Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Doylestown, Bucks County

Popcorn ceiling removal in Doylestown, PA.

The median home in Doylestown borough dates from 1962, and the township's biggest decade was the 1970s. Ceilings from those years are where popcorn texture turns up, and where testing comes first.

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A smooth white kitchen ceiling with recessed lights and a ceiling fan above glass-front wood cabinets.
A finished kitchen ceiling. Mike Galuppo’s photograph, from his Google review.

Popcorn ceiling removal for Doylestown homes

For a town with a nineteenth-century center, the borough's housing is younger than it looks: the median home was built in 1962, and nearly half date from 1940 to 1979. Next door, Doylestown Township put up more homes in the 1970s than in any other decade, about 27 percent of its stock, at the end of the three decades when its population grew fastest.

Builders of those decades sprayed ceilings partly so they didn't have to finish them smooth, and that shows the day the texture comes off: open seams, tape edges and dents that a skim coat has to take out before primer and paint. Before any of that, a sample goes to a lab, because texture sprayed before the mid-1980s may contain asbestos.

Doylestown

A 1962 median in the borough, the 1970s in the township

Inside the borough, the historic district's fieldstone, brick and frame houses were plastered, and their ceilings are plaster to this day unless a later owner sprayed or replaced them. The postwar half of the borough is different: about a third of its homes come from the 1960s and 1970s alone, when a sprayed ceiling was a builder's standard finish.

The township next door is almost entirely postwar, with under three percent of its homes from before 1940. Its 1960s and 1970s houses, more than four in ten of the total, are where an original popcorn ceiling is most likely, while the 1990s houses, nearly a quarter of the township, are much less likely to have one. Countywide, Bucks housing nearly doubled in the 1950s, and its largest growth in raw numbers came in the 1970s, the township's own peak decade.

A ceiling and walls patched in white compound, a work table of tools in the middle of the room.
Ceiling and walls, patched mid-job.

Worth knowing

  1. Flat paint overhead

    A skimmed ceiling is usually finished in a flat paint, which keeps side light from picking out small variations and is easier to touch up later.

  2. Stairwells and tall foyers

    Where texture runs up a stairwell or over a two-story foyer, removal needs staging rather than a stepladder, and the skim up there has to be as careful as it is in a bedroom.

  3. Ceilings that meet crown molding

    Along crown molding, the texture is worked off by hand so the molding and its paint aren't torn, and the joint is cleaned up before the skim coat.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to popcorn ceiling removal.

Two painters working a ceiling on poles and a ladder, the kitchen below sealed in clear plastic.
Ceiling work, the room sealed in plastic.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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, Doylestown.

Do we need the borough's HARB to approve taking down a ceiling in the historic district?

No. The board's jurisdiction is limited to exterior features that can be seen from a public street or way, and interiors are exempt. It doesn't regulate repainting or color either, as long as no other construction is planned.

Our 1970s township house has popcorn in every room. Does each room need its own test?

Not necessarily. The accredited professional taking the samples decides how many are needed: ceilings sprayed at the same time are usually treated as one material, and patched or resprayed areas as another. If any of it tests positive, that removal is work for a certified asbestos abatement contractor.

Will you explain the testing before anything starts?

That conversation is part of the walkthrough. In Randy's words, "It's not a grab and run situation here… we will educate you during the entire process." He explains where the testing fits, who does what if the result is positive, and what the ceiling needs afterward.

More in Doylestown

Other services here.

  1. Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
  2. Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
  3. Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
  4. Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
  5. Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
  6. Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
  7. Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
  8. Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
  9. 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.

Randy’sPainting & DrywallReply card
The project
Preferred contact

Walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary.