8 minute read
If you’re staring up at a dated, textured ceiling in your Bloomington home and wondering what it’ll cost to get rid of it, you’re not alone. Popcorn ceilings were standard in homes built from the 1950s through the late 1980s, and plenty of Bloomington homeowners are now ready to modernize. The short answer: most homeowners pay somewhere between $1,200 and $20,890, depending on how many rooms are involved, whether you want a fully smooth finish or a re-textured knockdown finish, and whether the ceiling has been painted before.
That’s a wide range, so let’s break down exactly where your project is likely to fall.
Before getting into numbers, it helps to understand that “popcorn ceiling removal” isn’t a single service — it’s actually two different end results, and the price difference between them is significant.
This option strips the popcorn texture completely and finishes the ceiling with a skim coat — a thin layer of joint compound applied and sanded to create a perfectly smooth, modern surface. This is the look most homeowners picture when they imagine a “updated” ceiling, similar to what you’d see in new construction.
Achieving true flatness takes real skill and time. The compound has to be applied in multiple thin layers, each one sanded smooth before the next goes on, because any ridges, tool marks, or uneven patches will catch light and become obvious once the ceiling is painted.
This option also strips the old popcorn texture, but instead of skim-coating to a flat finish, the crew applies a new knockdown texture — a hand-applied, subtly mottled finish that’s flattened slightly with a trowel before it fully dries. It still looks contemporary and hides minor ceiling imperfections, but it doesn’t require the painstaking, multi-layer smoothing process a flat ceiling demands.
Because knockdown texture is more forgiving of small imperfections in the underlying drywall, and doesn’t require the labor-intensive sanding and skim-coating stages, it’s typically the faster and less expensive of the two options.
Below is a side-by-side comparison of both options across different project sizes, based on real market pricing data.
| Project Size | Removal to Flat Ceiling | Removal to Knockdown Texture |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Room | $1,200 – $1,850 | $1,650 – $2,300 |
| 3–5 Rooms | $3,500 – $6,200 | $5,230 – $10,675 |
| 8–10 Rooms | $7,800 – $18,000 | $7,800 – $20,890 |
You’ll notice that flat removal for a single room actually starts lower than knockdown for that same size. That’s not a typo — it reflects the fact that on a small scale, the labor difference is minimal, and both processes carry similar base costs.
But as the project scales up across multiple rooms, the extra labor required for a fully smooth, flat finish widens the gap noticeably. That’s the trade-off: knockdown texture generally offers more savings the larger the project gets, since it skips the time-intensive multi-coat skim and sand process required for a truly flat ceiling.
You’ve probably noticed that even within a single size category — say, 3-5 rooms — the price range still swings by thousands of dollars. A few key factors drive that variation.
This is one of the biggest hidden cost factors. Unpainted popcorn texture generally absorbs water faster during the removal process, which softens the material and makes it easier to scrape off.
Painted popcorn texture, on the other hand, has a sealed layer over it. That paint coating resists water absorption, meaning the texture takes longer to soften and scrape, which adds labor hours and pushes the job toward the higher end of the price range.
A small bedroom and a large vaulted great room may both count as “one room,” but the square footage of ceiling surface being stripped, scraped, and refinished can differ dramatically. Higher ceilings also often require additional scaffolding or ladder setup, which adds time.
As shown in the table above, tackling multiple rooms at once brings some efficiency of scale, but the total project cost still climbs substantially with each additional room, since each ceiling requires its own full scrape, prep, and refinish process.
Sometimes what’s hiding under decades-old popcorn texture is less-than-perfect drywall — cracks, water stains, or old nail pops. If drywall repair is needed before the new finish can go on, that adds to the scope and cost of the project.
Before any popcorn ceiling removal begins — whether you’re hiring a professional or considering doing it yourself — there’s one non-negotiable step: testing for asbestos.
Popcorn ceilings installed before the late 1970s commonly contained asbestos fibers, which were prized at the time for their fire-resistant properties. Asbestos is not dangerous when it’s undisturbed and intact, but scraping, sanding, or otherwise disturbing a textured ceiling that contains it can release microscopic fibers into the air, which pose serious respiratory health risks when inhaled.
Homeowners should always have a professionally certified inspector test a sample of the ceiling material before any scraping, sanding, or demolition begins. This is separate from lead-based paint concerns on walls or trim — asbestos in ceiling texture is its own distinct issue with its own testing and handling requirements. If a test comes back positive, the material must be handled by a licensed asbestos abatement specialist, not a standard painting or remodeling crew.
For more background on asbestos health risks and safe handling requirements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes consumer guidance on identifying and managing asbestos-containing materials in the home.
Once the texture is stripped and the surface is either skim-coated flat or refinished with knockdown texture, the ceiling still needs to be primed and painted to complete the look. Many homeowners choose to bundle ceiling painting into the same project, since the crew is already set up with drop cloths and equipment in the room.
It’s also worth thinking about the rest of the room while the ceiling is being redone. If your walls or trim haven’t been refreshed in a while, tackling wall painting or trim painting at the same time can be more cost-efficient than scheduling separate projects later, since setup and protection of furniture and flooring only has to happen once.
The ranges above give you a realistic starting point, but every ceiling is different. The only way to know your exact cost is to have a professional assess the number of rooms, the ceiling condition, whether the texture has been painted, and your preferred finish.
BLUE Painting serves Bloomington and the greater Twin Cities area, offering both popcorn ceiling removal services — flat or knockdown — backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee and a 2-year workmanship warranty on the finished work. Every project starts with in-home measurements so the price you’re quoted is the price you pay for what’s written in the scope. If you’re ready for an exact number for your home, reach out through our contact page for a free estimate.
For a single room, the costs are fairly close, with flat removal sometimes starting slightly lower. But for larger, multi-room projects, knockdown texture is typically less expensive overall because it doesn’t require the extensive multi-layer skim-coating and sanding needed to achieve a perfectly smooth flat ceiling.
The biggest swing factor within any given room count is whether the popcorn texture was previously painted. Painted texture resists water absorption during scraping, which adds labor time and pushes costs toward the higher end of the range. Ceiling height, room size, and the condition of the drywall underneath also play a role.
Yes. Popcorn ceilings installed before the late 1970s commonly contain asbestos, and disturbing the material without testing it first can release harmful fibers into the air. A certified inspector should test a sample before any scraping, sanding, or removal work begins, and if asbestos is present, the material must be handled by a licensed abatement specialist.
Most homeowners do, since a freshly skim-coated or re-textured ceiling still needs primer and paint to complete the finished look. Many choose to schedule ceiling painting as part of the same project to avoid a second round of setup and prep work down the line.
BLUE Painting is a full service residential painting company serving the twin cities and surrounding areas.
Contents hide 1 What Is the Average Cost of Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Bloomington? 1.1 The Two Main Removal Options: Flat vs. Knockdown 1.1.1 Removal to a Flat, Smooth Ceiling 1.1.2 Removal to a Knockdown Texture 1.2 Average Cost of Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Bloomington 1.3 Why Prices Vary So Much Within Each Tier 1.3.1 […]
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