Popcorn Ceiling Removal in the San Francisco Bay Area

Popcorn ceilings, also called acoustic or cottage cheese ceilings, were a quick way to hide imperfections and soften sound. Today most homeowners want them gone: they collect dust and cobwebs, they are hard to clean or patch, and they make a room look dated. Removing the texture and finishing the drywall underneath is one of the most noticeable upgrades you can make to a home.

Before anyone scrapes, though, you need to know what is in the texture. The EPA lists textured paint and patching compounds used on walls and ceilings among the products that may contain asbestos. A lab test settles the question; the age of the house can’t. New Line Drywall starts every popcorn ceiling job by asking for that result.

When the test comes back negative, our crew protects the house, removes the texture, repairs the drywall and skim coats the ceiling to a smooth, paint-ready finish. New Line Drywall Inc. is based in Castro Valley and has worked across the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 25 years. Call or WhatsApp (415) 756-9502, or request a free estimate online.

Asbestos Testing Comes First, Before Anyone Scrapes

Popcorn texture dries into a soft, crumbly coating, so scraping, sanding or even drilling into it releases particles into the air. The EPA warns that asbestos fibers may be released when asbestos-containing material is disturbed during home maintenance, repair and remodeling. That is why testing is the first step, not an optional one.

Why the year the house was built doesn’t settle it

Under the Clean Air Act rules for hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP), the EPA banned spray-applied asbestos surfacing material for fireproofing and insulation in 1973, and in 1978 it banned spray-applied surfacing materials for purposes not already banned. Many older Bay Area homes have popcorn ceilings from before those bans, but age alone can’t confirm or rule out asbestos. A lab result can.

Who should take the sample

The EPA does not recommend taking samples yourself. It advises having a trained and accredited asbestos professional take them, and notes that sampling done incorrectly can be more hazardous than leaving the material alone. In California, Cal/OSHA requires certification for consultants and technicians who conduct asbestos sampling or plan and oversee asbestos removal projects of 100 square feet or more of asbestos-containing construction material. New Line Drywall does not take asbestos samples. We can explain what a test report needs to show before we start.

If the test is positive

Removal becomes asbestos work, and that is a job for a different licensed contractor. Under California Business and Professions Code section 7058.5, a contractor may not do asbestos-related work involving 100 square feet or more of asbestos-containing material unless it holds the C-22 Asbestos Abatement classification or its qualifier has passed an asbestos certification exam. Cal/OSHA also requires contractors who remove 100 square feet or more of material containing more than 0.1% asbestos to register with its Asbestos Contractors’ Registration Unit. New Line Drywall is not an abatement contractor. Once a qualified abatement contractor has finished, we can come back to repair and finish the drywall.

Level 4 or Level 5: Choosing the Finish Under the Popcorn

A scraped ceiling is not a finished ceiling. The drywall underneath was installed to be covered with heavy texture, so joints and fasteners are often finished to a lower standard than a smooth ceiling needs. What you pick next decides how the ceiling looks once it’s painted:

• Level 4 (paint-ready): joints and fasteners finished and sanded smooth. A practical choice for flat paint or for rooms without strong side light.
• Level 5 smooth finish: a thin skim coat over the entire surface. Often chosen for ceilings that get raking light from large windows or recessed fixtures, where small ridges and seams tend to show.
• Skim coat and flat wall finish: when the drywall face is uneven or damaged after scraping, a full skim coat is usually what gives you a flat, uniform surface.
• New texture: a light knockdown or orange peel texture hides more than a flat ceiling and can match the walls.

We’ll tell you which finish we’d recommend for your ceiling and why. Read more about drywall finish levels.

From the Jobsite: What Crews Commonly Find Under Popcorn

Popcorn texture hides a lot, which was one of the reasons builders used it. These are common findings once the texture comes off, not a description of any particular home:

• Rough joints. Seams finished only well enough to be covered by texture, which need retaping or more compound to disappear under paint.
• Old leak stains. Water marks the texture was covering. It’s worth finding out whether the leak was fixed before finishing over it.
• Patched holes from old light fixtures, fans or smoke detectors, sometimes filled with texture instead of drywall.
• Paint layers. Texture painted one or more times usually has to be scraped dry or in stages, which takes longer.
• Uneven framing. Sagging or wavy areas that a skim coat can reduce but not always fully correct. Where that happens, new drywall over the problem area is sometimes the better answer.

A common mistake is scraping the texture and painting right away. Without proper finishing, the joints and repairs usually show through once the ceiling is painted.

Frequently Asked Questions