Before and after: Ceiling texture removal in Burnaby – Bedroom
Ceilings are so often overlooked in home design. At RemoveCeilingTexture.com we believe that you should love your ceilings as much as you love the rest of your home. We’ve never heard anyone say that they love their ceiling texture, but we have had people tell us how much they love their smooth ceilings after we’ve worked on them.
What’s to Love About Smooth Ceilings?
It’s important to feel a sense of peace and comfort in your home. After all, it’s your refuge from this crazy world we live in. They may go mostly unnoticed, but that doesn’t mean that ceilings don’t affect the feel of your home. Dingy texture can make your home feel dark and oppressive. The difference between walking into a home with popcorn ceilings and one with smooth ceilings is quite noticeable. And not only do smooth ceilings invoke a sense of cleanliness, but they actually are cleaner. Because there are no nooks and crannies for dust to hide in, smooth ceilings are better for your health.
Feeling the Love in Burnaby and West Vancouver
This townhome in Burnaby had ceilings that were definitely less than loveable. The old ceiling texture was crumbly and dirty and needed to go. Smooth ceilings transformed the space into a much more pleasant place to be.
Before and after: Ceiling texture removal in Burnaby – Dining RoomBefore and after: Ceiling texture removal in Burnaby – Living Room
The owner of this West Vancouver home decided to have his ceiling texture removed at the same time as some other renovations. While it’s always a good time to get smooth ceilings, if you’re already planning renovations, starting with your ceilings is ideal.
Before and after: Ceiling texture removal in West Vancouver – Living RoomBefore and after: Ceiling texture removal in West Vancouver – Close-up
Whether you want ceiling texture removal for aesthetic reasons or health reasons, we’re certain you will love your ceilings once they’re smooth. Contact us today for a FREE quote on smooth ceilings. Call us at 604-420-7578 or contact us by email.
Do you want to increase the value of your home? That’s kind of like asking someone if they like pancakes. No rational person answers no to that! So unless you’re one of those weird, pancake-hating monsters people, here’s a simple way you can add some value to your home. (If you do hate pancakes, that’s okay. I’m sure your mother still loves you.)
Increase the Value of Your Home with Ceiling Renovations
Easy way to increase the value of your home: This West Van condo had ceiling texture removed
Renovations. The very word invokes fear in some and manic glee in others (you know who you are). But before you haul out the chainsaw and start hacking away at walls, a huge mortgage-your-house transformation may not be necessary. If your home is in decent shape but could use some tweaking, consider having RemoveCeilingTexture.com remove your ceiling texture and refinish the ceilings. Removing the popcorn ceilings can dramatically change your home’s appearance. Ceiling texture is outdated, dusty and full of allergens. It also makes rooms feel small. Smooth ceilings reflect light better and make spaces appear larger.
If you are planning a large renovation, smooth, refinished ceilings can be the crowning glory. But a smooth ceiling is also a great option if your house just needs a little bit of TLC and you’d like to increase the value of your home. The great thing about RemoveCeilingTexture.com’s ceiling texture removal process is that you don’t have to put your life on hold while the renovations are being done. We can work around you. In just a few days your ceiling will go from a lumpy, breeding ground for spiders to a smooth surface that makes the space feel more welcoming.
The kitchen in a Main Street condo gets an update simply by removing the popcorn texture on the ceilingsWe can work around things like fire sprinklers when removing ceiling texture.
Seller Beware: Smooth Ceilings Sell Better
We’ve dealt with many buyers who are in the process of putting an offer on a home.
Living room of Vancouver condo feels larger with smooth ceilings
They contact us to see how much it will cost to have the ceiling texture removed, and they’re going to factor that into the offer. If your ceilings are already smooth, your home will naturally fetch better offers from potential buyers. If the choice for a buyer is between your home and a similar home, you want to get whatever edge you can. If one has modern, smooth ceilings and is move-in ready and the other has dingy popcorn ceilings that will need to be dealt with before the buyers move in, it’s clear which one is going to be the winner. *Unless the purchasers hate pancakes. In that case they are loose cannons and there’s telling what they’ll do!
Ceiling texture removal in Vancouver – Bedroom
It couldn’t be easier to increase the value of your home. RemoveCeilingTexture.com provides FREE, no obligation quotes for ceiling renovations and ceiling texture removal.. Contact us today at 604-420-7578 or send us an email.
Would you like to increase the value of your home with ceiling texture removal? Contact us today for a FREE quote!
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!
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.
Do your textured ceilings make you cringe? Click here to do something about them!
