popcorn ceiling removal Archives - Vancouver's Ceiling Experts

Fire damage and popcorn ceilings

Not all damage to popcorn ceilings comes from a leaky roof or a clumsy upstairs neighbour. The owners of this New Westminster condo found themselves in the midst of a fire, which left a good chunk of their apartment, including their popcorn ceiling, severely damaged. That’s why they got in touch with Vancouver’s Ceiling Experts at RemoveCeilingTexture.com.

As depicted in the before and after shots, you can see that we were able to remove the fire and smoke damaged popcorn from the concrete ceilings of this New Westminster condo and resurfaced the ceiling to a perfectly smooth, paint-ready finish.

Does your home have damaged/ugly popcorn ceilings? Click here to contact us!

How textured ceilings reduce your property value

Textured ceilings are out of date and obsolete

Any type of textured ceiling, including popcorn ceilings have a common purpose. They are sprayed on to hide any imperfections and lack of workmanship from the original builder. Textured ceilings are an easy method to distract your eyes from noticing how terrible the workmanship is on the underlying surface that is your ceiling.

There are those who argue that textured ceilings have acoustic properties. This theory suggests that textured ceilings reduce the echoing effect of sound in your home. However the acoustic properties of textured ceilings are highly exaggerated.

Sure, in a completely empty house, textured ceilings may have a minimal sound dampening effect. But once you have furniture, area rugs, picture frames and other furnishing inside the house, the sound dampening properties of a textured ceiling are entirely inconsequential.

Textured ceilings are an eyesore

Cracked ceiling texture reduces property value

The fact that home builders realized in the 1960′s that they could cut corners by spraying ceilings with popcorn texture to hide workmanship problems may have seemed like an easy solution to a problem back in the day. But it created a number of new problems. In addition to a variety of respiratory problems that textured ceilings contribute to, they also create a rough, uneven surface that is ultimately a bigger eyesore than the problem they were designed to solve in the first place.

Imagine this; Would you really want that type of popcorn texture on any other surfaces in your home? Would you be OK with popcorn texture on your hardwood floors? Would you not mind if your counter-tops were sprayed with popcorn texture? How about if your windows were covered with popcorn texture? Would that be OK? The answer is an astounding “No way”! And for a good reason. Popcorn texture is ugly, nasty and disgusting to look at. In short, textured ceilings are one massive eyesore throughout your house.

Now imagine if you were listing your house to sell it, and your lawn and front yard was ugly and neglected. Would that eyesore reduce your home’s curb appeal? Would that in turn reduce your home’s market value? You bet. There is a good reason why well maintained and well groomed homes sell quicker and fetch a higher price on the market.

It’s no different on the inside of your house. An ugly, unsightly, cracking and otherwise diseased ceiling will have negative effects on the market value of your home.

But obviously, we are in the business of removing textured ceilings and replacing them with beautiful smooth ceilings, so it is expected that we have a bias against textured ceiling. So let’s have a look at what some Realtors and other home owners have to say about the negative impact of textured popcorn ceilings on the value of a house.

What the experts have to say

Below is a sampling of what Realtors and homeowners alike have to say about whether textured ceilings lower the market value of your home or not.

Cascade Real Estate Team (California/Arizona); There ought to be special place in hell for whoever invented popcorn ceilings. They’re ugly, they’re impossible to clean, they may contain asbestos, and they are a big turn-off to potential home-buyers. My personal favorite is when it has glitter in it! If you are trying to sell your home, I recommend getting rid of them. Popcorn ceilings distract potential buyers from the true value of your home.

Roof Leak in Burnaby causes cracked and delaminated ceilings

Horrific scene; This ceiling texture is delaminated due to leaks

Mauri W. (Fix and Flip Network); Most people do not want the trouble of removing old unsightly ceiling coverings, especially if they contain hazardous asbestos, which can be expensive and problematic to remove. You could sell as-is to a home investor who plans to renovate. Or you can find home buyers who will overlook the old style ceilings if your home has enough pluses. While it’s ideal to remove the popcorn texturing, you also have other options—depending on the condition of the ceiling, whether it contains asbestos and your budget.

Amy G. (Washington State Realtor); I have personally removed popcorn ceilings in 2 homes. ( my husband is a contractor and I am a real estate agent) It is not as awful to do as it might seem (of course have it tested for asbestos first) and I cannot tell you how many clients I have had turn around and walk back out the door with one glance at popcorn ceilings. True dollar to dollar value, not huge, but it makes a big difference in perceived value which is what matters to the buyer. Good luck!!!

Ed B. (California Realtor); It all depends on what your competition has. If most of your competition has had the popcorn removed, they’ll look more attractive than your home because it’s going to require less updating than your home. If you’ve updated everything in the home except for the popcorn, it’s not going to look right. It’s a relatively inexpensive. I would recommend you shop around to get the popcorn removed and have the ceilings smooth. Just one professional’s opinion

Removing popcorn textured ceilings in your home, and replacing them with beautiful, smooth and clean ceilings will increase your property value. And it is a lot more affordable than you might expect. Fill out the form below to get in touch with us. We will provide a quick and free quote and stick to it. No surprises, GUARANTEED!

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Smooth ceilings in Burnaby

This cozy, 1980′s hi-rise apartment at Metrotown, was in need of some well-deserved renovation, and that’s exactly what the owners decided to do. Once the furniture was removed and carpet was pulled up, we moved in to remove that ugly ceiling texture, which had been collecting dust for over 20 years. Not to mention that after 20 years, the owners were sick and tired of looking at it. The owners of this cozy condo were simply looking for one thing; smooth ceilings throughout the apartment.

We removed the popcorn ceiling, skim coated the underlying (rough) concrete ceiling, sanded the ceiling to a smooth finish and painted the ceiling with a ceiling-specific, flat, white primer and paint. As you can see, the results speak for themselves. There is a specific problem that concrete ceilings pose when removing the textured ceilings. This problem is no apparent prior to painting the concrete ceilings and if you have an inexperienced person trying to make smooth ceilings out of textured concrete ceilings, you usually run into a finished ceiling that is uneven and imperfect.

With over 20 years of experience in the specific science of removing textured ceilings and making beautiful smooth ceilings throughout Metro Vancouver, RemoveCeilingTexture.com is your first choice for smooth ceilings.

Click on thumbnails to see full size pictures.

Are you looking to have smooth texture free ceilings? Click here to get in touch with us!

If you own a house or apartment in the Greater Vancouver area and are thinking of doing some renovations, it is the perfect time to contact us at RemoveCeilingTexture.com for a quote. We will set up a site meeting, measure your ceiling, go over the details of the process with you and finally submit a written, firm quote. The initial consultation and the quote are free. We will help you get the smooth ceilings you are looking for and in the meantime we will show you how to add thousands of dollars to the value of your home.

Additionally, find out about other renovation services offered by our sister company (Rocman Enterprises Inc) by clicking here.

Ugly ceiling prevents home sale

This cozy apartment unit in Coquitlam had been listed for sale and was on the market for nearly 3 months. Every time potential clients came through, they would complain about several cracks in the ceiling which was covered by very course popcorn texture. Ugly ceilings were preventing the sale of this apartment.

cracked popcorn ceiling in coquitlam prevents sale of apartment

Cracked popcorn ceiling prevents sale of unit

All offers made on this unit were $5000 lower than the listing price, citing the ugly ceiling. Prior to contacting us at RemoveCeilingTexture.com, the owner had sought help from other “handyman” sources. He had been told that there was no way to fix these several cracks in the ceilings permanently, unless the ceiling was completely ripped out and new drywall installed on the ceiling. This was not an option for the owner as it was a very expensive method and it would mean severe disruption to his lifestyle. It would also mean that he would have to take his apartment off the market for a lengthy period of time until the ceilings were fixed.

So he finally did the right thing and got in touch with us at RemoveCeilingTexture.com.

As you can see in the pictures below, RemoveCeilingTexture.com came to the rescue of this seller. We were able to fix all the cracks in the ceiling and remove the ugly ceiling texture so this homeowner could sell his apartment at full asking price. Better yet, we fixed and beautified the ceilings for a fraction of the dollars that potential buyers were holding back from him. The cracks on the ceilings were fixed, the ceiling popcorn was removed and the ceiling was painted and ready all withing 3 days.

If you are thinking about selling your Vancouver home, don’t let an ugly ceiling lower your property value. Let us help you maximize your sale price by making your ceilings smooth, beautiful and free of cracks and free of popcorn texture. Book your free consultation TODAY by getting in touch with us.

Click on thumbnails to enlarge

: Cracked popcorn ceiling prevents sale of unit

Is your ugly ceiling hurting your home’s market value? Click here to get in touch with us!

Vaulted popcorn ceiling transformed in Riley Park, Vancouver

This cozy apartment in the Riley Park neighborhood of Vancouver was an interesting project for us to work of particularly because it came equipped with a beautiful vaulted ceiling that was 17 feet high at its peak. Combine that with several skylights throughout the apartment and soon you realize that you have to have a professional working on your ceiling to produce a professional result.

Popcorn ceiling texture removed in hallway

Popcorn ceiling texture removed in kitchen

Popcorn ceiling texture removed from vaulted ceiling

And finally, the owners of this apartment can breathe easier with their new smooth, clean bedroom ceiling

Let us help you breathe easier in your home. Contact RemoveCeilingTexture.com today for a quote on removing the textured ceilings in your home.

Want to quickly increase the value of your Vancouver home?

Popcorn belongs at the movies, Not on your ceilings

The acoustic ceiling removal trend started in the early 80′s and has become a necessity in many areas when selling your home. Often, if they are not removed before placing your home on the market, potential buyers will request concessions for their replacement.

Many people simply hate the look of the cottage-cheese-like texture and wonder why they were applied in the first place. As with most construction trends you can follow the money trail for the answer; the widespread adoption of this finish practice by builders throughout America was simple economics. It was far less labor intensive and therefore cheaper to cover a partially finished drywall ceiling with a rough texture than to complete the drywall taping work to the stage needed for a smooth finish.

What started the removal trend? Some say it was the asbestos scare while others claim it was simply changing tastes of buyers. If your home does contain asbestos you must inform the potential buyers through disclosure or face possible legal action later down the road.

Prior to asbestos being outlawed in 1978, the natural but cancer causing fiber was added to the acoustic mix primarily as a binder to help hold the material together. Additionally the chrysotile asbestos used in popcorn ceilings is an outstanding fire proofing agent plus it increases the life of the pump used to apply the material by acting as a lubricant of sort.

But not all acoustic ceilings contain asbestos, and only lab testing can confirm its presence. You cannot smell it, taste it, or see it without a microscope and the training to know what you are looking for. Although acoustic was reformulated in 1978 existing stocks of the material were used well into the 1980′s.

By the late 90′s the use of this popcorn-looking texture fell out of favor with most builders because of public perception. It does, however, continue to this day with some builders, primarily those of lower end housing. Mobile homes are a great example of the cost saving building practice as most new units still contain machine applied asbestos-free acoustic.

Our exclusive, patent-pending removal process is straight forward, simple and clean. We can also eliminate the threat of asbestos in your ceiling texture, for the life of the building.

Many that attempt to take on the job of popcorn removal as a do-it-yourself project without taking the time to learn the techniques needed for success will damage the drywall when scraping off the acoustic, resulting in even more work and expense than removing the material the right way the first time.

If you are looking for a way to increase the value of your home, or you are just tired of looking at those spider web collecting, dust mite gathering, ugly popcorn ceilings, consider removing those eye sores and giving your home a fresh new look.

Contact RemoveCeilingTexture.com TODAY for a FREE in-home estimate. RemoveCeilingTexture.com serves the Metro Vancouver area including Vancouver, Burnaby, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, Port Moody, Surrey, Delta, Langley, White Rock, Tswassen.