Painted Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Denton, TX

Removing a painted popcorn ceiling in Denton, TX takes more steps than plain texture, because paint seals the popcorn and keeps water from softening it. Safe Choice Painting assesses the ceiling, tests how the painted texture takes water, then softens, scrapes and repairs the ceiling so it is ready for a light texture or a smooth finish and paint.

Why painted popcorn is harder

Plain popcorn texture soaks up water, softens and scrapes off. Once it has been painted, sometimes more than once to freshen it up, the paint forms a skin over it. Water beads on the surface, and the texture comes off in hard chips or not at all. That means:

• more time to break the paint film so water can get in
• more passes with the scraper
• more drywall repair after, because hard texture pulls at the paper

About 28 percent of Denton's housing was built in the 1970s and 1980s, by Census estimates, and ceilings in houses that age have had decades in which a past owner may have painted them.

We assess the ceiling first

We assess the ceiling first. Two questions come before any scraping: has it been painted, and should it be tested? Texas's asbestos rules, the Texas Asbestos Health Protection Rules, are written for public buildings and exclude a single private residence. That does not make disturbing asbestos safe at home. The EPA says you cannot tell whether a material contains asbestos by looking at it and that suspect material should not be sanded, scraped or drilled. For older textured ceilings, we recommend testing before work; our asbestos testing guide explains how.

How we remove it

1. Protect the room. Floors are covered, walls are masked with plastic, and vents are sealed.
2. Test a small area to see how the paint takes water and how the texture lets go.
3. Break the paint film where needed so water can soak in.
4. Soften and scrape in sections, keeping the scraper flat to protect the paper.
5. Clean up the debris as we go.

Removal or cover?

When the ceiling has thick paint layers, or the texture is stuck tight, scraping can do more harm than good. Then covering the old ceiling with new drywall may be the better route; see covering a popcorn ceiling. We tell you which we recommend after the test area.

Repair after removal

Painted texture tends to leave more torn paper and rough spots. Those are sealed, skimmed and sanded before primer; see drywall repair after popcorn removal in Denton. Then the ceiling gets a light texture or a smooth finish, primer and two coats of ceiling paint.

Signs it was painted

You can often tell before we arrive. Painted popcorn may look slightly shiny or yellowed and feel hard rather than crumbly. It may also be a different color from a closet ceiling that was never painted. A drop of water that beads instead of darkening the texture is another sign. Tell us what you notice when you ask for an estimate.

Planning the job

Painted popcorn takes longer per room than plain texture, so we plan fewer rooms per day and tell you which rooms will be closed off when. The general guide is painted popcorn ceiling removal.

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