Coopersburg, Lehigh County
Popcorn ceiling removal in Coopersburg, PA.
Federal, Queen Anne and plain brick houses line Main Street, but half of the borough's homes date from 1950 to 1979. Those postwar ceilings are where popcorn turns up, and older texture is tested before it comes down.
Popcorn ceiling removal for Coopersburg homes
Half of Coopersburg's homes were built from 1950 through 1979, while the borough's population rose from about 1,460 to more than 2,300 between 1950 and 1970. Those houses went up in exactly the decades when builders sprayed acoustic texture onto ceilings instead of taping and finishing them smooth.
The 1950s and the 1970s each added more than 200 homes, and texture from either decade sits well before the mid-1980s line. It may contain asbestos, which only a lab can rule in or out, so a sample is tested before the ceiling is scraped, sanded or cut. If it comes back positive, the work goes to a certified asbestos abatement contractor; if not, the texture comes down wet in a sealed room and the ceiling is skimmed for primer and paint.
Coopersburg
The borough that grew by 59 percent from 1950 to 1970
Along Main Street, the historic district's 175 buildings run from Federal houses to Queen Anne and Colonial Revival ones, and the plain brick houses on State and Fairview Streets date from about 1900 to 1910. Nearly a third of the borough's homes predate 1940 and were plastered, and their ceilings are more often a plaster-repair job than a popcorn one.
The postwar half of the borough is where sprayed texture is most at home. Upper Saucon Township, which wraps around Coopersburg and takes in Center Valley a mile north on Route 309, is newer again: close to half its homes date from 1990 or later and only about six percent from before 1940, so a sprayed ceiling there is most likely in one of the township's pre-1990 houses.
Worth knowing
Texture from the 1970s
Ceilings from the 1970s, when the borough added more than 200 homes, are well inside the years when asbestos could be in the texture. They are sampled before anything else happens.
Fixtures come down first
Power to the ceiling is shut off, and light fixtures and fans are taken down before any misting starts, so nothing electrical sits in the wet work.
Center Valley and Upper Saucon
The township's houses from before 1990 are where sprayed ceilings turn up. The newer half, built since then, is much less likely to have them.
The work
How the work goes
The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to popcorn ceiling removal.
The walkthrough
Randy looks at the ceilings with you, how they were built and how the rooms are lit, and explains what removal and refinishing will involve. You get a written estimate; like the walkthrough, it is complimentary.
Test before anything else
If the texture may date from before the mid-1980s, a sample has to be taken by an accredited asbestos professional and tested by a lab before the ceiling is touched. If it tests positive, the job belongs to a certified asbestos abatement contractor, not a painter.
Containment
The room is emptied, floors and walls are sheeted in plastic, and power to the ceiling fixtures is shut off. The texture comes down as wet, heavy debris, and it should stay inside the room it came from.
Wet scraping
The texture is misted lightly, given time to soften, and scraped off in small sections. Too much water can damage the drywall beneath it, and painted texture resists water, so it needs a slower approach.
Repair and skim
Gouges, open seams and loose tape are repaired, then the ceiling is skim-coated so it reads flat under side light. Each coat dries before it is sanded, which is where most of the time goes.
Prime and paint
The finished ceiling is primed so compound and bare paper take paint evenly. It is then painted, usually in a flat finish that keeps minor flaws overhead from catching the light.
Questions
Popcorn ceiling removal, Coopersburg.
Our brick house on Fairview Street has a textured ceiling. What is likely under it?
Plaster, most likely. The plain brick houses on State and Fairview date from about 1900 to 1910, when ceilings were plastered, so the texture went on later. Test it first; if it is clear, expect plaster repair before the skim coat and paint.
We only want the living room done. Will it look patched next to the hall?
Only if the ceiling runs on without a break. Where the living room ceiling meets the hall at a header or a change in height, it can stop cleanly; where it flows on, the removal should continue to a natural stopping point.
Will the room sound different once the popcorn is gone?
A little, sometimes. The texture was used partly because it deadened sound, so a smooth ceiling over hard floors can make a room a touch livelier. Rugs, curtains and upholstered furniture take most of that back.
More in Coopersburg
Other services here.
- Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
- Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
- Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
- Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
- Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
- Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
- Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
- Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
- Wood stainingDecks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out, stained by hand.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.