WEBVTT - What's that bumpy stuff on my ceiling?

0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.520
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:14.480
<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. I am Marshall Brain with today's question,

0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:18.080
<v Speaker 1>what is this bumpy stuff on my ceiling that looks

0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:22.280
<v Speaker 1>like popcorn or cottage cheese. The ceilings of many homes

0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:25.360
<v Speaker 1>and apartments are not painted, but instead are coated with

0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.479
<v Speaker 1>a substance that has this bumpy texture. The treatment is

0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:34.080
<v Speaker 1>normally called a textured finish or an acoustic finish by builders,

0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.440
<v Speaker 1>but most people refer to it as popcorn. This sort

0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.239
<v Speaker 1>of ceiling treatment is popular for several reasons. First, it

0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.280
<v Speaker 1>keeps you from having to plaster and sand the ceiling.

0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:46.960
<v Speaker 1>If you've ever done it, you know that plastering the

0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:50.120
<v Speaker 1>ceiling is no fun. Second, it hides a lot of

0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:54.000
<v Speaker 1>imperfections in the ceiling. The ceiling is a huge, flat,

0:00:54.280 --> 0:00:59.680
<v Speaker 1>uninterrupted and well lit expanse. Any imperfection is immediately obvious.

0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:04.720
<v Speaker 1>The texturing hides imperfections very effectively. Third, it helps to

0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:07.880
<v Speaker 1>eliminate echo in a room. If you've ever walked into

0:01:07.880 --> 0:01:11.280
<v Speaker 1>a room before and after carpeting, you know what a

0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.520
<v Speaker 1>big difference carpet makes on echoes and acoustic finishes. Like

0:01:15.600 --> 0:01:19.000
<v Speaker 1>carpeting the ceiling, there are many different ways to put

0:01:19.000 --> 0:01:21.640
<v Speaker 1>a texture on a ceiling, but the most common technique

0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:26.440
<v Speaker 1>involves mixing some sort of lumpy aggregate, either vermiculite or

0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.880
<v Speaker 1>polystyrene in with ceiling paint. The mixture is then sprayed

0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:34.039
<v Speaker 1>onto the ceiling using a special spray gun. It goes

0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.839
<v Speaker 1>on in one coat, and once it dries, you're done.

0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:40.720
<v Speaker 1>For more on this and thousands of other topics, Because

0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:46.200
<v Speaker 1>a House Stuff Works dot com