Removing a popcorn ceiling can be expensive and leave fine white dust everywhere. Although you can do this yourself, especially if the materials are free of asbestos, be prepared for a lot of labor.
First, you’ll have to remove the furnishings or move them to the center of the space and cover them and the floor with a drop cloth and plastic sheeting. Then spray a small section (about 10 square feet) of ceiling with warm water, let that sit for about 20 minutes, and scrape off what comes loose.
The experts recommend applying drywall compound to any problem areas with a drywall knife, skimming smoothly, then priming and painting the ceiling.
Expect to pay about $30 to $200 in materials to do this yourself, or about $1 to $3 per square foot for labor and materials if you hire a professional. The average homeowner spends about $1,675 nationwide.
If your ceiling tests positive for asbestos, expect to pay $3 to $7 per square foot, or up to $2,750 in additional fees, depending on the size of the space and the extent of the problem.
Skim coating the ceiling with drywall compound and painting it gives this a smooth “executive feel,” although knockdown texture, applied with a texture sprayer, provides visual interest and camouflages imperfections without popcorn’s dated look.
The problem is, homeowners in the midst of preparing a house for sale often don’t have the inclination to tackle this project because of the debris.
Someone flipping a house, who isn’t living there while the work is underway, is more likely to do it, Schutte said.
“With a homeowner in the property, we talk about [removing] the popcorn ceiling,” he said. “But we haven’t really ever had them do the work because it does cost a little bit of money and the inconvenience factors very high.”
But can removing a popcorn ceiling add resale value?
That said, the value gained by removing a popcorn ceiling does increase considering buyers’ expectations for homes of a certain size and in a certain price range.
“With a $200,000 house with a popcorn ceiling, there’s a lot of demand and not a lot of supply. Those houses sell faster, so there’s less need to do it,” Schutte said.
By contrast, a 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot house in a higher price range, such as $700,000, can sit on the market longer and make buyers hesitate if it needs upgrades. Why purchase something older that needs fixing when they can buy something in a new subdivision with new amenities for the same price?
“The larger the house, and the more expensive the home, the more prone I am to say that it needs to get done—and it’ll add value by getting it done,” Schutte said. “One of the updates that somebody would want to see in that pricier home is getting rid of popcorn ceilings.”
Schutte estimates that removing a popcorn ceiling would add $25,000 to $35,000 in value for a large estate executive home. For a home of about 1,400 square feet costing about $200,000, he estimates an added value of about $2,500—essentially, close to what a homeowner might put into the project.
Mike Ford, a general certified real estate appraiser serving greater metropolitan Los Angeles and a member of the American Guild of Appraisers, said removing a popcorn ceiling could contribute to an increase in value for a high price range.
For a home worth about $200,000, however, “I cannot imagine the benefit would be worth gambling $2,500 on. It is just as likely the popcorn … may cover ceiling cracks that may require additional costs to repair,” he said.
Rather, a property’s overall condition and appearance will dictate the value more than a single item, Ford added. “A freshly scraped ceiling may add zero value if the entire interior needs new paint and everything else about the house is outdated.”
He advised looking at comparative sales and the current market to prioritize your updates (new flooring, sprucing up the kitchen and bath) before tackling a popcorn ceiling.
“If buyers are already paying high or near highest prices with or without popcorn, then why spend money correcting something the market does not dictate requires correction?” Ford said.
“Paint and finish flooring still are big on interior contribution to value. Exterior paint, including eaves and wood trim, is at least equally important. Chipped and peeling paint can stop your new buyers’ financing in its tracks.”