“How to remove popcorn ceiling” is one of those questions you’ll ponder if, well, you find yourself afflicted with popcorn ceilings—an old-fashioned home decor trend which had its heyday in the 1950s and ’60s but has since fallen far out of favor.
If you dream of smoothing over that unsightly, bumpy texture, you can hire a popcorn ceiling removal pro to remove the popcorn ceiling for an average national price of $1 to $2 a square foot. But that adds up quickly. So before you hire anyone, make sure your popcorn removal includes all of the cleanup, because boy is it messy.
The other option is to learn how to remove a popcorn ceiling yourself. The good news is that this DIY route is not difficult in a technical way; it requires no special knowledge and only a few tools. The bad news is that it’s hard work. If you have to scrape a coffered popcorn ceiling, it will take even longer. But isn’t it worth a day or two of backbreaking labor for gloriously smooth ceilings?
Here are the tools you need and steps to take to remove a popcorn ceiling.
Check for asbestos
If your popcorn was applied before 1977, there’s a chance there could be a small amount of asbestos mixed in with the chalk and wallboard compound used to create this material. (Some builders may have continued to use their inventory of supplies containing asbestos even after the asbestos laws went into effect.)
“Before you do anything, buy a home kit and test it for asbestos,” advises Danny Lipford of Today’s Homeowner. Even if you find that your popcorn ceiling contains asbestos, you can probably still do the removal yourself (check for any local laws about asbestos removal and disposal). You’ll just need to be careful with the dust and wear a disposable crawl suit, respirator, and goggles.
Not sure if you’re cut out for this kind of work? Lipford suggests starting small, with a bathroom or other smaller area, to give yourself the opportunity to bail if it’s too time-consuming, or if things go bad.
Get your tools and make a plan
How to remove a popcorn ceiling? Here are the tools you’ll need:
- Clothes that can be destroyed: “Don’t wear the clothes you’re planning to wear to a wedding,” says Lipford. A disposable crawl suit with a hood that you can just strip off afterward is a good choice to wear while scraping ($7.60, Amazon). Lipford also recommends wearing a hat and eye protection to keep yourself from getting hit with falling glop.
- A sprayer: You’ll need a garden sprayer ($9.97, Amazon) and some fabric softener.
- A scraper: Any 6- to 10-inch drywall knife will work as a scraper, but to make life easier, Lipford suggests a special popcorn scraper tool from Homax ($21.99, Homax), which has a loop to attach a garbage bag, so you can scrape right into the bag instead of onto the floor.
- Drywall joint compound and putty knife: The compound is also known as “mud” ($5.48, Lowe’s). You can use your scraper as a putty knife.
- A sander: The easiest is a drywall pole sander ($19.98, Lowe’s), which has a pivot and a pole that let you sand the entire ceiling while standing on the floor.
- Paint and roller: “Most ceilings are painted flat-white latex,” says Lipford. Get enough for two coats. A great tip is to buy the kind of ceiling paint with primer included. If you’re painting the walls, an easy way to avoid having to cut in the top wall edges is to paint the walls and ceiling the same color.
- Light and fan: Not absolutely necessary, but it’s nice to have some extra light pointed at the ceiling to see what you’re doing and a fan to help things dry in between tasks.
Clear and cover everything
If you can move out the furniture, do it. Otherwise, cover everything in the room with plastic sheeting like it’s going to have gobs of wet plaster falling onto it, because that is what is going to happen. Lipford suggests a plastic-lined dropcloth ($6.98, Lowe’s) to protect your furniture and floors from the hailstorm of wet popcorn above. Don’t forget to protect or remove light fixtures before you start scraping.
Spray it down
Fill your garden sprayer with the hottest water you possibly can (just boiled is best), and add some fabric softener (about a quarter-cup per quart of water). The fabric softener will help it adhere to the popcorn ceiling. Start by wetting down a 6-square-foot area of the ceiling.
“Spray more than you think you need,” advises Lipford. Let it sit for a minute or two to get fully wet.
How to remove popcorn ceiling
The cathartic moment: scraping off the wet popcorn. It feels good, doesn’t it? Use your scraper for carefully scraping off the popcorn texture, trying to minimize gouging or damaging the ceiling drywall beneath. Either drop the popcorn texture into the bag if you’re using the Homax scraper or right onto the floor.
Scrape in 6-square-foot sections until the popcorn ceiling is done. You don’t have to scrape off every last scrap; you can get the rest during the sanding phase.
Take a break from popcorn ceiling removal
Once all of the wet popcorn on the ceiling has been removed, walk away for an hour to let the goop on the floor dry, then shake it into the trash and replace the dropcloths. You’re done for the day. Let the ceiling dry overnight before moving onto the next step. A fan blowing on the ceiling will accelerate drying.
Sand off imperfections
Using your sanding pole (or even just a handheld sander and ladder), carefully shave off any bumps or remaining popcorn.
“You shouldn’t have to do a lot of sanding, just knock off anything you missed,” says Lipford. Take care not to tear the drywall ceiling if possible. It should be “like scrubbing a floor to make sure it’s clean,” says Lipford.
Repair any gouges
Skim out any imperfections or gouges you see on the ceiling with your drywall compound. You’re going for a flat, clean ceiling. Let that dry completely, inspect it, and do any sanding or touch-ups as necessary.
“Do a close visual inspection,” advises Lipford, because this is what your ceiling texture is going to look like. That little bump that will bug you every time you see it? Fix it now.
Time to paint!
Finish your ceiling off with two coats of paint, trimming around the edges with a brush and filling in with the roller. Now that you know how to remove a popcorn ceiling, welcome to a popcorn-free existence.