Popcorn Ceiling Texture Removal

Our post on popcorn ceiling texture removal was widely read, so I thought to follow up by creating a page specifically for popcorn ceiling removal advice.

So first off there is the obvious choice.

1. DIY Popcorn Ceiling Removal

2. Hiring a contractor to remove your popcorn ceilings.

The driver for that decision is often based on price, so what is the cost of popcorn ceiling removal?

Lets use an example of a 1500 sf home.

If you want to do it yourself anticipate:

$100 for plastic and tape

$20 for sheetrock joint compound to repair and skim coat

$200 for sheetrock joint compound if you want to retexture with orange peel, knock down, or other.

$175 for primer, you will need to prime the ceiling before you paint

$300 for paint depending on the paint manufacturer of course

$30 for some good scrapers/mud knives to both remove the popcorn with, and skim-coat. I recommend buying a 12 inch and a six inch knife.

And you are going to need:

100 man hours at a minimum

Ladders of varying height

A pump sprayer or soft spraying hose attachment

A compress and hopper for some textures

Painting tools – buckets, rollers, brushes OR A SPRAY RIG (RECOMMENDED)

Now lets say you want to hire a contractor.

The price for just popcorn removal is usually around $.85 per square foot, But you will still need to patch, skim-coat or texture, prime and paint.

The price for what I call a full service popcorn removal will be around $2.00 to $2.50 per square foot. This will include Removal, Patch, Retexture or Skim Coat, Prime and Paint.

I will be adding to this ASAP, but I thought it would be good just to get the price for popcorn removal in Dallas out there.

Please leave me a comment, or ask questions.