Updated October 2026
The short version
Popcorn ceiling removal in Naperville, IL starts with a question: was the texture sprayed before 1980? If so, it gets tested for asbestos before anyone scrapes it. Clean texture is wetted and scraped, the ceiling is skimmed smooth with joint compound, then primed and painted. Published guides put removal at about $1-$2 per square foot with no hazards.
Why removing popcorn is mostly what happens after the scraping
Scraping popcorn is the quick part. Unpainted texture softens with water and comes off in sheets. What makes the job is everything around it: sealing the room in plastic so the mess does not spread, protecting floors and lights, and then making the bare ceiling flat, because the drywall underneath was never finished to be seen.
That last step, skimming the ceiling with joint compound and sanding it smooth, is where a removal looks professional or looks like a ceiling with shadows and seams. Primer and a flat ceiling paint finish it. Painted popcorn is harder, because paint seals the texture against water, and it can take more scraping or a full skim over what remains.
What moves the price of popcorn removal
Removal is priced by ceiling area, with testing, skim coating and paint as their own lines.
- Ceiling area and height
- Unpainted versus painted texture
- Asbestos testing on ceilings sprayed before 1980
- Skim coating needed to make the ceiling flat
- Furniture, lights and fans to move or mask
Unpainted Popcorn Texture
Unpainted popcorn is the simplest case. We seal the room in plastic, cover floors and remove or mask lights, then mist the texture with water and let it soak in for a few minutes. Wet texture scrapes off cleanly with a wide blade and falls onto the plastic, which is rolled up and bagged at the end of the day. The bare drywall then gets repairs at the seams and screw heads, a skim coat where needed, primer and two coats of ceiling paint.
Painted Popcorn Ceilings
When popcorn has been painted, water cannot soak in, and scraping it dry is slower and rougher on the drywall. We test a small area first to see how it comes off. Sometimes a stronger wetting agent works; other times the better answer is scraping what will come off and skim coating over the rest. Either way, the finished ceiling is smooth, and we tell you which method we are using before we start rather than after. Light fixtures and fan boxes are worked around carefully so the ceiling stays sound.
Testing Older Texture Before Scraping
Acoustic texture sprayed before 1980 may contain asbestos, and scraping it releases fibers into the house. That is why the build year matters. For older ceilings, a sample goes to a lab before any removal is scheduled. If the test comes back clean, we proceed as normal. If it is positive, removal becomes an abatement job for a licensed abatement contractor, and the painting and skim coating come afterward. Covering it with new drywall is another option. We will not scrape untested texture that is old enough to contain asbestos.
Popcorn ceilings in Naperville houses
Popcorn texture was popular from the 1950s through the 1980s, and at the 2000 census Naperville's median home was built in 1986, so a lot of houses here still have it in bedrooms and living rooms. Many were built after 1980, past the era when asbestos texture was common, but the build year decides whether a test comes first. We ask it on the first call and plan the job around the answer.
What is included in popcorn removal
- Build year checked, test arranged if older
- Room sealed in plastic, floors covered
- Lights and fans removed or masked
- Texture wetted and scraped
- Debris bagged and removed daily
- Seams and screw heads repaired
- Skim coat and sanding to flat
- Primer and two coats of ceiling paint
How we remove a popcorn ceiling
- 1
Check the build year
Older texture is tested before anything else.
- 2
Seal the room
Plastic on walls and floors, lights masked.
- 3
Wet and scrape
Texture softened and removed in sheets.
- 4
Skim and sand
Ceiling made flat with joint compound.
- 5
Prime and paint
Primer and two coats of flat ceiling paint.
Should you scrape popcorn yourself?
It looks like a simple weekend job. Three things make it harder than it looks.
Possible for a homeowner
- A small closet or hallway ceiling
- Unpainted texture in a house built after 1980
- Scraping only, with a pro handling the finish
Better left to us
- Ceilings sprayed before 1980 until tested
- Painted popcorn that will not wet
- Skim coating a whole ceiling flat enough to paint