ceiling painting Popcorn Ceiling Removal skim coating

Popcorn ceiling removal in Lancaster NY.

October 28, 2023

Dave Carrigan Jr

Popcorn Ceiling Removal

We have removed our share of popcorn ceiling texture from ceilings all over western New York. We use water to remove the ceiling texture, as its the safest, most efficient way to remove a popcorn ceiling. We have tried the sanding method, and while that does work, and is sometimes faster, multiple visits to the chiropractor after the fact is usually required so we don’t do that anymore. Imagine holding up a 25 pound broom, against your ceiling and moving it across the ceiling, taking care not to dig into the drywall. Its not easy, and literally is back breaking work.

Our way, while messier, is easier. And typically results in less over all dust, as well as negating the asbestos risk. We take a 2 gallon sprayer, fill it with warm water, and spray your ceilings til they begin to drip, then move to the next area, and then come back and hit the areas we started with. At that point, we take a 6″ putty knife and scrape off the texture.

If the ceilings have never been painted, we have a special tool that works extremely well to remove texture. However often the ceiling have been painted due to their age, theyre dirty, so naturally we want white ceilings, so about 50% of the ceilings we remove are painted. The water method stil works, just takes a bit more finesse.

Popcorn Texture is Often Used to Hide Defects

Often times, popcorn texture was applied to ceilings to hide damage. Such as in this case there was a fair amount of ceiling damage and over all ‘weirdness’ going on that required patching in addition to skim coating the entire ceiling

Here is Stacy working her drywall magic. This area required extensive patching.

Always looks really bad right before it looks amazing.

Professional Problem Solvers

We run into this from time to time. We tried using a quality, high build latex primer from Sherwin in this area, and well as you can see it didn’t work. We promptly returned it to Sherwin. Another disappointment. So we switched back to our tried and true oil primer from Sherwin.

Ceiling Skim Coating

Once the ceiling were primed, we skim coated them. Then sanded, then primed with oil primer (because it works) and then made touchups to our work.

Once we were happy with how the ceilings looked, we painted them. Came out really nice. In these photos, the ceiling paint was still drying. For whatever reason, the ceilings took forever to dry in this house.

Ceiling Painters

We also did the kitchen, hall, and master bedroom ceilings.

You would never know we had an issue around the staircase.

Master bedroom ceiling.. Complete with glitter!

I figured the job would take about a week to complete. However due to the drying issues we ran into, the total project ended up taking 7 days.

If you would like to discuss removing popcorn ceilings in your home, give us a call: 716-697-3560

We have more information about popcorn ceiling texture here
How do you like your Popcorn?

Carrigan Painting

Dave Carrigan Jr

With over 25 years of experience in residential construction, Dave specializes in ceiling repairs and high-end interior painting, often exceeding contractual obligations to ensure the highest level of craftsmanship. His ability to maintain exceptional customer satisfaction in such a demanding field is a testament to his expertise, integrity, and dedication to quality.

Dave Carrigan Jr. is the owner of Carrigan Painting, a 5-star-rated residential painting and plaster repair company serving the first- and second-ring northern suburbs of Buffalo, NY. For 15 consecutive years, Carrigan Painting has maintained a perfect 5-star reputation—an achievement nearly unmatched in the industry.

As the author of The Painter’s Plastering Blog, Dave shares expert insights on home improvement, plaster restoration, and industry trends. He also personally manages Carrigan Painting’s website and YouTube channel, providing homeowners with valuable resources and a firsthand look at the company’s craftsmanship.

Explore Carrigan Painting’s work:
🔹 Interior Painting | 🔹 Ceiling Repairs | 🔹 Plaster Repair | 🔹 Drywall Repair

Carrigan Painting’s F.A.Q. here.

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Lancaster NY.

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