We removed the popcorn and it mades such a difference!

I mean..... made such a difference !

scrape it to flat we did all ours and look so much better

Yup, get rid of the popcorn.

definitely flat

Agree- flat!

Yes go flat type, Popcorn is easy to take off, you need to spray it with water and scrap. Also some popcorn spray at that time is asbestos filled, yes you could get away with it but will hurt you in health way bad for you. Money cost, check if it is. But do take it off.

Ken

Given the choice, I prefer smooth ceilings, but popcorn and other textures bother me so little that I can't muster the effort to remove them. I have much more important things to do with my time.

If y'all are that bothered by them, knock yourselves out. I prefer staying conscious. :)

As for asbestos, keep the stuff wet while you're working on it and you have nothing to worry about. Well, except for disposing of the wet slop you've scraped off. For that, you call city hall and ask where to take it.

A 1994 kitchen would not have an asbestos-containing ceiling. Asbestos was banned for this use in 1978, although applicators could use up their available stocks after that. So, it's probably safe to say that a home built from about 1980-onwards would not have asbestos in a popcorn ceiling.

However, for those who do have older popcorn ceilings that could well be asbestos-containing, you need to do more than "keep the stuff wet" to avoid contamination of your home, or personal exposure:

How to remove popcorn ceiling

If you want to make sure whether or not a popcorn ceiling contains asbestos, regardless of how old you think it is, you can get a small sample tested at a certified laboratory for a small fee (typically less than $100).

Flat .

We're in the process of having our circa 1979 popcorn ceilings removed right now. It's amazing how much better they look with just the popcorn removed. I don't like knockdown either, so we're doing a light texture on the ceilings. You probably won't know what the condition of the original taping job on your ceiling was until the popcorn is actually gone. In our case, a light texture was our only viable choice.

Just to let you know about popcorn. I've come across a few different ways it's done/applied.

First one was at my sister's. I was helping her paint her 1978 built kitchen/dining area and ceiling, it was original to house and never been painted before. As we were painting the popcorn textured ceiling almost as soon as the paint touched it with a paint roller it started falling apart, falling off. So we just started scraping it off. We realized when we started that moistening it helped it come off easier rather than doing it while dry, also kept dust down. We found out later the process used was ground up drywall sprayed on somehow, that's why it turned to mush. To tell you the truth I have no idea if it contained asbestos.

The second kind has bits of perlite (what I have in home built 1990), or something similar, and doesn't fall off ceiling while painting as easily but will if you're not careful. (done with a paint roller on sister and mine)

Anyway....If you think you would want to get rid of popcorn sometime in the future it's best if you do it before a coat of paint over the original finish is done. The new paint will make it a bit more difficult in the future. A lot of people paint popcorn ceilings with a paint sprayer because they do tend to fall apart while painting.

My other sister is fine with hers popcorn ceiling and checked with paint store on how to paint popcorn. She was told, and use their recommendation. First paint with a oil based primer, because its the water content of acrylic paint that makes popcorn fall apart. Then second coat of acrylic ceiling paint over the oil based primer.

I hate hate hate popcorn and would love a flat, or knock down. Just don't have the ambition to do myself and can't afford to hire it out. You will gain a little if you want to sell in the future. Plenty of people hate popcorn, but homes are not always about the ceiling.

If anyone is painting popcorn ceiling, yes, it will turn to mush like izzy described, sometimes. However, if you coat it with a coat of oil based bonding sealing primer, and let it dry, then you can paint it without any problems. It is water based paints, that make it get mushy, however, with a good sealing primer, latex will roll on just fine.

I am remodeling a kitchen in a 1994 built home. I have popcorn ceilings throughout the house. I am considering painting the kitchen popcorn

Popcorn ceilings are especially horrible in a kitchen where any airborne grease will settle on it. Where the grease will be a magnet for dust & lint...

Thanks for all the comments. I am having them scrape it to a flat ceiling and ditching the popcorn. Much more modern look and far easier to keep clean.