New Hope, Bucks County
Popcorn ceiling removal in New Hope, PA.
Between its 18th- and 19th-century stone, brick and frame and its newer houses, New Hope built very little from 1940 to 1969, then about a third of its housing in the 1970s, the likeliest source of its sprayed ceilings.
Popcorn ceiling removal for New Hope homes
Postwar building largely skipped the borough. Fewer than one home in twenty dates from 1940 through 1969, but about a third of its housing units were built in the 1970s, so when a sprayed acoustic ceiling turns up here, a 1970s building is the likeliest place for it. The older quarter of the stock, in a town its National Register nomination calls primarily a nineteenth-century place, was plastered.
Once a lab has cleared the texture, taking it down is the fast part of the job. A 1970s ceiling was typically finished only as far as the texture needed, so the real work comes after: gouges and open seams repaired, a skim coat over the whole surface, then primer and a flat paint, with the room sealed in plastic from the first scrape to the last coat.
New Hope
Stone and plaster, then one decade of sprayed ceilings
The surviving 18th-century houses are mostly stone, and the 1984 National Register survey counted the borough's buildings at about 30 percent stone, 20 percent brick and half frame. Their ceilings were plastered, and if one now carries texture, it went on in a later renovation and may be covering cracks. Since the 1950s many buildings have been converted to shops, restaurants and galleries, so a ceiling here may have been redone more than once.
Solebury Township, which surrounds the borough on three sides, has a broader mix: about 27 percent of its homes date from 1940 to 1979 and more than half from 1980 or later, so original popcorn there belongs mainly to that middle group. Its more than 400 houses from the 1700s and 1800s were plastered like the borough's oldest, and any spray texture on them came later.
Worth knowing
Drying time near the river
Each skim coat has to dry before it is sanded, and damp river-valley air slows that down. Heat and moving air help; sanding a coat that is still soft does not.
Mixed ceilings in old buildings
A building remodeled several times can have plaster in one room and drywall in the next. Each needs its own repair once the texture is off.
The 1990s houses
Housing from the 1990s, nearly one unit in five, is far less likely to have sprayed texture. Where it does, the date the ceiling was sprayed decides whether a test comes first.
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, New Hope.
Painting our house in the historic district needed a certificate. Does taking down a popcorn ceiling need one too?
Not for the ceiling itself. HARB's jurisdiction covers exterior features that can be seen from a public street or way, painting included, but work inside the house is outside it. If the project also changes anything on the outside, check with the borough first.
Our place was built in the 1970s. Can we take the popcorn down ourselves?
Not before it has been tested. Texture from the 1970s predates the mid-1980s, when asbestos could still be in it, and the sample should be taken by an accredited asbestos professional rather than by you. If it is positive, removal is work for a certified asbestos abatement contractor. If it is clear, scraping is possible for a careful owner; the repairs and skim coat that follow are where most ceilings are won or lost.
Is it worth taking popcorn off a ceiling in an old stone house?
Usually, if it tests clear. The texture there was a later addition, and taking it off returns the room to its plaster ceiling, which can be repaired and skimmed rather than covered. In a house that old, the smooth ceiling is the one that belongs.
More in New Hope
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.
Nearby
Popcorn ceiling removal nearby.
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.