Taking Down Acoustic Ceilings

Remove all the furniture from the room. Turn off the electricity to the room from the main power source. Use a circuit tester to ensure no power is being supplied. Unscrew the screws holding all light fixtures to the ceiling and lower them.

Cut small rectangles out of a plastic sheet and tape them over each electrical outlet and light switch, using painter's tape. Spread a large plastic sheet over the room's floor. Extend the plastic sheet about 12 inches up each of the room's walls.

Run painter's tape along the walls, about 1/4 inch lower than the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. Lift large sheets of plastic up to a wall. Lay the top edge over the painter's tape on the wall. Secure it in place with more painter's tape. Repeat with the three remaining walls. Unroll rosin paper over the plastic sheet on the floor.

Fill a garden sprayer with water. Pump the garden sprayer to pressurize the spraying wand. Moisten a 4-foot square of the acoustic ceiling. Wait two to three minutes for the water to absorb into the acoustic ceiling.

Hold a 6-inch putty knife at a 30-degree angle against the ceiling. Lightly run the putty knife over the ceiling's drywall, removing the acoustic ceiling. If you run into any hard-to-remove areas, do not force the putty knife through it. Instead, moisten the area and allow the water to soak in before you attempt to remove it.

Moisten a second 4-foot square of acoustic ceiling. Scrape it off with the 6-inch putty knife, the same way you scraped off the first section. Moisten and remove a third section of acoustic ceiling. Continue in this way until the entire ceiling has been scraped clean.

Check the ceiling's mud joints to see how loose they might be. If they seem loose, apply a new piece of self-adhesive mudding tape over the loose seam. Then, spread a layer of drywall mud over the mudding tape, using the 6-inch putty knife. Allow the mud to dry.

Apply a second layer of drywall mud over the first layer, using a 10-inch putty knife. Feather the second layer's edges to blend it into the drywall. Allow the second layer to dry, then sand it smooth with a sanding sponge.