Light Fixtures, Plant Hooks, Smoke Detectors, Alarm Sensors and Ceiling Vents

Light Fixtures

If you are not comfortable with electricity contact a qualified electrician. Depending upon how your home was wired a light junction box can still be live even when the light switch is off. Proceed with caution and turn off the power to your home before removing any light fixtures. Removing the acoustic-popcorn ceiling is not worth being electrocuted.

Ceiling fans come in a couple of varieties. It is typically not required to remove the complete fan. Remove the blades where they attach to the fan motor unit. There are usually two or three screws per blade. Next remove the bell housing. This is the round metal shroud that butts against the ceiling. On hugger type fans there are usually 2-4 screws around the edges close to the ceiling. On hanger type fans there is usually one screw at the center shaft. Remove this screw and slide the shroud down until it is resting on the fan motor assembly. Wrap with plastic and tape into place insuring there are no open areas for water to enter into the fan motor.

Hanging lights are similar to hanging ceiling fans in most regards. The shroud will be attached with one or two screws or with a large nut at the center. Remove this mounting hardware and mask the light with tape and plastic. It is not generally necessary to remove the light however you will occasionally run into a hanging light that the shroud doubles as the mounting system and these should be carefully disconnected from the electricity and moved to a safe location until it is time to reinstall. With the exception of small flush mount lights you should never leave a light hanging from the electrical wiring.

For flush mount lights remove the globe, typically by turning and pulling free or loosening the screws that hold the glass globe in place. These globes are sometimes very thin and break easily and can cut like a razor. Be careful. 

Plant Hooks and Hangers

Plant hangers usually have either what looks like a lag bolt that screws directly into a wooden ceiling rafter or have a toggle bolt. Grasp the hanger with pliers and turn counter clockwise while using a slight downward pressure until they are free. Toggle bolts can only be used once and will need to be replaced if you would like to reuse your plant hooks.

Smoke Detectors

Smoke detectors come in two types, battery operated and hard wired. If you are not comfortable with electricity do not attempt to remove your smoke detector unless you know for certain it is battery operated. Most battery smoke detectors simply twist and pull free leaving the plastic base. The base is usually attached by a couple of screws. Twist the detector until it pulls free, remove the screws, pull the base free and you are finished.

Occasionally you will run across a detector that has a tamper resistant pin. This basically is a plastic pin that locks the detector to the base. It is not difficult at all to remove however the design is such that the detector will trigger when removed to alert the owner that the device has been tampered with.

Alarm Sensors

There are literally hundreds of types of alarm sensors on the market. Some are very simple to remove and the method will be obvious. Usually they snap into a plastic base similar to that of the smoke detector and the base is mounted with a couple of screws. Others are not quite so easy. It is beyond the scope of this document to detail all the makes and models and removal methods. If in doubt, contact your alarm company. They should have a list of all the installed equipment in your home and be more than willing to help. If not, find a new alarm company.

Ceiling Vents

Typically ceiling vents are attached with two screws that are visible on the surface. Remove the screws and pull the vent free. You generally do not need to mask the outlet of the duct work until it is time to apply wall texture.

Additional Items You May Encounter

Even if you live on a street full of cookie cutter houses in suburban America no two homes will be exactly alike. You may encounter something that isn’t listed in this document or is different than stated in this document. Using common sense you can usually overcome any problems that you encounter when prepping your room or house for the job of removing the acoustic ceilings and refinishing with wall texture.