At the end of Kitchen Remodel – Part 2, we had completed the removal of the cabinets and soffits and put up the new sheetrock. The next step was removing the popcorn texture and installing the new beadboard ceiling.
We researched the pros and cons of installing the beadboard over the existing popcorn texture. What we found was some people left it there and installed over it, and others scrapped it off. Because the beadboard we were using was a thinner product, and we wanted a good adhesion, we decided to remove the texture.
We did research on the pros and cons of installing the beadboard over the existing popcorn texture. What we found was some people left it there and installed over it, and others scrapped it off. Because the beadboard we were using was a thinner product, and we wanted a good adhesion, we decided to remove the texture.
We tried some of the methods we had seen, such as attaching a vacuum hose to the scraper to keep the mess to a minimum and spraying water on the popcorn first to soften it. The vacuum was cumbersome to use. Since the floor was wood, we just let the debris fall. The water spray did help to loosen some of the tougher pieces. For the most part, it scrapped off fairly easy. It was just messy.
We put up plastic to keep the dust inside the kitchen and we wore masks to keep the dust outside of us.
We purchased a lightweight MDF beadboard from Home Depot. We bought the recommended adhesive and used it as directed. We also planned to use finishing nails to be sure it was there to stay!
Andy determined the size we needed for each piece, and we cut them using a table saw. We also needed to be sure we were cutting from the correct side so that the pieces would fit together and match. That was the easy part. Getting it up on the ceiling was a bit trickier.
Andy marked the joists first and saw that they were not evenly spaced as they should have been. That made it harder to use the nail gun to secure the panels. The joists didn’t always line up like we thought they would. After the adhesive was applied according to instructions, we placed the beadboard on the ceiling. Holding it in place with our hands and various tools, Andy used the nail gun along the joist line for extra hold. We did this because we were applying it to the ceiling. If using it on a wall, we probably would have only used the adhesive.
Since we had started putting up the beadboard after scraping the ceiling, it was almost 6:30 pm when this first piece was up. We moved along, getting better with each piece. Hitting the joists remained a challenge, and we had a few extra nail holes to fill in when it was all done. Overall, it went well. We worked a few hours that Saturday evening, then finished up on Sunday.
A few days later, we painted the ceiling. We used Sherwin Williams Popular Gray on the majority of walls in the house, including the kitchen. For the ceiling, we chose Versatile Gray.
We couldn’t place the beam until the cabinets were up. The cabinets were initially scheduled to be delivered and installed on July 1st. However, we got notice of a delay from the cabinet maker on June 30th. So after hurrying to get ready for them, we went another week and a half using a makeshift kitchen in the living room and walking back and forth from the camper to use the kitchen out there. Check back for Kitchen Remodel Part 4 where we will tell about the cabinet adventure and installing a new patio door.