Tips for dealing with stucco ceilings

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The Farmers Daughter

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All the ceiling at the Inn are stucco. Why the previous owners went in that direction, I don't know. I don't care for them at all. They are difficult to clean and I have been asked to not only clean them, but paint them.
Any suggestions for the best way to tackle this rather intimidating project? Thanks all.
 
When you say stucco, do you mean a textured ceiling? If so, do you know when they were installed? Before I'd clean any that have been up for a few decades, I'd want to be completely sure that they are asbestos-free.
Assuming that they're safe, then painting them is not actually difficult. Just use a really spongy thick roller. Plan, though, on using a LOT of paint as they'll just soak it in like crazy.
 
You might consider removing the texture. You would be surprised how easy it comes off (texture not stucco). The main concern is how well the ceiling was finished before the texture went on. It could be completely finished and ready to paint or it is possible the dry wall tape could still be showing. Experiment in a small room first.
Take a any 12 inch scraping blade and push it against the ceiling holding a small trash can just below the texture. It will fall right into the can. If it does not easily scrap off in just one pass, lightly wet the texture with water. A well cleaned out weed sprayer works well.
I have removed texture from many rooms over the years and it has never taken more than 30 minutes to do a room. It does come right off.
I was told that asbestos was used during the years that they put sparkles in the texture but that would not always be true.
 
Well, I honestly don't know when they were done. We have been here for 14 years and they could have been here for 20 years prior. I just don't know. I won't be removing the 'texture'. Just cleaning it and painting it.
The thing that really concerns me is that I need to do this to rooms that are filled with antique furniture with no option of moving the furniture out. Uggg...
 
IF there is ANY suspicion of as bes tos there is a way to do it - safely! I was told to do this by the EPA approved removal company I contacted about removing that a-stuff from my gas fireplaces and they said DO NOT remove. (If you remove they then have to dispose of)
Squirt the ceiling with a spray bottle to dampen.mat it. Then take latex paint and mix hlf & half with water. Paint the dampened surface with the latex solution. Let dry. I came back the next day with straight latex paint to ensure it was not going anywhere for certain.
 
Well, I honestly don't know when they were done. We have been here for 14 years and they could have been here for 20 years prior. I just don't know. I won't be removing the 'texture'. Just cleaning it and painting it.
The thing that really concerns me is that I need to do this to rooms that are filled with antique furniture with no option of moving the furniture out. Uggg....
If you're not sure there's not asbestos, it's always best to assume that there is. Don't even think of scraping it unless you are absolutely sure. The only way to know for sure is to have it tested.
If you're just painting it, you'll probably be fine just covering all the furniture and covering/taping the floors really well.
Use an extension pole and the job won't be nearly as difficult as it seems. Really.
If you're unsure of the material, though, don't tape the ceiling edges. You could (and likely would) pull off some of the texture when you remove the tape.
 
Well, I honestly don't know when they were done. We have been here for 14 years and they could have been here for 20 years prior. I just don't know. I won't be removing the 'texture'. Just cleaning it and painting it.
The thing that really concerns me is that I need to do this to rooms that are filled with antique furniture with no option of moving the furniture out. Uggg....
If you're not going to try to take the texture off, then you really do need a lot of paint and a thick roller. You say 'clean.' What do you mean by 'clean?' If you're going to paint, I'd just paint.
Now my ceilings are covered with soot from someone using the woodstove improperly. If you have something like that, prime first and then paint.
I found trying to paint textured ceilings to be a bear. Sometimes the texture peels off as you're painting. I knocked a lot off when I was painting the walls near the ceiling.
 
We went with this company and will work if you want the old fashioned look.
It goes right over the stippled ceilings. You do not have to scrape the old stuff off. Delivery was fast and well the rooms we did definitely look like tin ceilings.
http://www.vintageceilings.com/
 
O.K. I have this in a rental house in the kitchen, still there but you can not see it. Had a carpenter install thin dry wall to the ceiling, wood molding around the edges and paint it.Looks great .The upstairs master bedroom ceiling was saging some .So had him screw to the ceiling w/wood screws 3"by1"by12'(what ever is needed) boards spaced 30" apart(or so) to the ceiling and screwing into the attic beams but in the opposite direction(+ look w/plaster in between) then paint it.Looks like an old beamed ceiling with a very slight sag.Old houses make you think outside the box
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Mary in Bridgewater.
 
Well, I honestly don't know when they were done. We have been here for 14 years and they could have been here for 20 years prior. I just don't know. I won't be removing the 'texture'. Just cleaning it and painting it.
The thing that really concerns me is that I need to do this to rooms that are filled with antique furniture with no option of moving the furniture out. Uggg....
If you're not going to try to take the texture off, then you really do need a lot of paint and a thick roller. You say 'clean.' What do you mean by 'clean?' If you're going to paint, I'd just paint.
Now my ceilings are covered with soot from someone using the woodstove improperly. If you have something like that, prime first and then paint.
I found trying to paint textured ceilings to be a bear. Sometimes the texture peels off as you're painting. I knocked a lot off when I was painting the walls near the ceiling.
.
Morticia said:
You say 'clean.' What do you mean by 'clean?'
Because of their texture, they are a nightmare to dust. Even with a long nozzled vacuum cleaner. The dust just sticks to it and hangs off of the texture like spanish moss (of course, I don't let it get that far).
 
Well, I honestly don't know when they were done. We have been here for 14 years and they could have been here for 20 years prior. I just don't know. I won't be removing the 'texture'. Just cleaning it and painting it.
The thing that really concerns me is that I need to do this to rooms that are filled with antique furniture with no option of moving the furniture out. Uggg....
If you're not going to try to take the texture off, then you really do need a lot of paint and a thick roller. You say 'clean.' What do you mean by 'clean?' If you're going to paint, I'd just paint.
Now my ceilings are covered with soot from someone using the woodstove improperly. If you have something like that, prime first and then paint.
I found trying to paint textured ceilings to be a bear. Sometimes the texture peels off as you're painting. I knocked a lot off when I was painting the walls near the ceiling.
.
Morticia said:
You say 'clean.' What do you mean by 'clean?'
Because of their texture, they are a nightmare to dust. Even with a long nozzled vacuum cleaner. The dust just sticks to it and hangs off of the texture like spanish moss (of course, I don't let it get that far).
.
Oh, yes, it does at that. That's what I thought. The 'webby bits' do get annoying.
 
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