Textured Ceiling Removal in South Bend and Mishawaka

Textured ceiling removal covers knockdown, stipple, orange peel, swirl and popcorn that someone painted over. It is for homeowners whose texture won't come off with water alone, or who want a smooth ceiling over a pattern they never chose. You end up with a smooth, painted ceiling, either by removing the texture or by skim coating over it, depending on what the ceiling allows.

Matching the method to the texture

Water softens unpainted popcorn. Knockdown and orange peel are drywall compound applied thin, and paint seals most of them, so water does little. For those, we often skim coat over the texture rather than scrape it. Painted popcorn falls between the two: we score and wet it, and some ceilings come clean while others call for a skim. We test a patch at the quote and tell you which method fits.

Textures in Mishawaka and Granger homes

Mishawaka's median home dates from 1975, and Granger's from 1986, with 68.3% of Granger homes built between 1970 and 1999. Those decades cover the years when sprayed texture was a builder's default. Mishawaka's post-war Normain Heights subdivision dates from 1946 to 1951, so its ceilings may be plaster, which needs a gentler approach.

Testing painted texture

We sample every texture for asbestos first, painted or not. If the paint went on before 1978, EPA's lead renovation rule covers our work on it, because removing a whole ceiling's texture disturbs more than the rule's 6 square feet per room. We test for lead too, and follow lead-safe work practices if the result calls for them. Our EPA firm certification is [PLACEHOLDER: EPA RRP firm certification number].

What affects the price

Painted popcorn and hard knockdown sit toward the top of our $3.50 to $6.00 per square foot finished range. A skim over the texture skips the scraping but uses more compound and sanding. Ceilings with cracks or nail pops need drywall repair first.