Popcorn Ceiling Removal near you

The texture is a sprayed mixture that dries into small clumps or ridges. It ranges from fine to coarse, is sometimes flecked with glitter, and has often been painted over more than once. It shows up mostly on bedroom, living room and hallway ceilings, and less often in kitchens and bathrooms, where humidity softens it.

Older textured ceilings may contain asbestos. The Quebec government says asbestos products were used in construction in Quebec mainly between 1930 and 1990, and its list of materials that may contain asbestos includes wall and ceiling coatings such as stucco, along with acoustic tiles and soundproof ceilings. Health Canada notes that asbestos was mainly used in homes before 1990 and advises hiring a professional to test for it before renovating.

Scraping, sanding or prying at the texture releases fibres if asbestos is present, and they spread through the house on air currents and clothing. A ceiling in good condition that's left alone is generally not a hazard while you wait for results. A professional takes samples and a laboratory analyzes them; the Quebec government's page points to a list of laboratories kept by the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST).

If the test is positive, removal is specialist work for a qualified asbestos removal contractor who seals off the area, controls dust and disposes of the waste properly. The Quebec government is explicit: never do the work yourself when asbestos has been found.

Once you know what the texture contains, there are three ways to a smooth ceiling. The right one depends on the test result, the condition of the ceiling underneath and how much disruption the household can live with.

Even when the texture tests clean, removal is one of the messiest jobs in home renovation: wet texture falls in clumps, sticks to floors and gets tracked through the house, and sanding the new ceiling adds fine dust. Most of the effort goes into preparation.

Many textured ceilings were repainted over the years, and in older homes some of those coats may contain lead. If the house was built before 1960, Health Canada says it probably contains lead-based paint, and it warns that sanding or using heat to strip that paint creates toxic dust and fumes. The texture itself may be newer than the house, but the paint over it, or on the surfaces around it, can still be old.

Asbestos and lead call for separate tests, and a negative result for one doesn't rule out the other. Ask for the paint to be checked along with the texture. If lead is found, the contractor should keep surfaces damp, contain the work, avoid power sanding and clean up thoroughly, with children and pregnant women kept away from the work area.

A ceiling that has lost its texture shows everything the texture used to hide: joints, old patches and uneven compound. That's why removal is followed by repairs, a skim coat where needed and sanding checked under a work light held at a low angle, before any paint goes on.