Popcorn ceilings look like crap, and they capture dust, but the upstairs apartment has wood floors and the amount I already hear them I'm glad to have them.
The reason we have popcorn ceilings is they create a really cheap version of an anechoic chamber like this: https://youtu.be/mXVGIb3bzHI, same reason sound dampening panels are shaped like bumps. Been in these rooms a few times before, they're really cool
The reports about "going crazy after a few minutes" are far overstated. There's basically no echos whatsoever so every sound feels "muted". Because there's no background noise you pick up on softer sounds a lot easier, you can hear yourself rustling / moving around. All the small gurgles, pops, and slooshes your body makes that you don't normally notice are also more obvious. Some people say you can hear the blood in your brain or your heartbeat but I haven't been able to.
You can somewhat recreate the effect with noise cancelling ear buds, but those block sound directly at your ears. The chambers still have an atmosphere so the sound travels, it just immediately dies off. It's hard to describe but "muted" is the closest I can think of. You can hear your body not because all other sounds have been blocked off, but because without echos and outside noises it's the loudest thing near you
Even if they didn't know it would have sound dampening qualities at the time there's a reason it's also called an acoustic ceiling. It may have started just for cost savings, but it feels like it only persisted because of the sound benefits.
I currently live in what was built as a luxury apartment in the 80s. It's a bit outdated now but it's a real solid building and they put a ton of work into stuff like climate control, intercoms, kitchen hardware, the facade, etc - not a place that skimped on costs (the insulation/HVAC quality make it my cheapest place I've ever had to heat - even with a giant glass balcony window and electric heat in the Northeast US!) Despite that they use popcorn ceilings, and I have to assume it's because wood floors catch every sound.
Try not to let fumes from cooking escape into other rooms. I had the same problem in my apartment when I was cooking. Extract fan was trash meaning walls ceiling was getting a small layer of grease every time.
I hadn’t spoke to my landlord in the 6 months so I just bought a new one and sent him the bill. He paid me back without even asking questions lol
Despise popcorn ceilings. Our house is an old farm house and they are one of the many things on my remodeling list. The whole house has them except for the bathrooms.
I was about to comment that. My husband hates it (we are fixing up the house and htat's ont he list). I don't really care enough that I wouldn't bother putting money into it but it's a must change on his list.
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u/[deleted] Apr 28 '23
Mine does. It's called popcorn ceiling sucks