Before you remove the popcorn or attempt any more repairs, have it tested for asbestos. It was commonly used in this type of ceiling, typically with the most dangerous form of the material.

Thanks - house built in 2000 so we should be good

REMOVE! You will be so happy you did.

If you are fine with texture, you may be able to have the whole thing skim coated and simply change it from popcorn to a different texture. At least then it would be uniform.

Another option is to drywall over it. It may not be worth it for you since you know the popcorn isnt asbestos, but it would make less mess.

Thanks everyone- Marigold would your suggestion of a skim coat still involve taking off the existing popcorn? Or can it go over it?

I would definitely remove it and would want it done now, when you have the opportunity to do so.

I had popcorn removed and it was such a difference - it completely brightened the room and just made it more attractive. My ceiling did have asbestos so required removal by special hazmat team.

When you say you can't remove furniture do you mean that the furniture can't be moved at all. I think it would be difficult to have work done without having furniture moved. I would think the furniture could be moved to one area and then covered with drop cloths and then moved again but I can't imagine if furniture literally had to remain where it was and they had to work around the furniture - however minimal.

When I have had workers doing work in my home they have been very careful of surroundings - moving items; covering items and even creating a plastic room when they did some repair work on my wood floor which would generate debris.

Thank you both. Yes the furniture can be moved around, just not moved fully outside of the house, and some large/heavy items might be a pain to move. We also have garage space we could use. The ceiling height is the main concern, along with the long lead times that contractors have and the increasing costs of building supplies. There's a possibility we will move during the next 6-12 months so have to take that into account too

here is a video of a fellow doing it https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=skim+coat+a+popcorn+ceiling+#kpvalbx=_P7rjYLWKGIaU-gSNy6KIDA18

My sis was thinking about buying a condo with popcorn and asbestos, and was told that they could skim coat and the ceiling would be flat. She decided against the purchase, but I do wonder if they would have been able to make it flat enough to meet her approval in any case.

Thanks, I will look at the video. If there's a way to put a coating over it that sounds like a good compromise.

You could drywall over with a thinner drywall. Still will require taping and mudding though.

I can’t imagine skim coating would truly cover all those bumps - I’d opt for removing it. It may not be as bad as you think and it will look beautiful afterwards!

Get rid of the popcorn ceiling❣️

Popcorn is easy to take down. And not horribly messy.

I removed it from a huge living room--moving furniture out of the way as I worked.

Canvas drop cloth on the floor. Garden pump-up sprayer filled with warm water. Add some dish soap (makes water 'wetter'.) .Spray a section of ceiling with the soapy water. Allow to soak it. Use a wide drywall knife to scrape & a drywall hawk to catch the peelings . I kept a large garbage can close to the ladder so it was convenient to clean the hawk off directly into the garbage can.

Assuming the popcorn has never been painted, the job goes fast and easy.

If the popcorn has been painted, first thing--use the wide drywall knife to lightly scape some of the popcorn off. This opens the texture up and allows the soapy water to soak in past & behind the paint.