How to Remove a Popcorn Ceiling

A popcorn ceiling is nothing more than joint compound embedded with small pieces of Styrofoam and then sprayed onto the ceiling. Some popcorn ceilings can be removed very easily and others are more difficult. The more difficult ones tend to be those that have been painted. The step by step process for removal is as follows:

1. First of all, remove everything from the room. If something can’t be removed, make sure it is covered with a drop cloth.
2. Cover the entire floor with plastic and tape the overlapping edges together with masking tape so that none of the floor is exposed.
3. Take a small garden sprayer and fill it with warm water. Lightly spray the ceiling and let it set for about 10 minutes, then spray it a second time.
4. Using a wide drywall knife, simply start scraping off the popcorn texture. If the ceiling has not been painted, you should be able to scrape it down to bare drywall except at the seams. If the ceiling becomes too dry and difficult to scrape, lightly spray it again.
5. After you have scraped off all the texture, use a sponge and a bucket of water to wipe off the chalky haze that is left on the ceiling. Be careful not to wipe away too much of the joint compound on the seams or the seam tape will be exposed.
6. Finally, remove any gouge marks that may have been made while scraping with a skim coat of joint compound. Also skim coat any seams and nail holes as needed.
7. Now you can roll up the plastic off the floor and discard the mess. Finish the cleanup with a shop vac.
8. Congratulations, you have successfully removed a popcorn ceiling. You are now ready to complete your updated look by applying new texture with the EZ Texture Pro drywall texturing tool.