Popcorn Ceiling Removal in South Bend, Indiana
Popcorn and textured ceilings tested, scraped, skimmed and painted, with a lab sample before any scraping.
Seven in ten South Bend homes date from before 1970, so every job starts with a lab sample. You get a written price per room and a smooth ceiling that we skim, prime and paint, in South Bend, Mishawaka and Granger.
✓ Lab test before we scrape
✓ Prices published per square foot
Ceiling Services in South Bend and Mishawaka
We work on ceilings and nothing else. That covers the sample, the scrape, the repairs and the paint, so one crew owns the result from start to finish. Each service below has its own page with what the job involves and what moves the price.
Popcorn Ceiling Removal
We wet the texture, scrape it, bag the debris and haul it away, then finish the ceiling or leave it ready for your painter.
Asbestos Testing
We take a sample from each ceiling and send it to an accredited lab before anyone scrapes. You keep a copy of the lab report.
Textured Ceiling Removal
Knockdown, stipple, orange peel and painted popcorn. We match the method to what is on your ceiling and what sits under it.
Skim Coating
A skim coat over the whole ceiling, sanded to a Level 5 finish for rooms with big windows or light that rakes across the surface.
Ceiling Drywall Repair
Water stains, cracked tape seams, nail pops and gouges. We fix the board under the texture before we finish over it.
Ceiling Painting
A coat of primer and two coats of flat ceiling paint, cut in at the wall line so the edge reads straight.
Two Questions We Hear Before Every Quote
Does my ceiling have asbestos?
Nobody can tell by looking. EPA banned spray-applied asbestos surfacing in 1978, and a court overturned the broader 1989 ban in 1991, so a build date won't clear a ceiling. South Bend's median home dates from 1955, Mishawaka's from 1975 and Granger's from 1986. We sample every popcorn ceiling, whatever the year, and wait for the lab before we scrape. If the result comes back positive, we stop and refer you to an IDEM-licensed abatement firm.
Can we stay in the house while you work?
You can if we work one or two rooms at a time. We hang plastic over the walls, floor and doorway, cover the vents in that room, and carry debris out in sealed bags. You clear what furniture you can; we wrap and cover the rest. Kitchens and the one bathroom in a house take some planning, so we schedule those around your week.
How a South Bend Ceiling Job Runs
1. Sample and written quote
We visit, measure each room, take a sample from each ceiling and send it to the lab. You get a written price per room and a schedule.
2. Seal and scrape
Once the lab clears the ceiling, we seal the room in plastic, wet the texture, scrape it down to the board and bag the debris.
3. Repair and finish
We fix seams and dents, skim coat, sand, prime and paint. Then we pull the plastic, vacuum the room and walk it with you.
South Bend, Mishawaka and Granger
We work across St. Joseph County. South Bend's median home dates from 1955, Mishawaka's from 1975 and Granger's from 1986, so the age of your house tells us what to expect overhead. See the service areas page for each neighborhood.
Scrape-Only or a Finished Ceiling?
A scrape-only job suits you if you have a painter lined up or plan to finish the ceiling yourself. We remove the texture, haul it away and leave bare drywall with the old tape lines and dents in view. Scraping exposes every flaw the popcorn hid, so expect to skim before you paint. A finished job ends with a ceiling you can live under the same week: we repair the board, skim coat the whole surface, sand, prime and roll two coats of flat paint. For rooms with big windows or pot lights, we sand to a Level 5 finish, the skim-over-everything standard in the Gypsum Association's GA-214.
Popcorn Ceiling Removal Prices in South Bend
National cost guides put scrape-only work at $1 to $2 per square foot and a finished ceiling at $3 to $6.50. Our rates sit inside those ranges, and we publish them so you can budget before you call. Scrape-only: $1.25 to $2.00 per square foot. Finished (skim, prime, paint): $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot. A 12 by 12 bedroom runs $180 to $290 scraped or $500 to $865 finished. A 15 by 20 living room runs $375 to $600 or $1,050 to $1,800. A 1,000 square foot main floor runs $1,250 to $2,000 or $3,500 to $6,000. Scrape-only covers plastic protection, wetting, scraping, bagging and haul-away. Finished adds board repairs, a skim coat, sanding, primer and two coats of flat ceiling paint. Painted texture, ceilings over 9 feet and heavy water damage price toward the top of each range. The lab fee for the asbestos sample is a separate line on your quote.
Popcorn Ceiling Questions from South Bend Homeowners
How much does popcorn ceiling removal cost in South Bend?
We charge $1.25 to $2.00 per square foot to scrape and haul away the texture, and $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot for a finished ceiling that we skim, sand, prime and paint. A 12 by 12 bedroom runs $500 to $865 finished. The lab fee for the asbestos sample is extra and shows on your quote.
Do you test for asbestos before you scrape?
Yes, on every job. We take a sample from each ceiling, send it to an accredited lab, and wait for the result before we scrape. EPA banned spray-applied asbestos surfacing in 1978, but a build date can't clear a ceiling on its own, so we go by the lab report.
Does Indiana require an asbestos inspection for my house?
IDEM exempts owners of a noncommercial residential building with four or fewer units from the inspection, notification and licensing rules. Rentals, buildings being converted to commercial use and larger developments fall outside that exemption. We test anyway, because the lab result decides whether we can scrape at all.
Can you remove popcorn texture that has been painted?
In most rooms, yes. Paint slows the water we use to soften the texture, so painted ceilings take us longer and price toward the top of our range. If the paint went on before 1978, we test for lead too, since EPA's renovation rule covers painted surfaces in older homes.
How long does the work take?
We scrape a bedroom in one day, then need two to three more days to skim, dry, sand and paint it. A full main floor takes us about a week. We give you a schedule with the written quote.
Get a Price for Your Ceilings
Tell us the rooms and the year your house went up. We'll book a visit, take the sample and send you a written quote.
