Popcorn ceiling texture disposal in San Diego.

If you are a homeowner of an older home with popcorn ceiling like us, and if you'd like to remove them by yourself, I hope the following information is helpful for you.

First you need to get the popcorn texture tested to see if it contains asbestos. Although the general rule is if your house was built after 1978, it should not contain asbestos. But if your house was built around that time, it's safer to get it tested for the peace of mind. You can google a testing labs.

Our results came back positive. With that, you can only hire a licensed asbestos abatement company or you can remove it yourself. We decided to do it ourselves.

You can google how to properly remove the popcorn ceiling texture. There are websites and videos show you how to do that. What I want to talk about is how to properly dispose the popcorn material. It turns out that's harder than the job itself.

I called the San Diego Environmental Services before we started the project, and I was told to take it to the landfill on a Saturday with an appointment. The next time when we were done, I called to make an appointment and was told they do not take materials with asbestos in them. I was given a name of a company that should be able to dispose it for us. I called that company and was given the Environmental Services number in return.

It turns out you need to call a registered hazardous waste hauler/transporter. For a complete list of these companies, go to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control. As part of the disposal you will need to obtain a temporary EPA ID number from the State of California, and the company you choose to hire can help you obtain the number.

We contacted two companies. One told us to transport the waste to a Chula Vista facility. The other would send in someone to re-double-bag our waste in our driveway, and haul it away. We chose the latter for the same price. The gentleman packaged the bags (which we double bagged) with another layer of bag/plastic sheet and warning labels.

As I am writing right now, our popcorn ceiling is being transported to somewhere in Arizona. Once it safely arrives, we will receive a receipt in the mail that it reaches the destination.

It took us almost 2 weeks trying to figure out how to be a responsible citizen. Many times within this time we wanted to put them in the trash due to frustration. I hope this bit of information will save anyone who wants to remove popcorn ceiling themselves in the future from disposal frustration, and help keep the environment clean.