POPCORN CEILING REMOVAL
Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Newmarket & GTA
Modernize your home by removing outdated popcorn ceilings with P&G Renovation. Serving Newmarket, Aurora, and the entire GTA, our team safely removes textured ceiling coatings and delivers a smooth, contemporary finish that transforms any room. We take every precaution for dust containment, covering floors and furniture before work begins. After removing the texture, we repair any imperfections in the drywall, skim coat as needed, and apply a smooth, paint-ready finish. The result is a clean, modern ceiling that opens up your space and increases your home's value. We handle single rooms to entire homes.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
POPCORN CEILING REMOVAL — WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
Popcorn — stipple, or acoustic texture — was sprayed on ceilings across Ontario from the 1950s through the late 1980s to hide drywall finishing and absorb sound. It has aged badly: it yellows, it collects dust and cobwebs, it cannot be cleaned or spot-repaired convincingly, and it dates a room the moment you walk into it. Removing it and finishing the ceiling smooth is one of the most visible improvements you can make to a house, and P&G Renovation does it across Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham and the GTA.
Before anything else: if your home was built or renovated before 1990, the texture must be tested for asbestos. Ontario regulation treats asbestos-containing texture coat as designated substance work, and it must be removed by a licensed abatement contractor under proper containment — not by a painting crew. We will not scrape an untested pre-1990 ceiling. Testing is inexpensive, takes a few days, and we will point you to a licensed lab; if the result is positive we will refer you to a qualified abatement contractor and pick the job back up once the space is cleared.
Where the texture is clear, the process is wet-scraping. Rooms are emptied or the contents centred and sealed under plastic, floors are covered with poly and taped at the perimeter, doorways are zip-walled and HVAC returns are sealed off so dust does not travel through the ductwork. The texture is misted with water in manageable sections, given time to soften, and scraped off with wide blades into the containment below. Wet-scraping is slower than dry-scraping but keeps airborne dust to a small fraction of what a dry removal produces.
What is revealed underneath is usually a level 2 or 3 drywall finish, because the texture was there to hide it. That is where the real skill lies: taping that was never meant to be seen must now be flattened, so we re-tape open joints, fill fastener heads, skim-coat the entire ceiling with joint compound in one or two passes, and pole-sand it flat. Ceilings are the hardest surface to finish because raking light from windows and pot lights shows everything, so we check the plane with a work light before priming rather than after painting.
Then a full coat of drywall primer-sealer — new compound and old painted areas absorb differently and will flash badly under a single finish coat — followed by two coats of a dedicated flat ceiling paint. Flat is the only sensible sheen on a ceiling; any lustre picks up every remaining ripple. The result is a clean, contemporary flat ceiling. Many clients pair the work with new pot lights or a fresh wall colour, and since we are already set up and containment is in place, doing it in one visit saves both cost and disruption.
OUR POPCORN CEILING REMOVAL PROCESS, STEP BY STEP
Asbestos testing (pre-1990 buildings)
A sample is lab-tested before any scraping. Positive results go to a licensed abatement contractor — we do not disturb designated substances.
Containment setup
Contents removed or centred and sealed, floors poly-covered and taped at the perimeter, doorways zip-walled, HVAC returns sealed, fixtures dropped and protected.
Wet scraping
Texture misted in sections, allowed to soften, and scraped with wide blades into the containment — dramatically less airborne dust than dry removal.
Drywall repair
Open and failed joints re-taped, cracks cut out and repaired, fastener heads filled, water-stained board replaced where necessary.
Skim coat and sand
One or two full skim passes across the entire ceiling with joint compound, then pole-sanding flat and a work-light check under raking conditions.
Prime and paint
Full drywall primer-sealer coat to even out absorption, followed by two coats of dedicated flat ceiling paint.
Reinstate and clean
Fixtures rehung, containment struck, floors vacuumed and wiped, contents returned, and a walk-through under working light.
MATERIALS & COATING SYSTEMS WE USE
We spec the coating to the substrate, not to the invoice. These are the systems and brands our crews work with day to day.
Compounds
Setting-type compound for structural repairs and taping, lightweight all-purpose compound for skim coats and finishing.
Primers
Drywall primer-sealer over the whole ceiling; shellac or oil-based stain-blocking primer over any water staining or smoke damage.
Ceiling paint
Benjamin Moore Waterborne Ceiling Paint, Sherwin-Williams ProMar Ceiling and comparable dead-flat products chosen specifically to hide plane variation.
Containment
6-mil poly sheeting, zip-wall pole systems, HEPA-filtered vacuums and air scrubbers for dust control in occupied homes.
Optional upgrades
Knockdown or orange-peel texture where a smooth finish is not wanted, plus pot-light cut-ins and wall painting completed in the same visit.
TYPICAL TIMELINES
Durations are typical for a fully accessible site and are confirmed in writing after the on-site assessment.
SAFETY, WSIB & COMPLIANCE
P&G Renovation Ltd carries $10M commercial general liability, WSIB coverage in good standing and $2M bonding capacity. Certificates are supplied with every commercial and institutional proposal and on request for residential work.
OUR PROCESS
Room Preparation
Cover floors, protect furniture, and set up dust containment barriers.
Texture Removal
Carefully remove popcorn texture using professional wet-scraping techniques.
Repair & Smooth
Patch imperfections, skim coat, and sand for a perfectly smooth surface.
Prime & Paint
Apply primer and ceiling paint for a clean, modern finished look.
WHY CHOOSE P&G RENOVATION
Specialist Crew
Dedicated ceiling team with the right tools and techniques for clean removal.
Safe & Clean
Full containment setup to keep dust out of your living spaces.
Fast Results
Most rooms completed in a single day including repair and painting.
RELATED SERVICES
POPCORN CEILING REMOVAL — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does my popcorn ceiling contain asbestos?
If your home was built or renovated before 1990 in Ontario, assume it might until a lab says otherwise. Testing costs very little and takes a few business days. We do not scrape untested pre-1990 ceilings — if the result is positive, removal is designated substance work that must be done by a licensed abatement contractor, and we will refer you to one and resume once the area is cleared.
How messy is popcorn ceiling removal, really?
Messier than painting, far cleaner than most people expect from us. Wet-scraping into full poly containment with sealed HVAC returns and HEPA extraction keeps the debris in the room. We remove the containment and vacuum and wipe the space before we leave, and the rest of your home stays unaffected.
Can you just paint over the popcorn instead?
You can paint it, and sometimes that is the right call on a budget, but painting locks the texture in permanently and makes later removal much harder because paint waterproofs the stipple against wet scraping. If you know you want a smooth ceiling eventually, remove it before you paint it.
Will the ceiling be perfectly smooth afterward?
That is the goal, and it is why we skim-coat the entire surface rather than just patching. Bear in mind that the drywall under old texture was often finished to a level 2 or 3 standard, so achieving a flat plane takes real compound work. We check the ceiling with a work light at a raking angle before priming so any remaining variation is corrected while it is still easy to fix.
AREAS WE SERVE
We provide popcorn ceiling removal services across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. Choose your city for local pricing, project references and crew availability.