Why do you think your cabinets would need removing? The contractors might carefully remove molding, but not cabinets.

What's the matter with the ceiling that a new paint job won't fix? Yes it can be wallpapered, I do it all the time but it is not an easy job for the typical homeowner.

Oh, my, I would hope you don't wallpaper the ceiling! Thinking ahead five or ten years, maybe less, you or the next owner will rue the day it was done when it becomes dusty, dirty or just tiresome and needs to be removed. Please, oh, please just paint the ceiling. If it is textured popcorn type, do some advance research on how to paint it. There are considerations with that type. But I guess it is smooth or you wouldn't be thinking of wallpaper....

...and if it's a popcorn ceiling, make sure you test for asbestos first before disturbing it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Popcorn ceilings and asbestos

Aloha to all who replied. I should provide more information on my ugly ceiling. It's made of 4X6 ft. panels of canic that are staggered in placement. Its the area of the joined panels that is the eyesore. The top of my cabinets are 3 inches from the ceiling and topped with a moulding that touches the ceiling.
This forum has the spirit of ohana(family). Mahalo for your suggestions and advice.

OK, island gal, I give. What is canic? I googled and found an urban dictionary definition that doesn't fit the context - the word can be used as a pretty cool insult of sorts.

Shooting in the dark since I am not at all familiar with canic material, I wonder if you can use dry wall tape and joint compound to cover the seams as would be done with sheetrock (dry wall)?

I think I figured out what she has for a ceiling. Ceiling tiles made from vol-CANIC perlite.

Perlite Ceiling tiles are manufactured from expanded volcanic perlite, ceramic clay and inorganic binders. These products are fireproof and will not harbor or provide nutrients for microbial growth. Light reflectance noise reduction values of these tiles are somewhat lower than mineral fiber and fiberglass.

Bottom Line: A good choice for wet or high moisture areas or If there is a preference for products without biocides.

Ha! Ha! Your replies were very entertaining! Wow...I'm older than I thought. I think canic is a sugar cane by-product so maybe it was used only in Hawaii in the "old days". I like the idea of the dry wall tape. Will report back.

Aloha Honu girl--had to laugh, too. I was writing about canic ceilings and wanted to spell check it but, of course it's not in the dictionary so I goggled it and came to this site.

Love the volcanic product theory.

I'm in Kaneohe (Hawaii) and a realtor. It's not your age that's the problem--it's just that canic (the sugar cane bi-product) was not used anywhere in the mainland that I am aware of. Yes, it was widely used in Hawaii into the early 70's and we still see it all over the place (except new construction on the Ewa plain!)

Sheet rock taping won't really work because at some point you have to sand it smooth and the point where the "mud" and the canic meet cant really be smoothed because the sanding process roughs up the canic. What will you do--mud the whole sheet? No can! (as we would say in hawaii but not on the mainland.)

I've seen 'plenty houses' where the drywall tape attempt looks worse then the original joints used to--and other places where the tape is just coming down. It's not a real fix.

I think you have to accept the "charm" of the canic or take it down and replace it with real sheet rock--or keep the exposed ceiling beams if they are attractive (or can be painted).

Just keep saying to yourself--lucky I live Hawaii where we have canic ceilings. aloha--

:) let's see - I found sugarcane fibers being made into carpet, picnic ware, and jackets - yup, looks like Canic's something unique to the islands...

I'd be tempted to bring the ceiling down and expose the beams - but I'm also a sucker for backbreaking labor and live closer to a dump than I ought to admit ;)

but we've also got ugly press-board ceiling tile of several species, and use paintable latex caulk - if the cracks are deep, do one coat down between them, then on the second coat, bring them a bit more than level, take a 4" roller with a wet sponge roller, and run it over the seam - once painted, it's pretty subtle - it's also permanent, and flexible.

In response to your questions - Canic is in fact a byproduct of sugar cane, and it may indeed consist of volcanic perlite. However, I recently came across this Canic material in a construction project for a public building and learned that it is considered a Hazardous Material and must be handled and abated like asbestos (just like popcorn ceilings). According to the Environmental Assessment Report and the environmental abatement contractor Canic contains arsenic. (Most likely a means to deter rodents.)

IF you ever choose to remove or make changes to that ceiling, I strongly advise you to get an environmental (abatement) contractor to do a FREE inspection before disturbing it. Most companies will provide that free service. I'm surprised that the Realtor didn't mention that. If it is your home, I'm not sure if you are permitted by law to remove/abate it yourself, but I'd advise against it if you don't know what you're doing. Find out the facts before you disturb, punch holes or start sanding that ceiling!

The correct spelling is Canec. Please see the link below from the Hawaii State Dept. of Health (Hawaii's version of the EPA) for more information on Canec.

http://hawaii.gov/health/environmental/hazard/pdf/arsenicfinalcanecfactsheetjune2010.pdf/

So I'm buying a rental home and did some research. The link discusses this material as if it was asbestos, but in searching under mandatory disclosures real estate, nothing about it came up. Anyone have any knowledge of lawsuits pertaining to health problems with canec / living in a home with canec ?

http://hawaii.gov/health/environmental/hazard/docs/canecfactsheetfinal_revheadermar2011.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawaii Dept. Public Health

This post was edited by martinmec on Wed, Apr 17, 13 at 11:23

I have restored Canec ceilings in both of my island homes. The picture shows a restored section with all new "Canec" panels. Local retailers carry 4x8 panels that they call Canec but now comes from Canada. The texture is almost identical to the original Canec panels. I believe it is wood pulp that has some type of glue as a binder. When we sand the edges our sandpaper gets gummed up a little. I don't think I've seen homes here without Canec ceilings built post war until about the 1960's. I don't know of any health hazard (did searches) on living in homes with these ceilings. Pretty much every baby boomer here grew up in them. Plantation homes or for that matter any home built here in the 40's - 60's doesn't look right without those Canec ceilings IMHO.

But its a 5 year old post................

and your point is?

I don't speak for Mill W., but from my perspective the point is that the original poster has almost certainly either solved the problem or given up. The thread is in fact almost exactly TEN years old.

Someone else revived this thread in 2011. Honugirlhawaii didn't post anything even back then. In any case, her last post or comment on Gardenweb was in 2014, so it's unlikely that she'll see your post.

Thanks for the info, though. I'll remember it if I ever get rich enough to buy real estate in Hawaii (not likely).

I have canec ceilings and most are in good shape, but the guest bathroom ceiling has some water/steam damage likely from showers and baths and not running the fan long enough since it's super loud. It looks like the previous owners painted it, because the surface cracks (looks like a crackle finish) are contained in paint.

I'm wondering if we can encase it in something like tongue & groove (like our master bath) or beadboard to protect it more from the moisture and from getting worse.

I do agree with Paliview that houses like mine from the 50s-60s just don't look right without it, but since there is damage starting, I'd like to address it before it starts to crumble and the arsenic in it becomes a problem. In the case of my home the canec panels are actually serving as the roof deck, above the beams, just below the cap sheet roofing. So it would be very expensive, like an entirely new roof and roof deck to remove it.

This document from Dept of Health says homeowners can remove it themselves, as long as it's wrapped in plastic before going to an approved landfill. It's apparently exempted from hazardous waste removal. https://bit.ly/2Ma5dWW

I re-did a bathroom ceiling that had a very similar problem. Most of the ceiling had pealing/cracked old paint which I removed with a rough side of a kitchen sponge. Then touched it up with a super fine sanding sponge. This was after taping off the room and using a respirator. Just be careful not to use to much pressure and go too far breaking the surface of the canec. The panels have a hard surface so it's not hard to do correctly. You also don't want to remove the surface texture either, just the old paint. After you've completed that task, prime, caulk, and paint. For bathrooms and kitchens use a ceiling paint made for those rooms. Especially bathrooms need a paint that will not allow moisture to be absorbed into the ceiling panels which I think caused your problem to start with.

If you don't want to do the labor you can just in case it with new "canec" panels available at various retailers (wood pulp from Canada) and you have the exact same look and texture as your original ceilings. You do have to bevel the edges to match the original look. Use a foam roller to apply the paint as that will give you a super smooth finish allowing the original texture of the canec to show.

Good Luck!

If anyone familiar with Hawaii canec ceilings is still watching this thread... We bought a small plantation house built in 1981 on the Big Island, Hamakua Coast. Canec ceilings throughout, in very good shape, but now after 3 years we cannot keep mold from reappearing on them. It's wet here & cool, but not Hilo level humidity, but mold has defied all paints with mildew inhibitor additives, mold remover sprays, bleach, vinegar, you name it, I've tried it. It's gotta come down & be replaced with a moisture & mold resistant drywall. Any suggestions?

Any house built after 1964 should not have canec in it, according to the HEER office, so you don't need to worry about arsenic when you remove the old ceilings. What I would worry about is if your ceiling joists can hold the weight of drywall. My plantation house in Honokaa, built in 1940, does not have much support up there and I would probably have to go with 1/4" plywood if I ever need to replace the ceilings. If you have single wall construction, be careful with weight.

You will need to track down the cause of your mold problem. If the house was fine since 1981 and just started having this issue, I would guess you either have roof leaks or you don't allow enough air circulation. If you have a metal roof with nails driven through the corrugated peaks, they are probably loosening from the constant heating and cooling of the roof from day to night. Loose nails can let water drip into the attic space and make fibrous materials in the ceiling damp and prone to mold. If you have a fairly even coating of mold over the entire ceiling, I would bet air circulation is the problem.

Thank you to those who have kept this "old" post alive! I too am looking to repair or replace some old canec ceiling panels in my little S. Kona cottage. Lots of good information here! If Paliview is still active, I'd love to know where on the islands you found the Canadian canec substitute. Thanks!

Hardware Hawaii on Oahu carries this Canadian replacement in 4'x8' panels. They even still call it canec! Good luck w/ this project L P!

wallpaper is a great idea