Like Leisure Suits, Textured Ceilings & Walls should be Abolished From Memory
Sure, there is a time and place for texture. For instance, fashion would be dull if textured fabrics were taken out of the picture. Velour, corduroy, silk… Some fabrics are so texture-rich it’s hard not to pet the velvet-draped stranger beside you (sidenote: do not pet this person!).
When it comes to your house, though, texture is usually applied to distract you from the fact that the ceilings or walls were not finished properly. That’s right, not only does ceiling and wall texture make your house look like it disco danced out of the 1970s, but it’s often used to cut corners. After all, it’s easier for a builder to just spray some lumpy guck everywhere instead of finishing the ceilings and walls to a smooth surface. And for some reason, this hideous look caught on.
The exteriors of homes haven’t escaped this texture-induced frenzy either. Often, exterior stucco has been “finished” to an absurdly rough coating. Stalagmites on cave floors? Amazing. Stalagmites applied horizontally to the exterior of your house? Not so much.
Texture removal on the exterior of a Coquitlam homeAfter texture removal, the exterior walls have better curb appeal
“Dahling, you must come see my fabulous ceiling texture” — Said No One Ever
Have you ever gone to the show home of an upscale real estate project? You’ve probably noticed that there is almost never ceiling texture or wall texture (inside or out). They know that a house has a better chance of selling, and for more money, if the surfaces are smooth and perfectly finished. If you browse Houzz for luxury interiors you will see that there is not a trace of texture to be found. But, if you’re not in the market for an upscale show home and you’re not ready for a Houzz-worthy interior renovation, with texture removal you can still get a professional, smooth finish on your ceilings and walls.
Texture removal creates smooth, upscale ceilingsCeilings have a professional look after texture removal
Texture removal makes it difficult for spiders to build websThe valances in this home required texture removal
The Texture Titan—Dr. Frankenstein’s Little Known First Experiment
At Remove Ceiling Texture, we believe that texture is an ugly monster of the past and should be banished to the pits of hell (yes, we feel pretty strongly about it!). We’ve made it our business to fight it wherever it rears its ugly head. Whether you have ceiling texture, interior wall texture or exterior stucco, we can make your surfaces beautifully smooth. If you’re looking to sell and want to get top dollar or just want to live without the eyesore, contact us today for a free quote on any type of texture removal. It’s time we all said farewell to this unnecessary beast.
More Examples of Texture Removal:
Texture removal on concrete ceilings in YaletownTexture removal fixes peeling, water damaged ceilingTexture removal in a Port Coquitlam SkylightTexture removal instead of matching existing texture
Texture removal from the ceiling and valancesTexture removal from valances
Do you have interior or exterior texture that's an eyesore? Contact us today for a FREE quote on texture removal!
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.
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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We asked them what they think about their popcorn ceilings
Ceiling texture that has cracked over the years
As a company that has built its business around removing popcorn ceilings in Metro Vancouver, you would imagine that we have a certain bias against textured ceiling. But one thing is for certain. If our potential customers didn’t have a problem with textured ceilings in their home, our business would have never been plausible.
In addition to the potential hazards that we have explained your popcorn ceiling can pose, we set out to do a social experiment and ask our clients, what is it about popcorn ceilings that they dislike, and what motivates them to get in touch with RemoveCeilingTexture.com. As you may imagine, there were a variety of responses, some of which contained colourful language that doesn’t belong on this blog. But below is a slice of some of the responses that we got;
And here’s what they told us
Greta from Richmond, BC: One problem is you can’t dust them without the “popcorn” coming off. Super annoying, particularly around any ceiling fans.
Raymond from New Westminster BC: Asbestos was used in the ceiling texture during the 50s and 60s. It’s use actually extended well into the late 70s and it’s frequently found in houses of that era. The expense of scraping the popcorn is significantly increased if it is present, assuming the contractors go the full 9 yards. Somewhere between double and triple the cost.
Leung from Burnaby, BC: I had popcorn ceilings in one of my investment properties at Metrotown. The popcorn ceilings were painted several times. Popcorn isn’t fun to paint over! Even with the thicker rollers you have to go over it at least 4-5 times to make sure you get enough paint on. Then you have the issue of the popcorn falling off while you are painting it. I hate it and I’m glad it’s gone.
Richard (Custom Home Buider) from West Vancouver, BC: Popcorn ceilings were only designed to hide poor ceiling finishes. You typically don’t see popcorn ceilings in custom built homes but more in condominiums or spec homes.
Susan from Port Moody, BC: I’m with the “no popcorn” people. It’s what everyone has said and worse, if you ask me. They hold nasty cobwebs and rain popcorn pellets on you when you try to dust them. Painting them is awful and time consuming, but like any ceiling, they yellow in time and must be repainted every so often. And yes, they are really just a cheap way to hide blemishes. And I’m going to be even more curmudgeonly and say that I don’t buy the “acoustic” argument. We had the ceiling texture in our vaulted living room ceiling removed, and we have solid-surface floors. We really do not have a problem at all with echoing & noise. Project creep is just an excuse. Get them removed when you have those floors installed. The result will be gorgeous.
Wayne from Langley, BC: I am a general contractor and have been for 30 plus years. I’ve applied popcorn texture to many ceilings and have owned homes with it also. I also suffer with allergies, and the dust from the popcorn does a real number on me.The thing with the popcorn ceiling is that it deteriorates over time and decomposes into dust particles that fall all over you, your bed, furniture, floors, pictures frames, moldings, etc. The only way to fix this is to remove the texture and have a smooth ceiling so you can breathe clean air for a bit. The flat textured ceilings also dry and deteriorate over time, but as you can tell if you pass a broom across it, a lot less of the texture will fall off on each stroke than the coarse popcorn ceilings.
Collin from Coquitlam, BC: 1975 popcorn ceiling got water damage and started falling down at one house I lived in . The popcorn tested positive for asbestos of course. Assume any popcorn ceiling has asbestos until proven otherwise just like you assume all 1970s or earlier paint contains lead.
Joan from North Vancouver, BC: I would be worried about getting mesothelioma from a deteriorating popcorn ceiling. It would be insane to remove a popcorn ceiling without a professional. You cannot be sure what is in the popcorn ceiling. People seem very unaware of the potential hazards. If you get cancer from removing the ceiling or living with a crumbling one, it would be years later. I think the public is sadly unaware.
Christine from Vancouver, BC: Not only do I hate popcorn, but I hate all textures, both ceilings and walls. They look tacky and gross. When I see textured walls or ceilings, I imagine a scenario in which two hillbillies banter back and forth about how to class up their trailer home. The one says to the other, “You know what would really class up our home, hon? Textured ceilin’s ‘n some fancy wooden trim! Yeehaw!” My husband and I just spent the whole day de-tackifying a room full of textured walls and ceilings, and ripping off trim. The simpler, the better in my opinion- and classier looking too.
Nolan from White Rock, BC: Seems like people either hate these ceilings or are indifferent to them. Does anybody actually like popcorn ceilings though? Not that I’ve heard of. By the way, if you are concerned about noise traveling from room to room, a good solid-core door does much more to fight noise than acoustic ceilings ever could.
Jason from Port Coquitlam, BC: While I admit the acoustic dampening is good if you have hard floors and nothing in the house, for carpeted houses and houses with actual furniture, wall art, shelves, etc… popcorn ceilings can be more annoying than useful. I have already accidentally scraped the popcorn from some our low ceilings numerous times in the two and half years since we moved in and been quite annoyed by the dust falling in my eyes, clothes, food, etc. I sleep in a loft bed, so I am particularly close to the ceiling which makes it even more annoying. And the fact that you can never match the existing texture perfectly when you repair it, makes things worse. Even worse, we have a moth infestation, and find several bloody waxworms crawling around the walls and roof per day. We vacuum them up frequently to prevent them laying more eggs, but spotting them is made much harder due to the stupid popcorn. This is particularly annoying because they do not stay on the roof, they actually spin silk to come down or even just fall right off, so we are trying to get into the habit of covering all of our food so that we don’t end up with a mouthful of maggots (not to mention that every twitch of the hair makes us think that a worm just fell on our heads). If the ceiling was flat, the task would be so much easier, cleaner and faster.
Helen from Surrey, BC: Moth maggots have been falling from my ugly popcorn ceiling for weeks now. I will hear a light pop and look over to see one trying to snuggle up with me on our leather sofa, it’s absolutely gross! So I took a tissue and a chair and walked around to try and nap the suckers from their popcorn dream home. I discovered SO many stuck up there inside a small web-like cocoon. I am removing the popcorn ceilings pronto! I can’t have worms raining from my ceiling any longer!
Here’s what you can do
Damaged popcorn ceiling peeling off
If you are in agreement with the statements our fellow citizens have made about their popcorn ceilings, but don’t have the time or patience to deal with the problem, you’re still in luck. Contact the professionals at RemoveCeilingTexture.com TODAY!
We will come in, measure your place, give you a firm price and stick to it. We’ll deal with the pain of removing those ugly popcorn ceilings so you don’t have to. We’re in and out with a quick turnaround time and we won’t leave a large dent in your wallet.Simply fill out the form below and we will get in touch with you in within 24 hours.
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