling, also known as an acoustic ceiling, is a term for a spray-on or paint-on ceiling treatment used from the late 1950s into the 1980s in American residential construction. Cheaper than painting, it could be quickly and easily sprayed on in new construction and was also useful in masking ceiling defects in older homes, such as stains, uneven ceilings or poor workmanship. It was the standard for bedroom and residential hallways ceilings for its noise reduction qualities, while kitchen and living rooms ceilings would normally be textured in smoother skip-trowel or orange peel texture.

In building of manufactured homes uniform production standards led to popcorn ceilings throughout the entire home

"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: [www.doityourself.com]

For some alternatives see our article archive Manufactured Home Ceilings - Repairing or Rebuilding

See Step by Step Instructions with Video How to Remove a Popcorn-Textured Ceiling

[trmimo]

If your house is 5 years old, it is more likely a stippled ceiling, which is a brushed texture as opposed to the little ball look of popcorn. Either way, the cause of your problem is likely excessive moisture. Since it has started in the bathroom and kitchen, I wonder if you you use the vent fans while showering and cooking? You may also have a small roof leak.

[SteveC1116]

Thank you for your reply, yes it is the plaster you wrote of. We checked for leaks, none at this time, there was one when we first bought the house in the small bathroom, coming from the skylight, the place we bought the house from repaired it....several times, so that may explain the ceiling in there but no other leaks were ever seen. We do use fans in the bathroom all the time especially when showering, the kitchen not really as there isn't one to speak of and the kitchen is very open with a very large kitchen area, as well as a dining area attached and the whole area is open to the livingroom. I do understand the excessive moisture aspect, however I don't think there was any way to avoid moisture in the bathroom and if that were the case wouldn't all homes then be having this problem. This does seem to be caused from the plaster coming loose from the ceiling, but it doesn't ever seem to stop, it just spreads and at this point the small area in the kitchen is now coming loose and will spread the the dining area and livingroom and hall which are all connected and are aproximately 800 or more sq ft ( the house itself is 2200 sq ft ) I guess I wondered if this was a common problem and how it could be stopped or at least managed, as it seems to be out of control. It's almost like the ceiling needed a primer or something on it for the plaster to adhere to and it wasn't put on. It seems at this point we will have to remove all of the plaster and redo all of the ceilings, which will be a very large and costly project.
Unless it can somehow be stopped