Here’s the truth: I don’t necessarily enjoy DIY projects. I can live without the gratification. I like projects that are D.O.N.E. and done well. But, I also like to save money, and often, the DIY-route is the only way I’m going to get what I want in this decade.
I sometimes feel that since I write this “home blog”, there’s a certain expectation that I should know how to do little—and big—home improvement jobs. I can paint a room. I can hang a picture. I can even strip wallpaper. But, when it comes to the other stuff, I don’t really even want to try anymore. I like to refer to myself around here as “the idea girl”–which is a very different lady than “the DIY girl.”
This whole idea was greatly solidified by the recent popcorn ceiling debacle in our “new” house. Knowing all the ceilings were covered with the cruddy texture, I started researching how to remove them before we ever bought the house. We closed on a Wednesday and by Thursday, I was marching in with a friend and a shop vac, ready to tackle the entire house after watching this wonderfully deceptive YouTube video. (I’m not saying that guy was trying to trick me. I’m just saying this one method does not work for all popcorn removal.)
You all. I made the biggest mess you can imagine. I tried to tape off the kitchen with plastic to no avail. That stuff was in every crack and crevice in the room and on my body. (Yikes!) No amount of vacuuming or scrubbing would get that stuff up off of wood floors. I could taste it, I could feel it and I even got a terrible sinus infection, which I blame completely on the crud going up my nose (even though I wore a mask). And, I was so distraught about the disaster I had created that I could hardly sleep that night. And, to top it off, there was still nothing remotely smooth about it.
This was after I’d already worked on cleaning up for a full day. The kids thought it was fun like snow—until they started sneezing.
So, let’s back up to before I started this process. . . I had called for a quote before we closed on the house. And, because I know you’re wondering, I’ll tell you they quoted me $300 per room to remove, sand and paint the ceilings. My initial thought was “That’s crazy! I could buy lots of beautiful new lighting with all of that money.” Fast forward to two weeks later, and I was wondering why it was such a bargain. . . Lesson learned.
We ended up doing (and by doing, I mean paying someone to do) all of the downstairs ceilings before we moved in. The upstairs is still on our “someday list” (around the same time we rip up the carpet). The result of professional popcorn removal is simply amazing. You would never know those ceilings started out as textured, and I think it took a good 15 years off of the look of the house.
Oh, and perhaps the best benefit of paying someone to do a messy job? The whole thing was cleaned up to perfection.
A little side note on popcorn ceiling dust and our wood floors. . . I dust mopped several times with water and vinegar on my hands and knees, and it continued to come back. It had just gotten too deep within the grain of the wood to mop up. I finally had to pay Stanley Steemer to come out and steam it up. (They have a special process for wood floors.) Just another (expensive) reminder that knowing your DIY limitations from the start is a really, really good idea.
Alright, moral support please. What is your DIY limit? I’m happy to hear your disaster stories. :)
THANK YOU! I am not alone, apparently! While I love DIY blogs, I admit I cannot paint walls. Yes, walls ! Too much paint, too little paint, paint on the ceilings, edging guaranteed to work but not for me! In my next life, I hope to marry a painter…’cause the hubbie, although he SAYS he can paint, is just a shade better than me.
Oh my…as my grandmother would say “bless your pea pickin’ heart”. You poor poor thing. You had such good intentions. I totally sympathize as I am NOT a DIYer either. I am mainly a dreamer. My husband is a part time dream maker. We try our best. I know that stomach sinking feeling you had that kept you up worrying like “what in the world am I going to do now” Just know the same thing could have easily happened to me too…
Lol! Totally with you. Beyond paint, I could do without DIY projects. I once decided to give my kitchen cabinet door that “open” look with a glass pane. Disaster! Let’s just say a box cutter and some gorilla glue ended up saving the day. Never again! My mantra, “Stay in your lane!”
Stay in your lane! Love that :) I’m going to repeat that to myself during this process…
Yes!! Stay in your lane. I need to repeat this to myself on a daily basis!.
This is such a gem! “Stay in your lane!” Works on so many levels.
YIKES!! I would have called for that one right away. Anything with dust and breathing concerns, and a HUGE mess, no thank you! You were very brave! I think my husband and I know our limits, however, we have a laundry room with bead board and STAPLES poking out all over! That was 4 years ago–our daughters bedroom nook turned out much better. Someone hates to listen and has finally learned you can’t set staples! We are going to be redoing the laundry room during his Christmas break-ha! I really want to redo our fireplace. It needs to be built out and tiled. I think we could do the wood portion but NOT the tile. I am so glad you got the pros in. Isn’t it awesome how they get it done quick and to perfection? The ceiling looks beautiful!!!
Wise words my friend! My husband gets anxious every time I start a DIY (no matter how simple) because he usually has to finish it with some power tool or because he’s tall and can reach to do x,y,z. By the way, I LOVE that light fixture in the last picture – can you please tell me where it’s from? Thanks!!
Thanks :) It’s this one from Overstock: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Large-Black-4-light-Pillar-Chandelier/4103778/product.html
Did you just not put the pillar candles and use lightbulbs? I’m thinking of doing that on a fan, not using the glass casing around it, b/c I don’t like them. Hmmm …
Yes. I though the glass globe/casing things were too yellow.
Oh, lucky us, textured ceilings reign here in my part of Ohio. DIY means reading blogs to be inspired and then hit Hobby Lobby for pillow covers, or to Goodwill to hunt for that brass piece. I don’t paint, my husband does with regret. I admire all you do as a mother of five beautiful children. Anxious to see your remarkable home transitions.
I totally understand — I DO like DIY, but only the projects that are open to my impatience and imperfection. For example, I’ll build from wood, install trim, etc — because of caulk. :) It doesn’t matter if I don’t cut it all perfectly. On the flip side, tedious projects that require perfection — even small crafts — I can’t handle them. Cute fall pumpkins that would take 3 hours to complete? No way, not for me.
I can sew and paint, beyond that it is challenging. You do so many amazing DIY’s.
Great post. While I love that our customers get inspired by DIY shows on channels like HGTV sometimes the projects are actually more complicated in reality. It’s great to know your skill level and realize that sometimes hiring a professional is money well spent.
hanging wallpaper! How hard could it be?! I brushed the bubbles out too much, there was a gap when it dried, it was self-pasted, no it wasn’t-it fell on me the next day.
Oh my word, Emily. I could have written this post! I thought I was a DIY lover until I hired someone to fix my Sheetrock mishaps. I’m an idea girl. I’m the girl with the vision. Very little beyond paint am I willing to do anymore.
And when I read $300/room my mouth dropped. What a deal!!!! The two kitchens I’ve done were $700-$900. I’m sorry you had that stress during the move. I’m sitting here with 2 kids under 2 staring at boxes from our move almost 2 weeks ago. In my head they’re never getting unpacked.
I look forward to seeing what you do with this new, beautiful, house over time:-)
I FEEL YOU, SISTER… I have started calling it DIWHY!?!?!? (said with a wail.) I have decided that painting furniture is the very most DIY that I can handle alone. (see my latest DIWHY: http://ambienceinspiredinteriors.typepad.com/blog/2015/06/before-and-after-a-diwhy-story.html) I have a dining table and 8 chairs that need painting and my husband absolutely forbids that I do it – He would rather pay to have it done to perfection than to see what mess I might make of the deal. I’m soooo glad you brought in the experts- drywall/skim-coating is no joke!!! Best of luck as you settle into your new digs!!! Cheers!
This post made me laugh. I’d totally try to do this myself to save a buck! I’m also the “idea girl”. I have lots of ideas for our new home, and I’m DIYing all of them starting next week… Luckily, I’m not tackling any popcorn ceilings. :)
Who came up with popcorn ceilings anyway???
After many years of fiascos like your popcorn ceiling project, my motto is this:
Got a PROBLEM??? Then throw a little money on it and it will disappear.
I know you wish you’d done that first.
Can’t wait to see your new home get the E. A. C. transformation.
Thanks for this post. I am right where you are. I quit lying to myself years ago about “oh, that looks easy”. I know my limitations and I stick to them. I only do projects that my husband is on board with and can help me with. I wanted French doors installed in our living room pass-thru. I called our contractor and had him quote me and then do it. I leave home for work and when I get back, there they are. Beautiful! I can’t wait to see how your new home shapes up.
I’m a total idea girl too! I can plan, sew, shop, do some painting, do small crafts….but that’s about it.
….that being said, I TOTALLY know what you are talking about because my husband and I scraped the popcorn out of entire first house. Oh my gosh. I cried a lot. :) My husband is really, really handy, but even he could not get it looking good. We eventually paid a pro to come out and even out everything and add a subtle texture to match our walls. Biggest nightmare ever…ruined a vacuum too!! But it was worth it since the house looked so much newer. Our current house also has popcorn (ugh) but I’m just (attempting) to live with it because it was so hard to remove the first time. Most houses that are older than 10 years have it here so most people expect it anyway, although I still loathe the person who ever invented this horrid texture!
Yes, there is something about popcorn ceilings that induces crying for sure :)
I have found out that I am actually pretty handy, but also that I HATE demo. Everyone loves the demo phase where they get to smash, rip, and tear everything apart. Nope – not for me. It feels so….counterproductive? I’d rather come in after the demo and work on putting it all back together.
The ceilings do look great! I am not a fan of any kind of texture on ceilings; just smooth and flat please! :-)
This totally makes me think of a story I replay in my head a lot. When I first got married and was soo darn young I DIY’ed everything and didn’t mind it at all. My in-laws hired out for everything and I used to think why would they do that and didn’t they know how much money they could save? Fast forward many years and working with lots of contractors in my design work for others and myself I would much rather hire out especially the dirty or complicated work. My choice probably comes from being older, having less time and making more money than what I did in my 20s and knowing my limitations and realizing while I have professionals working on my project I can be doing what I am good at and moving forward with that. So glad to hear I’m not alone and your ceilings look AWESOME!
well said by an honest blogger!! So tired of everyone making diy look amazing, non-time consuming and inexpensive…. not to mention easy to find items to diy. Difficult to access projects sometimes though as you say and experienced! Blog post idea, “what to diy and what not to” ….. :)
Girl! We can all so relate. First of all, the paint, light and ceiling look fantastic. After doing our children’s bathroom and then hiring someone for ours it was like a light bulb moment. I feel your pain with the cleaning up of the mess, too. xo
I am so glad you wrote about this! I’ve been feeling a little bad about my lack of wanting to do certain projects done myself. And we have small grain popcorn (small grain- is that a thing?) and we’re going to wait a year or so and have it done while we’re out on vacation. You’re brave to even attempt DIY on that!
You are not alone. A few years ago, we had our basement finished. The contractor said he would prime and paint it for $1,000- it had several smaller rooms, so it had a lot of walls that needed painting. I thought that was absurd. I could find so many things for $1,000. So, one night I put the kids to bed and started to prime. An hour in, and not even a dent in the primer, let alone 2 coats of paint, I gave up. Sometimes, you have to consider how time is money, too. It would have taken me forever and was not worth it. Plus, it looks great after he did it. Your ceilings look fabulous now :)
For. The. Love…I so relate to you! I am right there with you on knowing what your DIY limit is. I’ve DIY’d everything from tile floors/walls, setting toilets, hanging light fixtures, painting furniture, etc. Let’s just say I won’t be doing a toilet ever again. I actually think, on the contrary to popular belief, that calling a professional can be a time and money saver. Not to mention, it LOOKS professional too. I’ve done many a DIY where the end product looks so amateur or hoakie that it’s just straight embarrassing!
I’m not sure who invented popcorn ceilings, but it was a horrible idea! Our ceilings are vaulted so luckily we didn’t even have the option of trying it ourselves but I can’t imagine. I’m more of a crafter and painter – once it involves more than a hammer, drill and screwdriver, I call the pros!
Ugh I’ve been there! Not necessarily with popcorn ceilings but when I decided I could tile the slanted back wall of our laundry room closet. So dumb, so not necessary (who even looks in there) and I ended up making a mess. Luckily my husband was able to disguise the disaster with planks over the torn up dry wall. I definitely learned my lesson!
I know–why do we worry about those little areas nobody pays attention to? I do the same thing when I have much bigger mountains to conquer…
I’m so glad to have read this! I was toying with the idea of removing our popcorn ceilings. Alone. The things I’ve read make it sound easy…your post sounds much more realistic! I am NOT a DIY’er. Thanks for the honesty! And keeping me from the disaster I feel it would be!
OMGosh Emily…..there is a fact that I didn’t see in the video and I don’t believe that you mentioned ….asbestos….scares the begeebers out to of me! Interesting info
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn_ceiling
I did research that, but it’s only if the house was built before I certain year. We were luckily in the safe zone…
I’m a little weary to paint since I get impatient, which isn’t helpful with most DIY projects. Luckily, my husband is very patient and pretty good at figuring out how to make things work. He’s also great at going along with my ideas. Whenever I feel highly motivated to tackle this or that project, I’ve learned to wait until my husband is around so we can do it together (or I can sit nearby as he works). i can totally relate to how you felt, even the frustration of having to clean up the mess afterwards. It looks great.
Oh Emily, I am in the same boat as you. I even tried to wallpaper our entire foyer once… only to realize I had wallpapered the whole foyer with the pattern (damask paper) upside down! I have learned to live with it and consider it quirky and unique. :) But there are some things just worth it for the professionals. Your ceilings look amazing! Love the new light, too. I am so excited for you and your family!
That sounds exactly like something I would do…
Sometimes we have to learn the hard way! As an avid DIYer, I have done multiple apts and houses but have learned that certain projects are just better to bite the bullet and pay to have it done. Anything to do with Sheetrock and mud is one of them. Hanging the sheet rock is easy but the rest ….. It is definitely a talent and an art that a skilled craftsman has learned over time. Some things are not worth the headache and cost more money doing it yourself. Painting, tile, landscaping pavers, trim, wainscoting and some carpentry are all really easy with a small learning curve. Floor refinishing is another project that is just better to hire someone and save yourself the hassle.
So sorry you had such a terrible mess! I can only imagine how heart sickening that must have been.
When I bought my house six years ago, I attempted to prime and paint the fake wood paneling in the bedrooms using the method a popular blogging duo suggested…Oil based primer with a thick nap roller. What a disaster! The oil based primer was so thick and heavy (and stinky) that when I rolled it on the first wall, it splatter all over me…in my hair, on my clothes and skin. It took me DAYS to get it all off me using mineral spirits, hot water and eventually nail polish remover. I ended using a simple brush just to get it on the walls so I could paint and then I cried, went home to my mom’s and let her baby me before I tackled the actual paint. Needless to say, when I decided to prime and paint the paneling in the rest of the house (hallway, living room and dining room) I researched a lot more, found a latex primer that is made specifically for fake wood paneling, goes on like regular paint, and it was soooooo much easier. Lesson learned: Don’t take just one DIYer’s word for it. RESEARCH.
Painting is about as far as I get with DIY, though. I don’t trust myself with power tools and just imagining doing things like tiling makes me tired and cranky. lol
Crying seems to be a popular theme with these DIY projects today. At least we’re learning what never to do again–right?! :)
so happy that you paid to have your ceilings transformed! we just did a kitchen reno that turned into a “whole first floor” reno, and they “had” to take the popcorn off because they were putting in can lights. we were overjoyed! have hated the popcorn for the 18 years we’ve been in the house. the guys were amazing! took the popcorn off five rooms and a hall in about 2 hours and painted/sanded/painted the next day. my husband and I kept saying to each other, “sometimes it pays to hire.” enjoy!!
Emily, I love your posts. I, too have 5 children, the two youngest, are twins. I feel like I have just begun seeing the light since they turned 4 yrs, 6 months, ago. My interest in transforming my space, reared its ugly head, as soon as I experienced the first time I could take a breath. I know better, given the wreck of a back I have, than to try popcorn ceilings. My assumption was someone would have to sand them, and in my mind, I thought it would be incredibly expensive. So then I thought, the way to go might be to have them covered, add cross boards, creating those large squares, and paint them white. I have been anxious to see how you would deal with yours. They are beautiful. After your post today, I’m somewhat hopeful that the ceilings could be smoothed, for a reasonable price. My question is, what kind of person/company should I call to do the work? Thank you. I really enjoy your blog!
Oh fun! We’re mom twins :) And, good to hear you think it gets a little easier at age 4. I am not feeling it yet…
The guy who did our ceilings was a professional painter who our realtor recommended. But, apparently, there are also companies who only specialize in popcorn removal. (Their quote was somewhat higher, though.)
Could you tell me the process, he used? Was it sanding and then painting, adding a coat, a chemical application, or was there a different process? We live in a pretty small community and I doubt there is someone, local, that specializes in this.
We by no means, are out of the woods. I just, today, had to clean up a powdered sugar, on every surface you can imagine, incident. and had to peel off tinge unit pads, to run after, a 4 year, that decided to leave the physical therapy room, BUT it is better than it was a year ago. Here’s hoping, for a little breathing room, for you, my twin mom.
I have no idea. I handed him a house key and we went to the beach for the week!
Our house had popcorn ceiling in 2100 of our 3300 sq ft. AND it tested positive for asbestos. Boo. Such a nightmare trying to find someone reasonable to remove it. Then repair the sheetrock. Then paint it. I spent a lot of sleepless nights stressing about it but it turned out beautifully and really made the rooms so much lighter and brighter. Like some of the commenters above, I love a good simple DIY or hunting for looks for less but when it comes to systems or majorly visible areas I leave it to the pros.
Ha agreed! While I love a great DIY project I had the same experience with popcorn ceiling removal, after 1 bedroom and 1 large family room I WAS DONE and hired out the rest of the job! Money well spent in the headache avoided and you’re so right, what a fab update having no more popcorn!
Its taken us 3 years to get the popcorn our of our home, and we have 1 room left. We usually wait about 3 months in between jobs to mentally gear up for the mess and frustration. I hear you! I have cried many tears over why on earth people would do this to my precious ceilings :) We have had to be patient but its really worth it in the end :-)
Thank you! My husband and I were just discussing this last night. I was on the “remove the popcorn ceilings ourselves” team, but I think you just changed my mind!
And – love the wall paint color…..is it too early to ask what it is?!?!
Not too early :) It’s Useful Gray by SW.
I was about to subject myself to this very same DIY project but thanks to you have decided it is a DDIY (don’t do it yourself) project. You have just saved me valuable time and money. I can’t wait for my popcorn to go away. And thanks for the new label “the idea lady”, describes me perfectly.
You’re welcome. I promise you’ll think me later :)
Yup. I have vision but little can-do. I’ve learned the hard way not to try to reupholster anything ever. There are definitely other things on my list. I’m a hirer-outer, but I wish I had DIY gumption (and skills!).
In my 20s, I was into sweat equity- we bought houses that needed fixing. Now I’m into brain equity – have ideas, take bids. I love your story
I live in the Charlotte area and was wondering if you could tell me who removed your popcorn ceiling. My inlaws are getting quotes on painting, popcorn removal, etc. this week! What a timely post. I did give her the amount you quoted so she could compare it with the quote she is given this week. Thanks and I love your blog!
Sure–emailing you all of the info.
Oh Lord girl, I feel your pain! With our first house, we had 5 solid years of DIY – we spent every Friday, and at least $500-$1,000 at Home Depot. When it was time to move to our second and current house, I told my husband that we need to pay someone to do that work! All it took to convince him was letting him paint our master bedroom (took a week – after he worked his full time job) to get on board with paying the experts! Time is money and money is time! What is your time worth? I’ve learned let the experts do what they do best – they can do it much faster and better than me – time and money saved!
Love your story and your willingness to share your mistakes. Everyone makes them but sometimes we only see the successful attempts. Your ceilings look amazing, though. You’ll never regret doing it right when you moved in My father-in-law paid $2k to have his ceilings scrapped, but they are still textured. They look like a heavy knock-down finish. I wouldn’t have been happy with the results. I’m glad to know that it’s possible to get a smooth finish for a more reasonable amount.
We bought our “new” old house last year and I have to say the best money spent was having the ceilings professionally smoothed and painted. It honestly made all the difference and I knew I could never have done it myself, nor did I want to! I love a good DIY but I’ve learned my limits. I can only imagine your frustration. It looks great now though!?
Thanks for the laugh! When my husband and I were in our 20’s, we did everything ourselves. I remember, for one particular project, we had to buy a very long 2 x 4 at the home improvement center. It spanned the entire inside of my SUV from front to back and when we shut the tail gate, crack!!! The 2 x 4 shattered our front windshield and it became a much more expensive project! We should have just hired someone…
One disaster leads to another! Ugh :(
Our house was built in 1990 and also has the popcorn ceilings. I have pinned many DIY removal guides. But after this (great, by the way) post I’m thinking they might not be so bad after all!
I enjoy reading your blog. BUT the rolling ads have made it miserable. It’s gotten hard to find the continuation of the paragraphs with all the distraction.
Sorry, Dian–you must be reading on your phone… I know it’s an issue and will ask the ad team I work with about it.
Oh man, I also discovered my DIY limit with a popcorn ceiling. My husband and I removed one (only one room in the house had it) from a single 10×12 room in our new house and it took us a week. We used the plastic/water/scrape method but didn’t realize that the ceiling was painted for resale so the water was barely sinking in. Then we had to skim coat it with plaster because we dinged it up so much scraping it. And water soaked into the top edges of our plaster walls leaving water marks so I not only had to repaint those areas, I had to prime them first! I felt so defeated. The ceiling is now the smoothest in the house (we have plaster ceilings)…but still, never again!
OH My, I am not a DIY gal either, I call myself the pointer girl. I point to where I want things moved or changed, LOL. My hubby did remove a couple of rooms in our home but we wet it down and it just fell down onto plastic, no big dusty mess. He actually tented the walls and floors and brought in a garden hose, needless to say, I was not there, he used the mister and it worked great but his arms felt like they were going to fall off so we hired the rest of the house done, well worth the price, but much less than $800 per room. Live and Learn as the saying goes! Glad it got done and cleaned up, you poor thing, I bet you are exhausted.
Kathysue
My DIY limit these days is anything that requires me to get down on my knees OR anything my husband refuses. Had this house painted professionally when we moved in (first time ever we didn’t DIY), and I can’t begin to tell you how much better it looked. And it really wasn’t all that expensive, considering. That was a DIA–Do It Again.
I’m with you! I’ve just started asking myself, do I want it done, or do I want it done right? Because I can do a lot, but I’ll notice the imperfections of my work for years to come and it annoys me to no end. :)
Ugh, I have been DYING to get rid of my popcorn ceilings for years and have pondered DIYing it… I will now discard that notion!! Some things just aren’t worth the trouble… hope every one is settling in, Emily!
xo Heidi
Thank you, Heidi! Yes, please forget about it :)
You are so not alone. Every time I see a DIY project from Pinterest I think, yeah right. I love any project that involves painting – give me a paintbrush and an audiobook and I’m a happy woman. Anything that involves building or extensive cleaning/ prep on the other hand will make me break out into hives. Oh, and anything that requires a level is very iffy for me.
I know that you probably won’t ever try again but I have to weigh in here. The key to my being able to successfully remove many popcorn ceilings is getting it SOAKING WET!!! I would suggest trying a very small room first, maybe a closet or powder room. Cover the floor with plastic. Use a spray bottle or garden sprayer and get the popcorn soaking wet. It should actually be dripping in the floor a little. If the popcorn is wet enough the color will change a little. Use a wide putty knife to scrape the popcorn. I hold the putty knife in my right hand and I hold a cookie sheet or baking pan in my left hand just under the scraper. Most of the popcorn falls right onto the cookie sheet and I drop it into the trash can. It is still a little messy but there is no dust and it cleans up very easily. It is a very “do-able” DIY project with the right tools and method.
This post was perfect timing! We are under contract on a home with popcorn ceilings and it’s the first item on our to-do list! I’ve been searching Pinterest and came across that same video. I had a feeling that idea was too good to be true! My husband thinks it will be an easy DIY, I’ll be showing him this post :) We’re in the Charlotte area, would you mind sharing the name of the company you used? Thanks!
Thanks for the healthy dose of realism. We recently moved to a beautiful yet very dated house. Popcorn ceilings and wallpaper everywhere including the ceilings. we haven’t done anything yet but I’m stockpiling info for when we do!
I don’t know when your house was built but if it was before 1974 that popcorn ceiling probably has asbestos in it and having it flying all over is hazardous to your health. I hope you had it checked before you tackled it. When we remodeled we simply covered the popcorn with 1/4 inch sheetrock and had that taped and skimcoated. If you don’t disturb it is perfectly safe.
Not that old. I did know to check that out ahead of time :)
Yeah, the floors are probably more important to cover then the walls. Isn’t the difference insane? And I want to know where you found someone to do all 3 steps at that price? We pay for someone to float the ceilings after we scrape and then we paint, but at that price I would rather pay someone to do all of it!
I can’t believe you did that by yourselves!
I’m so glad Sarah linked to your blog today! I LOVE hearing about DIY “fails”… it makes me feel like I’m not the only one struggle-bussing through this. So I definitely hate that you had to go through so much stress and unhappiness – thank you so much for sharing! DIY is so hard and we all need to try to keep in mind that the beautiful “afters” we see so much of were sweaty, horrible messes somewhere along the way:)
P.S. I am guessing that your popcorn ceilings must have been painted?! They are nearly impossible to get off when they are painted.. I am a lead-safe renovator and a lot of the same tricks apply for removing lead-based paint: tarp EVERYTHING, including all vents – and turn of the HVAC system so no air gets pulled through with the dust. But it’s so much easier said than done, for sure!!!
Actually I should clarify, I am a trained lead-safe renovator for my housing non-profit job but I’ve never actually done any lead abatement or renovation projects. My knowledge is all theory based:)
Holy Batman…..just looking at that mess made me start to itch with anxiety…..NFW would I have attempted to try that. Maybe….and I mean a small maybe I would attempt a powder room the size of a postage stamp:)
Oh! This is a “great” story – and terrible story at the same time. I can just imagine your torture as you stayed awake trying to figure out what to do. Yes! Sometimes videos and other “how-to”s make it seem deceptively easy – when it isn’t for us mere mortals. I always feel like I can DIY it and that is my preference to save money. Yet, there are some jobs that require a certain level of expertise and special tools. Well, all’s well that ends well. In the end, you ceilings look great.
Best,
Michelle from simplysantabarbara.blogspot.com
Emily!! What a story! Thanks for sharing… I will file that away in the memory banks for future info. Glad there was a happy ending! Can’t wait to see more pics of the house! :-)
I did the powder room in our previous house a few months before we moved, and it was a HORRIBLE job! It’s only about a 6×9 space, which was MORE than enough to let me know that I never needed to tackle it in another room, Ever. I admire you for trying, though! (And it does look great afterward.) :-)
We are all about paying to have work done. Week after next we are having the wallpaper down in our master bedroom and bonus room. $850 for the entire job and worth every penny!
I applaud you for trying! Power tools intimidate me, so my husband always changes my drill bits, and I call in my dad’s help for anything that needs cutting of (almost) any kind. Someday I hope to be DIY girl, though, because I know I have it in me!