What Does Popcorn Ceiling Asbestos Look Like

Known as popcorn ceiling cottage cheese ceiling or stucco ceiling it was typically 1 to 10 percent asbestos.

What does popcorn ceiling asbestos look like.

Begin by brushing off all dust with a super. Unpainted popcorn ceiling or textured ceiling often looks slightly 2 toned where the base of the ceiling is slightly drier looking and the popcorn looks slightly different take a wet cloth after you ve tested for asbestos and wipe an area that is tucked away in other words don t do this in the middle of the room. This makes identifying asbestos in ceilings difficult. Asbestos is not dangerous when it is contained within a material and left undisturbed.

So homeowners are not necessarily at risk of asbestos exposure. An asbestos ceiling is also called an acoustic ceiling or popcorn ceiling due to its soundproofing qualities and it looks a little like popcorn once it s sprayed on. The popcorn is not well bonded to the ceiling so the paint will have a tendency to peel. Also it looks like a glossy popcorn ceiling.

As long as the texture isn t sagging flaking or shedding a popcorn ceiling can simply be painted to update the look. To find out if your old popcorn ceiling contains asbestos you can purchase a test kit or hire an asbestos abatement professional. Depending on the age of your ceiling it s quite possible that it contains asbestos. If you have a popcorn ceiling that contains asbestos in your home you can safely encapsulate it by painting or texturing over top.

For many years before the united states department of health and human services determined that asbestos is a known carcinogen manufacturers used asbestos to make many different products including the stuff of popcorn ceilings. Unfortunately a popcorn ceiling made with asbestos will look no different than any other textured ceiling. Asbestos was used commonly in ceilings since it helps with soundproofing and insulation it s more resistant to fire and it also hides ceiling imperfections.