If you own an older home, chances are you’ve stared up at a popcorn ceiling and wished it would vanish. Once considered stylish, this textured ceiling now instantly dates a room, making it feel dull and outdated. Beyond looks, popcorn ceilings trap dust and cobwebs, making cleaning a headache.
Many homeowners consider covering them with drywall or insulation, but removing them completely gives a fresher, cleaner look. Before grabbing a scraper, there’s one critical step : check for asbestos. If your ceiling contains asbestos, leave it to licensed professionals—this isn’t a DIY project you want to risk your health on.
If your ceiling is asbestos-free, however, you can tackle it yourself in a weekend with basic supplies. Here’s what you’ll need : a ladder, a drywall knife, a floor scraper, plastic sheeting or paper to protect the floor, painter’s tape, trash bags, and a shop vacuum to control dust. For safety, wear a protective mask, goggles, and disposable clothing or old clothes you can discard. Some homeowners find a pump spray bottle or even a garden hose with a bucket makes wetting the ceiling easier. With the right prep and tools, removing a popcorn ceiling is surprisingly straightforward and can instantly modernize your space.
How to remove a popcorn ceiling with water and a scraper
If your popcorn ceiling hasn’t been painted, you’re in luck. Simply spray it with water, wait a few minutes, and scrape away the texture. For painted ceilings, the process is trickier because the paint acts as a sealant. You’ll need to scrape the surface dry first, then spray with water and wait for it to soak in. Depending on the number of paint layers, you may need to repeat the process several times.
After the initial scraping, re-wet the ceiling and wait at least 10 minutes for the water to penetrate fully. Then you can start the final scrape. Working in small sections helps, ensuring each area is softened enough for easy removal without damaging the underlying drywall.
Preparing your space for a smooth process
Protecting your home is just as important as the scraping itself. Cover the floor with plastic sheeting or paper and secure it with tape along the edges. This creates a catch zone for debris, making cleanup much easier. Turn off heating and air conditioning to prevent dust from circulating, and move furniture out of the room if possible.
Take your time and work methodically. Spray, wait, and scrape in sections until the ceiling is smooth. Once it’s done, you can customize it however you like. Many homeowners choose to sand lightly and paint for a clean, modern finish. Others opt for a simple coat of joint compound to create a perfectly flat ceiling ready for painting.
Alternatives if scraping feels overwhelming
Not everyone wants to commit to scraping. Fortunately, there are ways to cover a popcorn ceiling without all the labor. Elegant options include wood paneling, beadboard, or even modern ceiling tiles. These can hide imperfections while giving the room a stylish, contemporary look.
Another approach is to combine light sanding with a skim coat of joint compound. This smooths out bumps and creates a surface ready for paint, giving a professional finish without removing every last piece of texture. Even partial removal combined with smart decorating choices can dramatically modernize your space.
Why removing popcorn ceilings is worth the effort
Removing a popcorn ceiling isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about improving your home’s functionality and feel. A smooth ceiling makes the room brighter, cleaner, and easier to maintain. From personal experience, I tackled a living room ceiling last summer. At first, I dreaded the mess and the effort. But step by step—spray, scrape, repeat—the transformation was incredible. Not only did the room feel larger, but the sunlight reflecting off the smooth ceiling made it feel brand new. The temporary effort paid off tenfold.
Even if you don’t remove it entirely, covering a popcorn ceiling with panels or a skim coat modernizes the look instantly. Older homes gain a refreshed, airy vibe, and cleaning becomes far easier. A little effort upfront creates long-term satisfaction and a stylish environment.
Whether you scrape it yourself or opt for a smart covering, the benefits are clear : modernized ceilings, easier maintenance, and a cleaner, brighter home. Have you tackled a popcorn ceiling project in your home, or do you have clever alternatives for covering outdated textures? Share your tips, experiences, and before-and-after stories in the comments—we’d love to hear how you modernized your space.
We scraped ours dry and we love the light texture left behind. Yes it was a dusty mess but we covered the furniture with plastic and used a shop vac. Just a deep clean and ceiling paint. Love the results. Two more rooms to go.
I agree 100%. We also dry scraped our ceilings and left behind a light texture that looked semi-knock-down. After a seal coat and fresh paint, it was perfect. We sold that home a few years later and it was a definite positive feature to have the “popcorn” gone.
Yeah your definition of easy diy is insane. Spraying and scraping is a huge mess and a literal pain, but in the arms and neck not the rear. Clearly you’ve never attempted it.
If your ceiling has several coats of paint, don’t scrape it. Just buy 1/4″ thick 12 feet long drywall and cover it up and that’s a lot easier and less messy. You will have to tape the seams and sand them but u end up with brand new smooth ceilings.
Not so easy when my ceiling is 14′ above the floor…
I agree, Rusty! I’ve had a home renovation company tell me to leave it. The RoI wouldn’t be worth the time and expense if I sold my home in the future. We have a two-story home and foyer.
Hello. If you have low ceilings will paneling still look good? Also, hoe do you apply the paneling.
How do you know if popcorn ceiling has asbestos?
There are kits you can buy to check for asbestos. If your house was before 1970 is when they used asbestos. I checked with my neighbor to asked her about popcorn ceiling in our condo. I was so happy to hear I don’t have asbestos.
Ask landlord if they don’t respond it’s asbestos.
Test kits are available at ACE hardware or can ordered from Lowes or Home Depot. Take a sample(s) from your pop corn ceiling and mail it off to a lab for testing.
Builders, should do these horrible popcorn ceilings!’they are dust collectors!
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This is the next big job I have planned for my house. I have always hated popcorn ceilings. I am really excited to see some of the examples of what others have done to freshen up their homes. I certainly don’t want anything drab and boring, but I don’t want anything too extravagant either. Ideas???
I love the look and texture of popcorn ceilings.
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How about a mix of (30% vinegar), and water?
Don’t people know what a stucco ceiling is? You don’t call it a “Popcorn Ceiling”, young people……..
Cody – Popcorn is a porous textured surface, usually asbestos surface. Popcorn wet popular in the 1960’s homes. Stucco on the there hand, is hard non-porous plaster or cement.
Our popcorn ceilings have been painted. (House built in 1982)
Do you have a method to remove it since it will not absorb water?
Use boiling water with a little dish soap the soap will help keep the water on the ceiling longer.
This is NOT an easy procedure and the results might not be good
Back on the 90s doing remodeling in Nashville, I worked with an old Drywall Pro, W T English. He would take a spray bottle with warm water and Fabric Softener, The trick is to not let it set too long or you will tear the paper on the underlying drywall. It also reduces the dust to deal with.
Lowe’s Home Improvement. Manufacturer: ECHON, Item # 5042211. PVC, reversible, bead board/shiplap. We done 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, hallway, kitchen/dinning area and living room with a vaulted ceiling 13’ at the peak. Main bedroom left to do also with a vaulted ceiling.
How does scraping a Popcorn / Stucco finish off of old sheetrock give a “Fresher” / “Cleaner” look than new sheetrock ? I’ve covered up 100’s of plaster ceilings, popcorn and even stucco that was basically bullet proof like cement that were water damaged from roof leaks or a second floor bathroom and they looked excellent when I was done covering over the existing finishes.
You younger people should be careful what you are talking about and get your facts right before misleading the public. I’ve been hanging/installing drywall/sheetrock for over 43 years and still doing it to this day.
I thumbtacked cheap sheer curtains at my workspace boundary so I still had airflow but also dust control, then dry scraped with a popcorn scraping tool (and attached bag that caught most of the stippling) and a 10” joint knife for the corners. Initially, I was wet scraping, but the wet mess was harder to clean than the dry mess, and I was occasionally gouging the damp surface. I have a 20×24 living room with an 8 to 12 cathedral ceiling separated by 4 pairs of wood beams creating 8 equal sections. The scraping itself took at least 4-6 hours. The prep and clean up added to that, of course. While I don’t mind the popcorn/acoustic ceilings myself, I’m also a realtor and know that I’m in the minority. I wanted to tackle it while my already 53-year-old body is up to the challenge. Someday, my kids or I will need to sell, and I want my investment to prove itself. I’m certainly no expert and am only commenting because I would have appreciated tripping over this thread BEFORE I started and hope this proves helpful to someone else. It worked surprisingly well and turned out great! The texture looks very much like that in the nearby new constructions.