I saw a mention of popcorn ceilings over in the home decorating forum sometime this week, I think. Someone said the popcorn was easy to remove if it hadn't been painted over. If no one here has an answer you could go and check.

Unpainted popcorn can be removed with warm water...some folks use a squirt bottle others suggest a garden sprayer. Saturate the popcorn and then use a scraper. I strongly suggest covering the floor with a disposable drop cloth of some sort.

Thanks Carol. Will this method work for large areas? Like entire walls?

For unpainted popcorn it will. It just takes some elbow grease. I've never heard of the popcorn being on the wall. Sounds like some one was trying to find a very cheap way of hiding something.

I've never seen popcorn on a wall. It isn't sturdy at all even painted. You would walk by it and brush it right off.

I think you are seeing heavy texturing. Orange peel or heavier. Probably poorly done. This is acutally like drywall compound, sprayed on and troweled off to get different types of texture.

It's very common where I live. It means the drywallers do not have to be skilled at taping and sanding.

This doesn't come off like the popcorn. If it's really bumpy you can sand it down and retexture. You can also float new mud out to get a level surface. But now you need the same skill as a good drywaller.

If it is just one hallway and not the entire upstairs, I would just take my time and sand down as much as I could. Or have a drywaller come in and take a look at it. They will probably be able to do a much better job. Just ask them how they usually finish walls. You don't want someone who only textures.

Gloria

You guys are right. It's texturing---VERY heavy texturing.
I'm going to try to find an expert for this case.
I don't think I'll be able to fix it myself.

Also, do you think I could get the job done with a better power sander?

More water, a little liquid detergent and a lot of elbow grease.
If you want it gone faster tear out the drywall and replace. You will spend less time mudding the new joints than trying to repair all the damage to the old drywall.

Thanks brickeyee. I might try repairing it. The walls are very high & have extremely odd shapes & angles. I plan to take pictures of the walls & post them to my personal website. That will give you a better idea of what I'm facing.

Sotmog-
Popcorn and other textures frequently had high levels of asbestos in them. You should have this tested at a lab before you do any removal -- wet or dry; it's not very expensive. The last thing you want to be doing is contaminating your home with asbestos. Maybe you'll get an "all clear" from the test lab, and then you can do what you want. On the other hand, if you have asbestos, you need to look at what's involved, since it's not something a homeowner can do safely. If you need further info or links, email me.

Thanks Kudzu. I'll look into the asbestos issue. I wouldn't want to expose myself to that! I'll keep you updated.

brickeye, if she has what I have, no water and soap will remove it. It's permanent and only sanding will remove. Even doing that is tricky because you can easily sand down too far and start tearing off the paper of the drywall.

Popcorn will come off with water. Wall texturing won't.

Gloria