The Professional Removal Process

Because of the inherently messy nature of scraping popcorn ceiling texture we must take some time to prepare the room and protect your belongings. The easiest way to do this is by removing all furniture and fixtures from the room. Then we cover the walls and floor with two layers of plastic to protect them from the water in step 2. If the popcorn ceiling contains asbestos the plastic works to contain any asbestos fibers that may become airborne during removal so your home will not be contaminated in the process. We also set up negative air machines to keep air flowing into the containment (instead of out and around your home) and through HEPA filters as an added precaution against contamination.

Step 2: Wet The Ceiling

In order to scrape the texture off the drywall it must first be sprayed with water to loosen its hold. This is where many people make a mistake when attempting to do it on their own. Over wetting the texture will soak through and damage the drywall while under wetting will make it difficult to scrape off and increase the likelihood of gouging the drywall.

Step 3: Scrape The Texture

Once the water has had a chance to soak in we begin scraping the texture off with ceiling texture scrapers and putty knives a few inches at a time. The slow pace of progress (and the burning in their triceps) here is what trips people up during DIY projects. Attempting to work too quickly will result in gouges or uneven removal.

Step 4: Clean-Up & Disposal

After the texture has been scraped off, we bag it all up and collect any excess water. An optional air test can be run at this point to establish a fiber count before the plastic containment is removed.