We have popcorn ceilings, like them and can't figure out why people make such a fuss over them. Reminds me of people who insist on stainless steel appliances, then admit they don't even cook. Such foolishness and drama, over nearly nothing at all. smh

The first thing I did when I purchased my house was remove the popcorn ceilings. It made the ceiling look so much taller. It also made the whole look way more modern. Best decision ever! I did it all myself too! It was so easy! I think you can have it tested for asbestos.

I've tried scraping popcorn ceilings. Never again the best idea I've seen is to cover the popcorn ceiling with one eighth thick plasterboard. Compared to scraping and the mess that creates adding a thin layer of wallboard would use a lot less of a pro's time and so cost a lot less.

We had popcorn ceilings and scraped off with water (messy). A sheetrock guy sprayed and "knocked down" texture to match the walls. Way better. We did it 15 years ago.

If you've lived with popcorn ceiling for many years and it hasn't bothered you, don't bother! You can paint and it's not a horrible thing to have popcorn ceilings.

Rb Redmond Our house was built in 1986. Popcorn ceilings were standard in the houses. If I had known what a hassle popcorn ceilings would be, I would have had the ceilings just painted. I'm not interested in up to date looks. Most of the wallpaper in our house is original and if I could find the same paper. I'd use it again. I hate that almost all of the walls have enough dings and scrapes that I've got to do something. I did not use papers that were country themed, grass cloth, prints or use borders everywhere. All those things were popular at the time. My ceilings still shed whenever I clean them. We have had water damage on small areas of the ceilings and my son managed to fall from the attic through the ceiling. Every patch is noticeably different in color. For many of us popcorn ceilings are not trivial. They make upkeep more difficult and our homes less enjoyable,

We had an older house with pop corn ceilings. We had them removed by a professional......amazingly all the rooms looked bigger after the removal!

If your ceilings are tall enough, then just have them recovered with new wallboard. We did that to our popcorn ceilings in the dining room kitchen area of our home in California and it was wonderful. No hassle, no big mess, and the ceilings were beautiful!

Previously, we had someone come in and scrape the living room and hallway ceilings. Nightmare! The mess, the extra work to repair the old plaster, simply a nightmare!

My problem is that who ever did our ceilings before we lived here, used a broom or something of the sort to make a design which is not very eye appealing at all! One room is the broom method, one room is a poor effort at some fanning which is not at all symmetrical, and the other room makes no sense at all in the design. Its been put on very thin and I'm not sure yet if it has been painted. What a nightmare!!! If worse comes to worse, looks like new drywall ceilings. Not something I payed attention to while house hunting, but it sure will be at the top of my priority list should I ever find myself leaving this place!!

I had it removed before I moved in. It's messy. But he did my whole place in a day. They use water and scrape off. I suggest you get a pro. It may have to be tested. How old is house? But so worth the money. It looks amazing. Remember you have to texture and paint ceiling. Also hire a pro. Just worth it.

We had some popcorn ceilings done when we built our house in 1975. Of course I`ve painted them a few times over the years, but they don`t bother me at all. The only thing that bothers me now is the thought that there might be asbestos in them. I'm sure my hubby has no idea.

My house has popcorn ceilings but the 2 bedroom ceilings are vaulted and the living area ceiling is 15 ft high so I just tell myself to not look up and not think about it. I would love to have it removed but it makes such a huge mess, if I had noticed it I would have had it removed before I moved in that's the best time to do it when the house is empty, but I didn't maybe some day if I take a long vacation and get it done while I'm gone and have a crew come in and clean before I return.

We are in the process of remodeling - new floors, new countertops, etc. We also removed a partial wall, which involved moving some pipes. We took drywall off the ceiling for that work. We had sort of decided to put up MORE popcorn over the new drywall, rather than trying to get the old popcorn down. About 15 years ago we painted over the popcorn, and thought it would be horrible to get down. The good news is that it is coming off easy!! Just spraying really well and letting it soak in, and it's coming down. I think we will go ahead and hold off on the flooring work for a few days and get all the popcorn down. What a mess this will be. Hope we are making the right decision!!!

I removed the popcorn ceiling in my dining room - what a mess. I would give my ability to get the ceiling totally smooth a b+, but flat white paint made it near impossible to see the imperfections. It was part of a much larger renovation of the ceiling and new crown molding. See what I did here... http://tinyurl.com/o3muqrg

Best way is to get a good drywall guy or painter or both who has been around awhile to give you an estimate - they can scrape them then paint or do what I did & get a very light spraytex texture (NOT like the popcorn texture - this one is very subtle) instead. If they are good they will take care of the mess as part of the cost. I couldn't afford to do it all at once so did main areas first few years ago - just redid kitchen now so just did that & bathroom & will eventually do bedrooms & ensuite when can afford it.

Just remember to test the texture for asbestos before scraping.

I had popcorn ceilings and absolutely HATED them! Fortunately they were not painted over, and the building was not that old, so I didn't have any asbestos concerns. Initially, I had hired a contractor to remove the popcorn. After getting some ridiculous quotes, I thought I was just going to have to live with it. One day, I just rubbed my fingers over the ceiling and noticed that the texture rubbed off! I ended up scraping them off with a paint removal tool. Soooo happy with the results!

After purchasing a vacation condo and preparing to remodel it, I commented to my contractor about a strange odor in the unit. His immediate recommendation was to remove the popcorn ceilings. He went on to explain that the texture of popcorn ceilings is a magnate for cooking odors and other odors that collect in a home. After doing an asbestos check, the crew got to work and spent the day scraping and removing all of it, By the end of the day, the odor was gone. Not only did the place smell clean and fresh, it actually felt more spacious!

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

My husband (a contractor) and I have been discussing this issue for 10+ years (every since we purchased the home). He HATES them and feels they absolutely should be removed. I do not mind them. They provide good sound reduction (very important in a home with cathedral ceilings and ceramic tile floors) while covering up God knows what. Although I would prefer something else, I cannot justify the expense, work, horrible mess necessary to correct it. They do get cobwebby, I get the long handled duster thingie and knock them down (no biggie). In the scheme of things, I have many projects that take precedence. It's just a style of ceiling, one that really works very well. If they were damaged, I would replace them with something else. Really just don't believe in taking out something perfectly good that doesn't bother me because it's not the current style.

Our first home not only had popcorn ceilings, but SPARKLES. Every single room had multicolour sparkles embedded in the popcorn in the ceiling. I spent weeks on a ladder with a spray bottle and a paint scraper. It was definitely worth it, but holy smokes it was a lot of work.

Sparkles!? Ugh! Our old home had what I still call "cottage cheese" ceilings. That name always fit better than "popcorn" to me. We never removed the stuff and, fortunately, it didn't interfere with the sale of the house. Love the non-cottage cheese ceilings in our new home.

We have popcorn on all of our ceilings in our 1971 home, even the 15' high ones! It's horrible. But it came off pretty easily - spray it and it peels right off in sheets. We found Sheetrock underneath that's 40 years old but looks brand new!

I truly hate popcorn ceiling!!! Especially if u have a leak and it leave a nice brown rings on the ceiling as a gift!.. Ugh.. I use the paint to match and lightly dabbed with artist brush very very carefully and leave it to dry before it falls off...and I sold my house..:)

I have popcorn ceilings throughout in my 1983 house. Tested the ceiling for asbestos (Cost $20) and found it was clear. Bought a 1 or 2 gallon sprayer (easier than a spray bottle) and sprayed the ceiling with mixture of vinegar and water to get very wet. Wait 10 minutes and bought a ceiling scrapper on a pole (easier to use) and it took about 30-45 minutes to remove it all. I am more put off by the mudding or skim coat to get the flat ceiling afterwards...way too much work. And if popcorn ceilings are a nightmare, try the old (built before 1900 and when records were kept here) farmhouse I had with chicken wire base and stucco plaster over it...the pattern of heavy "peaks" made it look like a mountain range all over and was a bear to dust, yet attracted spiders.....We went to remove it and a sledgehammer barely made a dent on a corner so we reversed, patched the corner and left it in place for 20 years.

This was a timely article. We are removing the popcorn ceilings THIS WEEK in our 1989 house! However, now what do we do? My husband and I don't agree. He thinks that the ceiling should still have some kind of texture added. I think that we should just leave the ceilings flat/plain. Thoughts??

grandmanet......I would leave the ceilings flat as they recede/make ceilings look higher without the unnecessary texture. Acoustical or Popcorn ceilings were placed as a cheap method to avoid taping and mudding blemishes, and it has NO acoustical abilities (An engineer told me that). Texure on a ceiling gets dirtier, or has spider webs more easily (even "Orange peel texture"). If you are hiring someone to do the texture it is just as easy to have the ceilings done by a drywaller (Skim coat OR mudded at seams and depressions). And I think you may be happier with the outcome...just make sure the drywaller does the job to your complete satisfaction for a smooth finish.

"Textured" ceilings (popcorn, orange peel) were invented by developers as a cheaper way to finish drywall. Only "special" textures (to replicate a finish like a faux finish, marbeling effect, etc) should be done in homes, not "developer textures"...it makes the home look cheaper too. Just my opinion.

Roseglow3-- Where did you send you sample to get it tested??

an environmental lab in the city, we have several in Houston. I had my testing done in 1991, I took the samples and hand delivered these to a lab. You get the results in a few days.

We are now popcorn free YEAH!! Such a mess, but so worth it. We figured we were going to replace the carpets, so this was the perfect time to do the ceilings. Didn't matter that the old carpets ended up getting a little messy, they are getting ripped out on Monday anyway. We did the ceilings, painted, added crown molding and new floor boards all through out the house... all this because the icemaker leaked and ruined a wall and carpeting... it's the domino effect LOL

Little bit different but could someone link me to a thread about removing the paint that looks like someone mixed sand in? I don't know what it's called but don't want to start a duplicate thread. Thanks!

Sand what a disaster. THe previous owners added sand to the pain on the walls. I am faces with re-drywalling the walls or adding a skim coat to the walls-- expensive and messy.

Try a drywallers' flat wide mud trowel or scraper..You would have a lot of work to scrape every inch of the wall but save money in new drywall. Of course, by the time you scraped the sand off you might think new drywall was worth it. But , It (scraping) does depend on how much sane was added to the paint. On some finishes you can use an electric sander on them to smooth the drywall (such a "orange peel")

Re skim if you must ,I dont mind them and there is a small portion of asbestos in them ,as we found after after a bathroom flood ,the insurance people sent along mobile showers outside ,and two men in white hazmat suits and masks ,they removed every last trace of dust ,etc then had a shower outside ,we
Looked like we had vermin!

App its pre 1980in the uk,that the asbestos was in ,but lifes too short to scrape it,it was tested in advance by the same company,that removed it

Roseglow, I'll have to look at the wide trowel to skim coat. I tried scraping, sanding with an electric sander with no success.

I have been asked during small faux finishing projects to also remove popcorn ceilings (in newer construction homes [no asbestos issues]). I found that putting down disposable drops, then spraying the ceiling surface with a pump garden sprayer filled with warm water makes the job (and cleanup) super easy. Yes, it is time consuming, but really finishes a room beautifully. I also like to use a 3-4" plaster knife/spatula for removal at a 20-30° angle...the popcorn easily comes off in strips. I also highly recommend a headlamp and head covering of some sort. Safety goggles also keep the particles out of your eyes.

Good & easy instructions. Now, if it were that simple without all the mess and carpel tunnel! hah.

I put a bit of vinegar in the water solution to soften the popcorn faster

Once you have removed the popcorn, there is an alternative to skim coating to perfection. Get rid of large lumps and dips but you don't have to make your ceiling perfect for this.

You can cover your ceilings with beadboard wallpaper or another paintable wallpaper. Several patterns are available, including some that look like the old tin ceilings as well as more modern patterns. You can find or order it through your local hardware store. Graham and Brown (online) has the best quality beadboard wallpaper (learned that online). I've used that to cover orange-peel textured walls directly and the texture didn't show through. It's not expensive, and it looks like real beadboard.

You'll need at least two people with two ladders to do this job. It also helps to have a person standing on the floor using a wide push broom to help hold the paper up as it is being applied.

OH please no, not Anaglypta wallpaper !

Removing popcorn is not just very messy, but in older homes there is also a danger of exposing yourself to asbestos.. Anything oil based also carries the danger of exposure to VOCs, and oil-based finishes also harm the environment more than water based ones.

There is a better solution. We're talking no mess, no dust, no toxic vapours (in fact, no vapours at all), with a finish as smooth as a mirror and unlimited design options. It's called stretch ceiling. A fully recyclable membrane is stretched across the ceiling, either over an existing ceiling, or in a new build, instead of installing drywall and covering it with popcorn. Tracks, or profiles, screwed into the walls or existing ceiling around the edges hold the membrane in place. These profiles and the membrane take up less than one inch of room height.

If you later desire a change, a new membrane can be inserted into the same tracks, or the tracks can be unscrewed and the screw holes easily filled with a little bit of filler. You will not need to do this as maintenance, however. The system lasts a lifetime.

We take care of installation for you, and installation is included in the price that we quote.

We carry over 280 colours, in high gloss, matte, satin, and fine canvas-textured finishes.

Here are a few examples, please feel free to visit our profile for more, and add them to your ideabooks!

Call us for a quote, we do not charge for a site measure/quote in areas that are near our offices. If you are further away, you can still get a free quote by supplying us with your measurement information. We have a network of authorized dealers across North America and beyond.

You can take a small sample and send this out to test for asbestos. If it is present, then you hire an abatement company to remove the material. It is easy and simple this way. Then your painter can float and paint the ceiling.

We are in the process of removing two popcorn ceilings at two different residences. One with asbestos (that an abatement company will handle) and one without that I will handle. :)

The only thing worse than popcorn ceilings is 8 ft. Popcorn ceilings!

we have only one popcorn ceiling left in our 1986 vacation home, i cant wait til that last room is redone. ugh and ugh.

We had a plaster guy plaster over the popcorn ceilings. They are beautiful. Wold never know there is popcorn under there.

YEP!! Mostly dealt with them all myself. Here's a whole post I wrote about it:
All Different Kinds of Ceiling Treatments!

Once again, I can't believe all the time and money people waste trying to remove what was meant to be there! They cut down on noise, and the person who said they don't is an idiot! I have lived in homes with both popcorn and flat. The popcorn ceilings dampened the "echo chanber" effect in every one! I also have never had a problem painting over them, and I wouldn't waste my time or money removing it, if it's there. In my own house, it makes for a nice contrast. When you live in a plalin box, it helps to brighten the room. I learned years ago, a good decorator works with what is there, now it's all those HGTV shows, that are there to sell products, nothing else! And don't even ask my opinion of stainless steel appliances!

We has popcorn throughout our house and removed it. For sure, it looks so much better and brighter and taller now. We don't have any issues with sound since the flooring is still carpet. It does give a more modern spacious and bright feel - I love it!

Years ago we were remodeling our daughters bedrooms and I wanted to get rid of the popcorn ceilings. For the first room I did what I was advised and used a pump sprayer to wet the ceiling and scrape it off. It worked but it was tedious.

The second day my husband came home from work to find me in the second bedroom with the garden hose. The floors were still concrete at this point and the ceiling was slick and de-corned in no time!