Professional Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Fort Lauderdale, FL

The cost of popcorn ceiling removal in Fort Lauderdale depends on a few things, but for most homes the price falls between $1.50 and $3.75 per square foot. That means a standard bedroom with about 150 square feet of ceiling space will run you roughly $225 to $560. For a full 1,500-square-foot home, you are looking at $2,250 to $5,625 for the complete job, which usually includes scraping, skim coating, priming, and two coats of ceiling paint..

Other things that affect the price include ceiling height (anything above 9 feet adds labor and scaffolding time), the condition of the drywall underneath, and the number of rooms you need done. Painted popcorn ceilings also cost more because the paint seals the texture to the surface and makes scraping much slower.

At Renew Painting & Remodeling, we give you a detailed written estimate during your free in-home consultation so you know the exact popcorn ceiling removal cost per square foot before any work starts.

You cannot tell just by looking at it. There is no visual test that confirms asbestos in a popcorn ceiling. The texture looks the same with or without asbestos fibers, so anyone who claims they can tell by appearance alone is guessing.

What you can go by is the age of your home. Most popcorn ceilings applied before 1980 in South Florida used a spray-on mixture that contained chrysotile asbestos. So the general rule is that any Fort Lauderdale home built before 1985 should be tested before anyone touches the ceiling.

Testing for asbestos in popcorn ceiling material involves taking a small sample (about the size of a quarter) and sending it to a certified lab. A professional asbestos inspector knows how to collect the sample without releasing fibers into the air, which is important because disturbing asbestos-containing material is the whole reason it becomes dangerous. Renew Painting & Remodeling arranges the testing as part of our standard process, so you do not have to find a separate inspector or lab on your own.

In most cases, yes. Popcorn ceiling removal is one of the highest-return cosmetic upgrades you can make before listing your home. Real estate agents across South Florida consistently say that textured ceilings are one of the first things buyers notice and one of the most common objections during showings.

So is popcorn ceiling removal worth it before selling? In nearly every case, yes. The one situation where it may not pay off is an extreme fixer-upper where the buyer is planning a full renovation anyway. But for any home being sold as move-in ready or updated, getting rid of the cottage cheese ceiling before listing is almost always a smart investment.

For a typical three-bedroom Fort Lauderdale home, plan on three to five days for complete popcorn ceiling removal, skim coating, and painting. A single room can often be done in one day. Larger homes or homes with higher ceilings may take up to a full week.

Here is a rough breakdown of what each phase takes. Day one is usually room prep and protection, which means covering floors, sealing vents, removing light fixtures, and setting up plastic sheeting. Days two and three are spent on the actual scraping and skim coating work. The skim coat needs time to dry between coats, so there is some built-in waiting time. Days four and five cover sanding the skim coat smooth, priming, and applying two finish coats of ceiling paint.

The timeline gets longer in two situations. First, painted popcorn ceilings take more time to scrape because the paint layer bonds the texture to the drywall, so the wet-scraping process works slower. Second, asbestos popcorn ceiling removal requires additional containment setup, air monitoring during the work, and proper disposal afterward, which can add three to five extra days depending on the size of the home.

We provide a detailed project timeline during your free consultation so you know exactly what to expect and can plan around the work.

Yes, you can stay in your home during most popcorn ceiling removal projects, but you will want to stay out of the rooms being worked on. Our crew seals off each work area with plastic sheeting and closes doorways and air vents to keep dust contained. As long as you are in a different part of the house, you can go about your normal routine.

For standard popcorn ceiling removal without asbestos, most of our Fort Lauderdale clients stay home and tell us the process is far less disruptive than they expected. We also use dustless popcorn ceiling removal techniques during the wet-scraping phase, which keeps airborne particles to a minimum compared to dry scraping methods.

DIY popcorn ceiling removal is possible for small, straightforward projects, but for most homeowners hiring a professional popcorn ceiling removal contractor is the better choice. Here is why.

The bigger concern is what happens after the scraping is done. Getting a truly smooth ceiling finish requires skim coating the entire surface with joint compound, sanding it even, priming, and painting. This is skilled work. Uneven skim coating shows every flaw once paint goes on, and you cannot hide bad mudding under a flat ceiling the way you might on a textured wall. This finishing stage is where most DIY projects fall apart and end up looking worse than the original popcorn.

Then there is the safety issue. You must test for asbestos before scraping any popcorn ceiling in a home built before 1985. DIY removal of asbestos-containing material is illegal in Florida and extremely dangerous. Even for non-asbestos ceilings, the dust and debris from scraping require proper respiratory protection, eye protection, and thorough containment.

A professional crew brings the right tools, the finishing skills, and the experience to remove popcorn ceiling texture in a fraction of the time with a much better result. At Renew Painting & Remodeling, our in-house team handles popcorn ceiling removal and painting from start to finish, including testing, scraping, drywall repair, skim coating, and two coats of premium ceiling paint.

These are three different ways to deal with a popcorn ceiling, and which one works best depends on the condition of your ceiling, the presence of asbestos, and your budget.

Scraping is the most common method. It involves spraying the popcorn texture with water to soften it, then using a wide drywall knife to scrape the material off down to the original drywall surface. After scraping, the ceiling gets patched, skim coated, and painted. This gives you the cleanest, most permanent result. It works best on unpainted popcorn ceilings where the drywall underneath is in decent shape. Most popcorn ceiling removal projects in Fort Lauderdale use this method.

Covering with new drywall, also called a drywall overlay, means installing thin drywall sheets directly over the popcorn ceiling. This is the fastest path to a brand new smooth ceiling finish, and it completely encapsulates any asbestos without disturbing it. The downside is that it lowers your ceiling height by about half an inch and costs more than scraping.

We evaluate your ceiling during our free consultation and recommend the approach that gives you the best result for your specific situation.

Yes, and it is one of the most cost-effective cosmetic improvements you can make to a Florida home. Popcorn ceilings are considered a dated feature by nearly every buyer, appraiser, and real estate agent working in the South Florida market today.

Beyond resale value, removing popcorn ceilings also removes the concern about potential asbestos, which can be a deal-breaker for buyers. In Broward County, many homes from the 1960s and 1970s still have original popcorn ceilings. A buyer who sees a smooth ceiling knows the asbestos question has already been addressed, which removes a major negotiation point.

Even for homeowners who are not planning to sell anytime soon, the upgrade makes a noticeable difference in daily living. Rooms look larger, brighter, and cleaner once the popcorn texture is gone. Modern recessed lighting and ceiling fans also look and perform better on a smooth surface.

Finding the right popcorn ceiling removal contractor comes down to a few key things that protect your money, your time, and your home.

Start with licensing and insurance. In Florida, any contractor doing structural or finishing work on your home should carry a valid state license and both general liability and workers compensation insurance. Ask to see proof of both. This protects you from liability if someone gets hurt on your property and ensures the company meets Florida’s minimum competency standards.

Next, ask about their process for asbestos. Any legitimate popcorn ceiling removal company will either test your ceiling or require proof that testing has been done before they start scraping. A contractor who skips this step or tells you the ceiling “looks fine” without testing is cutting a corner that could put your family at risk and create legal problems for you.

Look at the scope of their work. Some companies only scrape and leave. That means you still need to hire a separate contractor for skim coating and another one for painting. The best value is a company that handles the full job: testing, scraping, drywall repair, skim coating, priming, painting, and cleanup. One team, one price, one point of contact.

Ask for a detailed written estimate, not a ballpark number over the phone. The quote should break down costs by room, list the materials being used, and include a clear timeline. Be cautious of any contractor who asks for more than 20% as a deposit or who refuses to put the full scope in writing.

Finally, check reviews and ask for photos of recent completed projects. Look for consistency across platforms like Google, Yelp, and Houzz. A few great reviews matter more than dozens of generic five-star ratings.

At Renew Painting & Remodeling, we are a licensed, insured, family-operated popcorn ceiling removal contractor in Fort Lauderdale. Homeowners searching for popcorn ceiling removal near me across Broward County can count on us to handle every step in-house, from asbestos testing to final painting, and we provide a line-by-line written estimate before any work begins.