Walls and ceilings
Popcorn ceiling removal cost
Two rooms of unpainted popcorn — 400 sq ft — wet-scraped, skim-coated, primed and painted are about $1,650, and the scraping is a third of that: the skim coat and the paint that a "removal" quote leaves off are the rest. Painted texture does not scrape and is skimmed over for $1,642. And any ceiling from before 1980 is tested first — $110 that decides between a painter at $1,760 and a licensed crew at $4,096, or new drywall over it at $2,100. This reads the ceiling, prices the four ways it can be done, and does not stop at the scrape.
Written and edited by Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Last reviewed 2026-09-23 · Nothing you type leaves your browser
Popcorn ceiling removal cost calculator
The ceiling, and what it is allowed to be
Unpainted texture scrapes. Painted texture is skimmed over. Texture from before 1980 is tested first, and a positive is a licensed crew or a cover-over. The calculator picks, or you can.
Length × width of every room being done.
For the furniture and the masking.
Stilts and a pole.
After the ban: scrapeable if unpainted.
Not needed after the ban, cheap anyway.
Bare texture soaks and comes off.
Unpainted, tested or post-1980: it wet-scrapes.
Two coats of flat ceiling white.
Out or wrapped, per room.
A painter's crew, per square foot.
Used only to pick a regional labour rate. It stays in your browser.
Wet-scrape it off
$1,650
$4 per sq ft, finished and painted · getting the texture off is 34% of it · 32 crew hours
The scrape is a third of it
Getting the texture off is $560. The ceiling underneath was never finished — the joints and dimples were hidden by the popcorn — so $380 of skim coat and $480 of primer and paint are the rest, and they are on no quote for "popcorn removal".
The $110 that decides
Test any ceiling from before 1980.
Sprayed texture from before the ban is presumed to contain asbestos until a lab says otherwise, and the fibres are released by exactly the scraping that removes it. Two samples the size of a coin, mailed in, are the difference between a painter with a scraper and a crew in respirators — and cheap enough to buy on a ceiling from any year.
One ceiling, four ways
Scraped, skimmed over, covered, or removed by a licensed crew — finished and painted.
What the crew charges for
- Wet-scraping 400 sq ft
Sprayed with water, left ten minutes, and pushed off with a wide blade into a plastic-lined floor. Fast on texture that was never painted, and it leaves a ceiling that needs a skim coat before it is flat.$560 - Skim coat to flat
A skim coat over the scraped ceiling — the joints and nail dimples were never finished under popcorn — sanded flat. Level 4 at least; level 5 under a gloss or a raking window.$380 - Primer and two coats
A sealing primer and two coats of flat ceiling white. Fresh joint compound drinks paint, and a ceiling painted without primer flashes at every seam.$480 - Plastic and masking
Plastic on every floor and wall, taped at the top, and the furniture out or wrapped. Wet popcorn goes everywhere.$72 - The wet mess out
Heavy, wet, and bagged on the plastic.$48 - Furniture, 2 rooms
Out, or to the middle and wrapped.$110
What it costs
National average. 400 sq ft of ceiling in 2 rooms, wet-scrape it off, skim-coated, primed and painted. Not included: repairs to cracked or sagging drywall found under the texture, light fixtures moved or replaced, or walls repainted after the ceiling.
Drywall that turns out cracked or water-stained under the texture is on the drywall repair page; the walls, if the room is being done at the same time, on the interior painting page.
Worth knowing
- Unpainted, tested or post-1980: it wet-scrapes. Sprayed with water, left ten minutes, and pushed off with a wide blade into a plastic-lined floor. Fast on texture that was never painted, and it leaves a ceiling that needs a skim coat before it is flat.
- Getting the texture off is $560 of this — 34 per cent. The ceiling underneath was never finished for paint: the joints and nail dimples were hidden by the popcorn, so a skim coat ($380) and primer and paint ($480) are the rest, and they are on no quote for 'popcorn removal'.
On this page — 5 sections
Test first
The short version
- Bare, post-1980: scrape. $1,650 for 400 sq ft, finished. The scrape is a third of it.
- Painted: skim over. $1,642. Sealed texture does not soak.
- Before 1980: $110 of lab test first. Positive is $4,096 abated or $2,100 covered.
- Finish and paint are two thirds of the bill, and on no quote for “removal”.
Sprayed ceiling texture from before 1980 is presumed to contain asbestos until a laboratory says it does not — the ban was 1978, and stock was sprayed for years after — and the fibres are released by exactly the scraping that removes it. Two samples the size of a coin, wetted before they are cut and mailed in, cost about $110 and decide between a painter with a scraper and a licensed crew in respirators under plastic. Nothing on a pre-1980 ceiling is touched until the answer is back, and the test is cheap enough to buy on a ceiling from any year.
| Tested clear, or post-1980 | Tested positive | |
|---|---|---|
| Who does it | A painting crew | A licensed abatement crew, or covered |
| 400 sq ft, finished and painted | $1,760 | $4,096 abated · $2,100 covered |
| Containment | Plastic on the floor and walls | Sealed room, negative air, clearance test |
| The waste | Bagged, heavy and wet | Hazardous, labelled, licensed site |
| Yourself | $553 and 32 hours | Covering it only |
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency / OSHA, Asbestos in sprayed-on ceiling texture — testing, removal and encapsulation · checked 2026-09-23
The scrape is a third of it
Wet scraping is fast: water sprayed on, ten minutes, a wide blade, and bare texture comes off in sheets onto the plastic. It is also the cheap part. The drywall underneath was never finished for paint — the texture was sprayed to hide the joints and the nail dimples — so when it is off, every one shows, and a skim coat over the whole ceiling is what makes it flat. Then a sealing primer, because fresh compound drinks paint and flashes at every seam without one, and two coats of flat ceiling white.
On 400 sq ft that is 560 of scraping and 860 of finishing and painting. A quote for “popcorn removal” at a dollar a foot is the first number, and the ceiling is not done at it.
$560
The scrape, 400 sq ft
34% of the job
$380
Skim coat to flat
Joints and dimples were hidden
$480
Primer and two coats
Compound drinks paint
$1,170
Left unpainted
against $1,650
MaterialsEstimator, Popcorn ceiling removal price survey · checked 2026-09-23
Painted texture does not scrape
Paint seals the texture. The water beads instead of soaking, the popcorn stays hard, and the scraper skates or gouges. It can be forced — scored, soaked again and again, scraped by main strength — at about twice the hours, and it is rarely worth it: skim-coating over the painted texture, with the high points knocked down and two or three coats of compound troweled flat, comes out at about the same money and flatter. Covering the whole ceiling with new 3/8 in drywall is the other route, and the right one for a ceiling that is cracked or sagging under the texture.
| 400 sq ft, finished and painted | Getting it off or covered | Flat and painted | All in | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wet-scrape it off | $560 | $860 | $1,650 | $4.13 |
| Skim-coat over it | $980 | $480 | $1,642 | $4.11 |
| Cover it with new drywall | $1,280 | $480 | $1,990 | $4.97 |
| Licensed asbestos removal | $2,800 | $860 | $4,096 | $10.24 |
Two furnished rooms, 8 ft ceilings. The abatement row includes the test and the clearance.
Before the plastic goes up
On the list
- The year. Before 1980, the test is the first purchase; after, it is a cheap comfort.
- Two samples from two rooms, wetted before they are cut, in zip bags, to a lab. Nothing scraped until the result.
- Spray a corner: bare texture softens in ten minutes, painted beads. Painted is skimmed over.
- Every room's length and width, and the ceiling height.
- The rooms emptied, or the furniture line on the quote. Light fixtures and fans down first.
- The quote in three parts: off or covered, skim to flat, primer and paint. A one-line 'removal' quote stops at the first.
- Pre-1978 and painted: lead-safe work, and one more reason to skim over rather than scrape.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (40 CFR 745) — pre-1978 housing · checked 2026-09-23
What goes wrong
01Scraping a 1970s ceiling without a test
Presumed asbestos, and the scraping is what puts the fibres in the air — in a house people live in.
Instead — Two samples and $110. Then a painter, or a licensed crew, or drywall over it.
02Budgeting the scrape
The scrape is $560 of a $1,650 ceiling. The skim coat and the paint are the rest, and the ceiling is not done without them.
Instead — The quote in three parts, and the calculator's finished price.
03Trying to scrape painted texture
Paint seals it; the water beads and the blade skates or gouges the drywall.
Instead — Skim over it — $1,642 — or cover it.
04Paint straight onto the skim coat
Fresh compound drinks paint unevenly and every seam flashes in raking light.
Instead — A sealing primer, then two coats of flat ceiling white.
05A dry scrape to save the mess
Dust everywhere, a gouged ceiling, and on old texture the fibres airborne.
Instead — Wet, ten minutes, a wide blade, plastic on everything.
06Abating a positive ceiling that could have been covered
Removal is $4,096; new drywall over it, with the asbestos sealed in place, is $2,100 and allowed.
Instead — Cover it, unless the ceiling is coming down anyway or the rules where you are say otherwise.
07One room at a time
The crew's minimum and the plastic set-up are paid every visit; the second room on the same visit is nearly free.
Instead — Every popcorn ceiling in the house on one visit.
08Leaving the fixtures up
Wet popcorn and compound fall on fans and lights, and the fixture's footprint stays textured.
Instead — Fans and fixtures down before the plastic goes up, back after the paint.
- 01Find the yearThe year the house was built, or the ceiling textured. Before 1980, it is tested before anything else.
- 02Test itTwo coin-sized samples from two rooms, wetted before they are cut, mailed to a lab. About a hundred dollars, and the answer decides everything after.
- 03Check whether it is paintedSpray a corner: bare texture darkens and softens in ten minutes; painted texture beads and stays hard. Painted is skimmed over, not scraped.
- 04Measure the ceilingsLength times width of every room being done. The crew's minimum covers one; the second is nearly free.
- 05Price the finish, not just the scrapeSkim coat, primer and two coats are two thirds of a scraped ceiling's cost, and they are on no quote for 'removal'.
- 06Compare the fourScrape, skim over, cover with drywall, or abate — the calculator prices all four finished and painted, and fades the ones this ceiling rules out.
Popcorn was sprayed to hide bad drywall, and a scraped ceiling sometimes shows why — cracks, stains and old repairs are priced on the drywall repair page.
What is under the texture- Popcorn ceiling
- Sprayed acoustic texture — vermiculite or polystyrene in a binder — applied to ceilings from the 1950s to the 1990s to hide bad drywall and deaden sound.
- Wet scraping
- Spraying the texture with water, waiting ten minutes, and pushing it off with a wide blade. Works on bare texture; painted texture does not soak.
- Skim coat
- Thin coats of joint compound troweled over a whole ceiling to make it flat — after a scrape, or over painted texture instead of one.
- Level 4 / Level 5
- Drywall finish grades. Level 4 is flat enough for flat paint; level 5 is a full skim for gloss paint or a raking window.
- Encapsulation
- Leaving asbestos texture in place and sealing it under new drywall or a coating. Allowed by the rules, and often cheaper than removal.
- Abatement
- Removal of asbestos material by a licensed crew under containment and negative air, with the waste bagged as hazardous and the air tested clear.
- Air clearance
- Air sampling after abatement, before the containment comes down. The proof the room is clean, and required.
- Presumed asbestos-containing
- What the rules call sprayed texture from before 1980 until a lab sample says otherwise. The sample costs a few dollars; the presumption costs thousands.
- Lead-safe work
- The EPA rule for disturbing paint in a pre-1978 house: containment, wet methods, a certified firm. Painted popcorn from that era falls under it.
- Negative air
- A filtered fan that keeps the sealed room at lower pressure than the house, so fibres cannot leave. Standard in abatement.
- Pole sander
- The sanding head on a pole that flattens a skim coat from the floor. The tool that makes the after-scrape finish bearable.
- Crew minimum
- What a painting crew charges to set up plastic and platforms for one room, about $450. The second room is nearly free.
Common questions
- How much does popcorn ceiling removal cost?
- About $1,650 for 400 sq ft of unpainted texture — two rooms — wet-scraped, skim-coated, primed and painted by a crew: $4.13 a square foot finished, of which the scraping itself is about a third. A 1,500 sq ft house is about $6,105. Painted texture that will not scrape is skim-coated over for $1,642; a ceiling that tests positive for asbestos is $4,096 with a licensed crew or $2,100 covered with new drywall.
- How much does popcorn ceiling removal cost per square foot?
- About $1.3 a square foot for the scraping alone on bare texture — the figure most quotes give — and $4.13 a square foot for the ceiling actually finished: skim coat, primer and two coats. Skim-coating over painted texture is $4.11 finished; covering with new drywall $5.25; licensed asbestos removal $10.24. The scrape is the cheap part of the ceiling.
- Does my popcorn ceiling have asbestos?
- If it was sprayed before 1980, it is presumed to until a lab says otherwise — the ban was 1978 and stock was used up for years after. Two coin-sized samples, wetted before they are cut and mailed in, are about $110; the answer is the difference between a $1,760 scrape and a $4,096 abatement. Ceilings from the 1990s on are almost certainly clear, and the test is cheap enough to buy anyway.
- What if the test is positive?
- Two legal choices. A licensed abatement crew seals the rooms in plastic under negative air, wets and removes the texture, bags it as hazardous waste and tests the air clear before the plastic comes down: $4,096 for 400 sq ft, skimmed and painted after. Or the texture stays and is covered — new 3/8 in drywall screwed through it into the joists, taped and painted — for $2,100, with the asbestos sealed in place and noted for the next owner. Scraping it yourself is the one thing that is neither legal nor sane.
- Can painted popcorn be removed?
- Not by scraping, in practice: paint seals the texture so the water cannot soften it, and the scraper skates. It can be scored, soaked repeatedly and scraped hard at twice the hours, but skim-coating over it — the high points knocked down, two or three coats of compound troweled flat — comes out cheaper and flatter: $1,642 for 400 sq ft finished, against $1,650 for bare texture scraped. Covering it with new drywall is the other route.
- Why does the ceiling need a skim coat after scraping?
- Because the drywall under popcorn was never finished for paint. The texture was sprayed to hide the joints and the nail dimples, so once it is off, every one of them shows, and a skim coat — $380 on 400 sq ft — is what makes the ceiling flat. Then primer, because fresh compound drinks paint, and two coats: $480. Together they are two thirds of the job, and they are on no quote for 'popcorn removal'.
- Can I remove a popcorn ceiling myself?
- Bare, tested or post-1980 texture, yes: about $553 of plastic, mud, paint and a kit for two rooms and about 32 hours overhead — $1,690 and 120 hours for a house. Plastic on everything, the room emptied, a pump sprayer, ten minutes' soak, a 12 in blade, and then the skim coat, which is the part that takes practice. Asbestos removal is licensed work; covering a positive ceiling with drywall is the one thing a homeowner can do to it.
- How much does it cost to cover a popcorn ceiling with drywall?
- About $2,100 for 400 sq ft — new 3/8 in sheets screwed through the old ceiling into the joists, taped, finished, primed and painted. It is the answer for a ceiling that is cracked or sagging under the texture, or for asbestos texture left in place, and it lowers the ceiling by half an inch that nobody notices.
- How long does it take?
- A crew scrapes, skims and paints two rooms in about 16 working hours across three days, because the skim coat and the primer each need to dry. A whole house is a week. Abatement adds the containment set-up and the clearance test, usually a day either side.
- Does the room have to be empty?
- It should be, and wrapped in plastic if it cannot be: wet popcorn goes everywhere and is heavy, and the crew charges about $55 a room to move and cover what is left. Plastic on every floor and wall, taped at the top, is in every quote and in this one.
- Is it worth removing?
- For the ceiling, yes: a flat painted ceiling reads as a newer house and takes paint at a normal price for ever after. For resale, buyers and inspectors in older houses ask about asbestos texture, and a test result in the file is worth having whether or not the ceiling is touched.
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About the author
Pablo Ruiz Quintero — Editor
Editor of MaterialsEstimator. Decides which documents count as a source, what every default value is, and where the line sits between what the reader parses and what the engines compute.
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