Popcorn and stipple ceilings are common in Ottawa houses built from the 1960s through the 1980s. They gather dust and cobwebs, they're hard to patch, and they make a room look its age.
Carleton Prime Painting removes popcorn and stipple ceilings and leaves them smooth and painted. Before any of that starts, there's one question that has to be answered: does the texture contain asbestos?
- Free in-home consultation
- 2-year warranty on painting
- Liability insurance
- WSIB coverage
- Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore paints
- Our own painters, family owned
- BBB Accredited Business
Asbestos comes first
Health Canada says asbestos was commonly used in Canadian homes before 1990, and it advises checking that materials don't contain asbestos before you renovate. You can't tell by looking. A sample has to be taken by a qualified person and tested in a lab. If the texture contains asbestos, it has to be removed by a qualified asbestos removal company before any other work happens. Never scrape a textured ceiling in an older home yourself to find out.
How removal works
- The room is emptied or the furniture covered, and floors and walls are sealed off with plastic
- The texture is softened and scraped off
- The ceiling is repaired and skim-coated where needed, then sanded smooth
- A primer goes on the bare surface
- The ceiling is painted
Expect some dust and a few days
Removing a textured ceiling is messier than painting, and the room is out of use until it's done. Your estimate includes the schedule so you can plan around it.
In writing
What your written estimate spells out
Two painting quotes only compare fairly when they cover the same work. Ours lists the job in plain words, so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
- Which rooms and surfaces are included, and which aren't
- The prep for each area: repairs, cleaning, sanding and primer
- How many coats
- Who supplies the paint
- The schedule, and what you need to move or clear
- The 2-year warranty on painting
What a painting customer said
I asked them to re-paint some rooms in my house, and the painter did an excellent job. The mistakes from years ago were erased. He even painted behind the toilets.
Eric Clara, interior painting, several rooms, on Google
Our process
How your popcorn ceiling removal job works
Free in-home consultation
We come to you, walk the rooms or the outside of the house with you, and listen to what you want the finished result to look like.
A written estimate
You get the scope in writing: which surfaces, what prep, what's included and what isn't, so there are no surprises later.
A schedule that fits your life
We book the work around how you use your home, and tell you ahead of time what needs moving and when we'll be there.
Prep, then paint
Prep comes first and gets the time it needs. Then the painting, done carefully, and a clean site at the end of each day.
Walkthrough together
We go over every room or wall with you before we call it finished, and fix anything you're not happy with. The leftover paint stays with you for touch-ups.
Questions people ask
Does my popcorn ceiling contain asbestos?
You can only know by having a sample tested in a lab. Health Canada says asbestos was commonly used in Canadian homes before 1990, so if your home is from before then, have the ceiling tested before it's disturbed.
Can you paint over a popcorn ceiling instead?
It can be painted, but the texture soaks up a lot of paint, can loosen when wet, and still looks like popcorn afterwards. Most people who dislike the look want it removed.
Is the ceiling smooth after removal?
That's the goal. After the texture comes off, the ceiling is repaired, skim-coated where needed and sanded before it's primed and painted.
How messy is popcorn ceiling removal?
Messier than painting. The room is sealed off with plastic and the furniture moved or covered, and the room is out of use until the work is finished.
Related services
Tell us what you'd like painted
Start with a free in-home consultation. We'll look at the job with you and follow up with a written estimate.