Smoothing exterior stucco walls is not often thought of when it comes to renovations and home improvements. Exteriors are sometimes overlooked here in the rainy Lower Mainland, where we tend to spend the majority of our time inside. We watch TV, read and browse the internet all from our cozy living rooms. When thinking about improving our homes, we flip through magazines (or browse Pinterest obsessively!) showcasing granite counter tops and gas ranges in the kitchen, or luxurious marble steam showers in the bathroom. But when was the last time you took a critical look at the exterior of your house? Could it use a bit of polishing to really shine? The exterior is the facade you present to the world (or at least to the neighbours out for their evening stroll). Shouldn’t it reflect your style as much as the inside of your home does?
Outdoor Living Made Perfect
Summer is the perfect time to focus on exteriors. Evenings and weekends are spent lounging in backyards and barbecuing on patios.
The homeowners said goodbye to their exterior stucco.
A simple thing like smoothing exterior stucco walls can give your home a makeover that will make sipping lemonade or frosty beer in the summer heat that much more enjoyable. A Coquitlam family contacted us about their stucco covered exterior walls. The homeowner is a home decorator and had designed a beautiful outdoor living area for her family to spend their summer evenings. However, the stucco just wasn’t in harmony with the rest of the design. They called us to remove it. It was a minor renovation that only took a few days, but it really improved the look and feel of the space. The last piece of her design puzzle was smoothing exterior stucco walls.
You’re not stuck with stucco walls. We can smooth your exterior walls.The formerly lumpy walls are now smooth and have better curb appeal.The old stucco didn’t go with the homeowners’ design, so they opted for smooth exterior walls.Smoothing the exterior stucco walls makes it more difficult for insects to find crevices to nest.
Texture, Be Gone!
At Remove Ceiling Texture, we specialize in removing unnecessary texture from homes. Texture is usually applied to hide imperfections. It doesn’t look good and can attract all sorts of things from dust and allergens to spiderwebs and insect cocoons. Whether you’re thinking about removing ceiling texture or smoothing exterior stucco walls, your best bet is to call the professionals. We can solve your texture problem so you can go back to enjoying the summer sunshine.
Stucco can often look dated. For a quick makeover, we can smooth your exterior walls.
Would you like to get rid of the stucco on your exterior walls? Contact us today for a FREE quote!
Losing Inches is Only Good If You’re Talking Weight Loss
Instead of drywalling over textured ceilings, why not have the ceiling texture removed?
It’s a misconception that the only way to achieve modern, smooth ceilings is by drywalling over textured ceilings. Remove Ceiling Texture has been creating sleek ceilings for years and we have never put new drywall on top of existing texture. There are several problems with drywalling over textured ceilings. Firstly, you’ll lose headroom. Losing half an inch may not seem like much, but it can make a big difference in the feel of the room, especially if it’s in a basement. Secondly, once the drywall is up, it will still need to be finished professionally if you don’t want to see drywall seams or screws. And thirdly, you’ll have to pay for drywall! Our exclusive process of smoothing ceilings means that you won’t lose headroom, your ceilings will be as smooth as glass and you won’t have to pay for new drywall.
Smooth Ceilings – a North Vancouver Home’s Crown
We were called by homeowners in North Vancouver who were considering drywalling over textured ceilings. They decided to call us first for professional advice.
Instead of drywalling over textured ceilings, the homeowners opted for ceiling texture removal.
We discussed some of the issues that would come up by adding drywall–less headroom and the cost of drywall. Another issue for them was the beautiful crown moulding throughout the house. If new drywall was applied, the moulding would need to be removed first and then be re-installed. This would add to both the cost and timeline of the project. Our process of smoothing can be done with the crown moulding in place, and without the added layer of drywall. In addition, it’s a near dust-free method ensuring that their lives are not completely disrupted. They decided to trust us with their ceilings. As you can see from the before and after photos, the results are professional and polished.
By choosing ceiling texture removal over just drywalling over textured ceilings, the homeowners didn’t need to pay for the drywall expense.As a bonus, when we make your ceilings smooth, we don’t need to tear down any crown moulding. This saves both time and expense.Drywalling over textured ceilings would have resulted in loss of headroom. The homeowners wisely choose ceiling texture removal instead.If the owners had chosen drywalling over textured ceilings, this bulkhead would have been difficult to deal with. Instead, we were able to easily smooth over it.
When it Comes to Ceilings, Professionals Count (well, more accurately, they “smooth”)
If a contractor suggests drywalling over textured ceilings, it probably means that he (or she) just doesn’t know what else to do with it. They think that removing the texture is a messy, time-consuming process that they don’t particularly want to deal with. And you know what? If you don’t know what you’re doing, removing ceiling texture is messy and time-consuming. However, at Remove Ceiling Texture our entire area of focus is…ceilings. We have the tools, we have the knowledge and we have the expertise that other contractors just don’t have when it comes to smoothing ceilings. As a bonus, our process is not nearly as messy as some contractors tend to be.
Our ceiling texture removal process produces almost no mess. Quite a difference from most contractors out there.
Here are some During and After shots of our work:
While we were smoothing the ceilings, the chandelier didn’t even need to come down!First coat being applied. Ceiling texture removal makes the room look much more modern.Preparing the crown moulding. Moulding doesn’t need to be torn down for us to smooth the ceilings.Still looks pretty rough after only one coat, but the After photo shows how smooth the final results are.
Do you want smooth ceilings? Contact us today for a FREE quote!
We were recently called to look at the ceilings of a home in Richmond. The homeowners had installed pot lights and there was some drywall that had been replaced also. The new section of drywall did not have popcorn texture like the rest of the ceilings did, and they wanted this fixed. They asked us at Remove Ceiling Texture for a price for smoothing the ceilings. We took our measurements and sent them the quote that evening. They reviewed our quote for smoothing the ceilings and let us know that they had instead decided to have the section textured to match the surrounding texture, as they thought this would be the less expensive option. Since our business is built on removing ceiling texture, we did not give them another quote for matching the ceiling texture, but wished them the best.
Matching Ceiling Texture – an Impossible Feat
A few days later, we heard from them again. They were shocked that our quote for smoothing the ceilings of the whole main floor was actually not that much more than the quotes they had received from other companies to apply ceiling texture to the small section of new drywall and match it to the existing texture. It would cost them two thirds of our price for the other companies to do this small patch job.
Matching ceiling texture is pretty much impossible. The homeowners went with smooth ceilings instead.
Not only was the price per square foot more expensive for matching ceiling texture, it’s likely that it would not blend perfectly. Since it’s very difficult to seamlessly integrate new ceiling texture into existing texture, there’s almost always some telltale sign betraying the patch job. Once they realized they could have custom, smooth ceilings for nearly the same price as texture application, they made the easy decision to have us work our magic.
An Artisan’s Touch
Once we started, they could see that our work involves a great deal of expertise, and they were getting a lot of value for their money. We use the same hands-on approach that master tradesmen have been using for centuries—a hawk & trowel and, most importantly, an artful eye. You can see from the before and after photos what a difference the ceiling texture removal has made. The shadows that the texture created are gone leaving the rooms brighter. The whole place has been freshened up (literally—ceiling texture traps allergens that can aggravate asthma!). Instead of a large strip of noticeably different ceiling texture dividing the room, they now have smooth, seamless ceilings on the entire main floor. They were thrilled with the results and glad they had changed their mind about trying to match the texture.
Rather than trying to match the existing ceiling texture, the homeowners opted for smooth ceilingsBy smoothing the ceilings we were able to get rid of this gap between the ceiling and walls.
Scuffed ceilings are a thing of the past now that they have smooth ceilings.
Before the ceiling texture was removed, the texture caused shadows.
Contact us now for a FREE quote for smooth ceilings
There is a big Do It Yourself movement right now. If you turn on HGTV, you likely won’t have to wait long for a DIY program. The book section at Home Depot is filled with DIY guides. The idea is that you’ll save money by doing a project yourself. The problem with this theory is that it doesn’t consider your time to be worth anything. Whether you’re working to earn income, socializing with friends or spending quality time with family, your time is valuable.
At RemoveCeilingTexture we’re often contacted by homeowners who have attempted to scrape off their popcorn ceiling texture. This is a messy, time-consuming process, but the real problem comes after the texture has been removed. There’s a reason texture is applied to ceilings. It’s to hide imperfections. Once the texture is removed, these deficiencies are obvious. The ceilings will still need to be finished by a professional.
This is what DIY texture removal and ceiling smoothing looks like. Remove Ceiling Texture was called in to fix the mess.Smoothing ceilings is harder than it looks! This was a DIY attempt.
This is after Remove Ceiling Texture was called in to professionally fix the DIY mess.Remove Ceiling Texture was able to fix the homeowner’s DIY disaster.
Hiring a professional contractor offers several advantages over attempting a project yourself.
Practice Makes Perfect
Could someone off the street walk into your place of work and do your job? Not likely. Perhaps you have a degree or have taken relevant courses. You’ve had training and experience. You are a professional at what you do. In the same way, professional contractors have had training and they have experience. This is what they do every single day. They have know-how that can’t be taught in a 30-minute DIY show.
Time is Money
What might take you several days or a week to get done, a professional contractor can accomplish in a day or so. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, the contractor doesn’t have to consult books or internet articles to make sure that he’s doing it the right way. As mentioned above, they have the knowledge and experience already. And second of all, this is their full time job. You have other things that need to get done. Maybe you work full time and can’t commit to the hours at a time that are often needed. You might have to drive kids to soccer games or piano lessons. When you’re constantly interrupted, it’s difficult to get much done at all. Just ask any mom with small kids!
Tools of the Trade
Many projects require specific tools. Unless your neighbour is Mike Holmes and he loves to lend you his tools, you’ll either have to rent or buy the tools necessary. And there’s a learning curve to many of these tools—it takes a few tries to get it right. A skilled professional knows the tools of his (or her!) trade like the back of his hand.
Quality Craftsmanship–Guaranteed Perfection
The other problem with the saving money theory, is that often the project doesn’t get done the right way the first time. You could end up spending more time and money having to redo the work you’ve already done. A professional contractor does it right the first time. They also guarantee their work. If something does go wrong or doesn’t look quite right, they’ll come back and fix it. Their reputation is on the line, so perfection is important. A project that has been done DIY-style is often apparent to most people. Even if it was done fairly well, it usually doesn’t have the polished look that it will when done by a professional.
So how should you go about hiring a professional contractor?
Finding a Qualified Contractor
Ask around. Friends, family or neighbours can be a good source of referrals. Not only can they tell you about the contractor’s performance, but you can see the work for yourself. Home building associations can also be useful. An internet search of the project you want done (for example: ceiling texture removal) should pull up a list of relevant contractors also.
Discuss your project with a few potential contractors to get their advice and suggestions on how they would do the work. At the first meeting, some may give you a rough estimate of costs, depending on the project’s scope and complexity. The first meeting is usually more to get to know the contractor and the contractor’s work. Unless you have been able to check out the contractor ahead of time you should not sign anything or pay anything at this stage.-1
If possible, have the contractors visit the project site before giving you a quote. For accuracy, it’s important that they see the entire scope of work and take their own measurements where necessary. While they are there, ask as many questions as possible. As the CMHC guide points out:
You won’t offend reputable firms with questions. If a contractor doesn’t seem to know much about the technical details of the job or doesn’t want to talk about them, you may have the wrong contractor.-2
It’s also important to ask about workers’ compensation and insurance coverage. Every reputable contractor should have these basics. Feel free to ask for samples of work and references. If they are experienced professionals, they should have no problem providing you with this.
You Get What You Pay For
A few quotes should be enough to make a decision. They should be in writing and state clearly what is included. There should also be an expected time frame. If the quotes are vastly different from each other, make sure each contractor understood the project completely. If something was missed on one quote, you won’t be able to compare them properly. While price is important, it shouldn’t be the only thing you consider. Think about your interaction with each contractor. Did you feel comfortable asking questions or were you made to feel stupid? Did they communicate well with you or did you have to drag answers out of them? Did they offer suggestions or were they not very familiar with the type of project? If you aren’t comfortable with your contractor, the cheapest price isn’t necessarily worth it in the long run.
The Nitty Gritty
Once you’ve hired the contractor, the open communication should continue. The best way to avoid misunderstandings is to talk. If you have questions or concerns, don’t be afraid to voice them. Likewise, if something unexpected comes up that could change the scope of the project (as sometimes does with renovations and construction), your contractor should discuss it with you as soon as possible and give you options on how to solve the issue. You should always feel involved in the process and never forced into any decision—after all, it’s your house and your money.
Upon Completion
When the project is complete, inspect the work to make sure that you’re happy with it. If there is a problem, contact your contractor right away. They will be glad to fix it. Remember, contractors often work on referrals, so your satisfaction is important to them.
Some people love puttering around the house, working on a project bit by bit for weeks on end. If this is you and you can live with less than perfect results, by all means, go the DIY route. But if you demand quality results and want things done properly the first time, hire a qualified professional—you won’t regret it.
This DIY ceiling texture removal job left the ceilings uneven, patchy and full of ridges.The homeowner made a mess of smoothing his ceilings as he attempted to DIY.
Remove Ceiling Texture cleaned up the DIY mess and the homeowners were left with perfectly smooth ceilings.The DIY ceiling smoothing attempt was professionally fixed by Remove Ceiling Texture.
Did you attempt to DIY with your ceilings? Contact us today!
Skylights With Ceiling Texture – It Was Never Meant to Be
Skylights are a great way to brighten a room. The natural light is flattering and your energy bill can often be reduced since less artificial light is needed. However, if they are not finished correctly, like skylights with ceiling texture, problems can arise. Texture is applied to skylights for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s done to cut corners. It’s easier to spray popcorn ceiling than it is to finish the drywall properly. Other times it’s done because the homeowner likes the look.
Skylights with ceiling texture can be damaged by moisture
Regardless of the reason, it’s a terrible idea. As mentioned in a previous post (Moldy skylights, cracked and peeling off?), skylights are naturally more hot and humid than the rest of the house. That lurking moisture and ceiling texture is not a good combination. It can cause cracking, peeling, and even mold build-up and then you’re left with a real mess. It’s far better to finish it properly from the start. If you do have skylights with ceiling texture, RemoveCeilingTexture.com is the solution to your problem.
Good Riddance to Bad Ceiling Texture
We were called in to have a look at a home in Port Coquitlam that had skylights with ceiling texture. The homeowner is an architect who had designed and built his home in the early 1980s. At the time, it was common to cover everything with ceiling texture.
Skylights with ceiling texture look dark and dingy
Now, though, the ceiling texture was dirty and stained. The owners were also concerned about their home’s air quality and possible health risks (including asthma), especially to their visiting grandchildren. So after living with it for many years, they decided it was time to kiss the ceiling texture goodbye. We got to work removing the texture in the skylights, and throughout the rest of the house as well.
A Smooth New Start
Once we removed the texture from the skylights and finished them to a smooth surface, they actually looked brighter. The texture had been swallowing up the natural light, but now the light is reflected much more efficiently. Best of all, the owners don’t have to worry about health hazards like mold. They know that their grandchildren can play in their home without being exposed to toxic air. It’s a brand new beginning for the home they designed and built with love.
Cobwebs and dust can build up in ceiling textureSmooth ceilings suit this custom built home
Do you have skylights with ceiling texture? RemoveCeilingTexture can help! Contact us today for a free quote.
Behind the sleek glass of highrise apartment buildings is concrete, and lots of it. When building these super-structures, concrete is poured into forms and left to cure. After the forms are removed, the ceilings generally aren’t perfectly flat. To disguise the residual waves, popcorn ceiling texture is often applied. Does this mean if you have concrete ceilings you’re stuck with ugly ceiling texture? Not if RemoveCeilingTexture has anything to say about it!
With Concrete Ceilings, Professionals Make All the Difference
We were called in to have a look at the popcorn covered concrete ceilings of a condo at Marinaside Crescent in Yaletown. The popcorn was an ugly blemish on the homeowner’s gorgeous False Creek views and she wanted it gone.
Texture was removed from the concrete ceilings in the living room of this Yaletown condo
She could attempt the messy and tedious process of removing the texture herself, but as mentioned above, concrete ceilings are often wavy and can even have cracks due to the shrinkage of the concrete as it matures (thermal expansion and shrinkage of concrete). The ceilings would still need to be finished and would have to be as smooth as glass because the partial southern exposure will magnify any imperfections. So instead of hiring a “jack-of-all-trades” renovation company, she trusted RemoveCeilingTexture with her ceilings. Our expertise and entire area of focus is just that: ceilings. We know all about working with tricky ripples and unsightly cracks in concrete ceilings (read about another downtown Vancouver condo with concrete ceilings).
Ugly, Textured Concrete Ceilings No Longer Compete with Million Dollar Views
The ugly ceiling texture is removed and no longer competes with the million dollar view of False Creek
As you can see from the before and after photos, the rough, bumpy ceilings were completely revamped. Furthermore, because the homeowner hired ceiling experts, she doesn’t have to worry about imperfections in the concrete ceiling making a nasty appearance. She can now fully enjoy the impressive Vancouver skyline.
Smooth, finished concrete ceilings give this Yaletown condo’s bedroom an updateA professional can make concrete ceilings smooth as glass
Do you have concrete ceilings that need finishing or texture removal? Contact us today for a free quote!
One of the issues with strata living is sometimes having to deal with other people’s messes. When condo owners Thomas and Maria experienced water damaged ceilings due to a neighbour’s flood, they had a restoration company come in to repair the ceilings.
What should have been a simple job turned into a nightmare for them.
The restoration company took much longer than they had expected, causing harm to their home-based business and causing them unnecessary stress. Soon after the “restoration” was finished, the ceiling texture began to crack and peel off and they were left with a botched job.
They mentioned to their postman the headache they were dealing with, and he happened to know that another homeowner on his route had just had his ceilings refinished and was very pleased with them. He promised to get the name of the ceiling company for them. That is how they got in touch with us at RemoveCeilingTexture.com!
We came in to have a look. Their ceilings really were a mess and they were understandably hesitant about more work being done. They had been promised quality work before, and the restoration company couldn’t deliver. We assured them that since we specialize in ceiling work, we have expertise that other restoration and renovation companies just don’t have. We had dealt with numerous water-damaged ceilings before and we knew we could fix their problem (read about our repair of water damaged ceilings caused by a leaky roof in Burnaby). Thomas and Maria were still somewhat nervous, but decided to have us start right away.
They were finally able to relax when they saw that we did indeed have the expertise we promised. We transformed their peeling, cracked, water damaged ceilings into smooth, pristine ceilings that now look even better than before the flood.
The before and after photos show the extent of damage to their ceilings. The before photos are after the original “restoration” company worked on them and the after photos are after we fixed them.
Water damaged ceilings near doorwayCracked, water damaged ceilings
Have water damaged ceilings or other ceiling problems? Click here to contact us for a free quote.
Purchasing real estate is a big deal. It’s common to ask questions such as “Did I get a good deal?” and “Will I be happy in this area?”. The questions you shouldn’t have to ask are “Will my new home negatively affect my health?” and “Will the ceiling texture affect the sale price if I ever decide to resell?”.
This new condo owner on Commercial Drive took action to avoid these questions by calling us at RemoveCeilingTexture.com to have a look at her dingy ceilings.
As with most textured ceilings, this one was covered with dust and even cobwebs. The texture was also cracked along the edges of the walls. We assured her that texture removal would give the condo a fresh look and began our work.
You can see from the before and after photos that the result just a few days later was clean, smooth ceilings. Now the homeowner can relax in her new condo and ask herself “Where will my sofa look best?” instead of worrying about the state of her ceilings.
Ceiling texture can crack around the wallsDirty ceiling texture in the kitchenHallway appears brighter after removing the ceiling textureLiving room of Commercial Drive condo gets a new look by removing the ceiling texture
Thinking about doing something about those ugly ceilings? Click here to get in touch with us!
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!
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.
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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