Popcorn ceilings in most of our house

What is the easiest, cheapest best way to get rid of the popcorn ceilings? Any help would be appreciated.
Ellen Row

  7 answers
  • Easy is not in this equation, sorry. Check out these links.


    https://www.familyhandyman.com/drywall/ceiling-texture/how-to-remove-a-popcorn-ceiling/view-all/


    https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/3-ways-to-deal-popcorn-ceiling


    And if you want to have it done, you can get a ballpark estimate here.


    https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/walls-and-ceilings/remove-popcorn-ceiling/


    For my area Home Adisor is off, much lower than actual cost - so take what they say with a grain of salt.

  • GeezLouise860 GeezLouise860 on Jan 25, 2018

    dont look up....sorry I couldn’t resist. I know it’s a big job. best wishes.

  • Carole Carole on Jan 25, 2018

    When I removed ours, I would spritz a small area with water...then scrape it with a trowel. You want to use a mask, in case you get into the dry part. Once everything was scraped off, it left the seams rough. You will probably need to sand them and maybe feather them out with another layer of mud. Good luck.

  • Denise Roberts Denise Roberts on Jan 26, 2018

    Go to This Old House website, they always have the answers. If the house is older than 1990 there will be asbestos up there. www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/3-ways-to-deal-popcorn-ceiling

  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Jan 26, 2018

    Like everyone has said, this is not an easy job. It is tedious and just plain frustrating hard work. Check for Asbestos before you start. Asbestos calls for abatement codes! Be careful!


    And once the popcorn is gone, you may find another entire set of problems and cost. The area may have to be floated out and made smooth for painting.


    I would move before I tackled taking down popcorn ceilings myself unless I was extremely efficient in sheetrock work!




  • Doris Doris on Jan 27, 2018

    One other thing that hasn't yet been mentioned is that in order to fully remove popcorn, it can't have been painted in the past. If it's 'virgin' popcorn ceilings, it's a messy, but in my mind, worthwhile endeavour. Once the ceiling has been painted though, it won't come off. You're almost better off just re-sheetrocking the ceiling over top of the popcorn.


    I had popcorn ceilings all over my new condo. One weekend I decided I couldn't take popcorn in the bathrooms anymore and scraped it all off. Because it was new construction, I didn't run into any of the problems Jeanette alludes to nor did I have a problem with seams as Carole mentions. I did have some patching to do where I gouged the ceiling with the putty knife - too anxious to get rid of the popcorn! If you're going to go this route, make sure the entire room is masked and covered with plastic. This stuff gets EVERYWHERE and is a big 'lessons learned' for me.


    There are lots of sites that give tips on how to remove it. My method was much like Carole's. Spritz water over a small area, wait a few minutes for it to soak in (don't get it dripping wet...just damp), and then scrape with a wide putty knife. It doesn't take long, it's just messy, but the end result is worth it!

  • Caseyem11 Caseyem11 on Jan 27, 2018

    i would cover the ceilings with sheetrock.