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Popcorn Ceiling
Removal Homewood AL

Homewood · Mountain Brook · Vestavia Hills · Hoover

Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Homewood, AL

From the 1920s cottages of Hollywood and Edgewood to the postwar ranches of West Homewood, a lot of Homewood homes still wear the bumpy ceiling texture someone sprayed on decades ago. We connect Homewood homeowners with experienced, qualified local professionals who test first, take the popcorn down, repair the drywall or plaster underneath, and leave a finished, painted ceiling.

Call now to get connected Get a free estimate

One call to (205) 528‑6076 connects you with a pro who works in Homewood.

Before and after photos of the same bedroom ceiling: bumpy popcorn texture around a dome light fixture, then a smooth, flat painted ceiling. Example photos, not a job by the professionals we refer

Why so many Homewood ceilings still have popcorn

Homewood took its name in 1926, when Edgewood, Grove Park and Rosedale merged, and Hollywood joined a few years later. Its streets filled in over the next several decades: 1920s and 30s cottages in Hollywood and Edgewood, then postwar brick ranches and split-levels in West Homewood and the neighborhoods off Lakeshore Drive and Saulter Road. Most Homewood homes were built before 1990.[VERIFY: housing-age share from Census ACS year-built data] Many of the older houses got their popcorn in a later remodel, since sprayed acoustic texture was the go-to way to hide cracked plaster and uneven drywall from the 1950s into the 1980s.

People call it popcorn, acoustic, cottage cheese or stipple ceiling. The reasons Homewood homeowners want it gone are practical:

  • It undoes a renovation. A new kitchen or refinished oak floors look half-done under a 1970s ceiling.
  • It can't be cleaned. Dust and cobwebs settle into it, and it crumbles when you try.
  • Storm and HVAC leak stains won't patch. New texture never matches decades-old texture.
  • It shows up in listing photos. In a market this competitive, buyers notice. See popcorn ceilings before selling or renting.

Guides for your kind of house: 1920s to 1940s homes with plaster, and postwar ranches and split-levels.

Close-up photo of white popcorn (acoustic) ceiling texture, the rough cottage-cheese finish found in many Homewood homes

In Homewood, the ceiling is often younger than the house

A 1928 cottage in Hollywood didn't come with popcorn. But if someone sprayed texture over its cracked plaster in 1965 or 1978, that texture dates from the years when some acoustic products contained asbestos. The same goes for the postwar ranches and split-levels built before the late 1980s. Nobody can tell by looking, so the first step is a lab test, not a scraper.

  1. A trained professional takes a small sample and sends it to an accredited lab.
  2. A clear result means removal can be scheduled.
  3. A positive result means leaving it alone until an Alabama-certified abatement contractor handles it, or covering it so it stays sealed.

We don't test or abate, but the pros we connect you with can walk you through it. Read testing a popcorn ceiling in Homewood for how it works and what Alabama requires.

One call gets you connected

We're a referral service, not a contractor. We put Homewood homeowners in touch with local professionals who do the work.

  1. Tell us about the ceiling

    Call or send the form: which rooms, a rough size, whether the texture was painted, and whether the ceiling is drywall or plaster.

  2. Get connected with a local pro

    We pass your request to an independent, experienced professional who works in Homewood and the over-the-mountain suburbs.

  3. Get an estimate, then decide

    The pro looks at the ceiling and gives you their own estimate. You are under no obligation to hire them.

How the referral works, and what we don't do →

More than scraping: the whole Homewood ceiling job

Removing the texture takes a day. Repairing what's under it, finishing it and painting it is where the result is made, and the pros we connect you with handle all of it.

Photo of a worker in a respirator and safety glasses scraping popcorn texture off a ceiling with a long-handled scraper, the walls covered in plastic sheeting taped at the ceiling line. Example photo, not a professional we refer

A typical removal, start to finish

Every pro works a little differently, but a well-run job in a lived-in Homewood house usually goes like this:

  1. Day one, containment. Furniture moved or wrapped, plastic taped from ceiling to floor, doorways zipped off, HVAC returns and vents sealed so dust stays out of the ducts.
  2. Removal. Unpainted texture is misted, given a few minutes to soak, and scraped straight into the plastic. Over plaster, less water is used so the plaster doesn't soften.
  3. Repairs. Loose tape, nail pops, old leak stains and plaster cracks are fixed. See ceiling repair.
  4. New surface. A smooth skim coat in two or three coats, or a light texture.
  5. Primer and paint. See ceiling painting.
  6. Cleanup. The plastic is rolled up around the debris and hauled away.

Drying time between coats sets the pace, and it runs longer in a humid Birmingham summer. Your pro will give you a schedule with the estimate.

What sets the price on a Homewood ceiling

Two ceilings the same size can be priced very differently. These are the things a pro checks before giving you a number:

  • Drywall or plaster: Older plaster ceilings usually need more repair and a full skim coat.
  • Paint over the popcorn: Common in houses that have sold several times, and it slows removal.
  • Ceiling shape: Flat 8-foot ranch ceilings are simplest; stair halls, vaults and coved edges take longer.
  • What the test shows: Testing is a small cost up front that decides how the job can proceed.
  • Hidden damage: Storm leaks and attic HVAC drips often show up once the texture is off.
  • The finish: Smooth takes more coats and sanding than knockdown or orange peel.

Read the Homewood cost guide

Smooth, knockdown or orange peel?

Once the popcorn is gone, the ceiling needs a new surface. Around Homewood, most people choose one of these:

  • Smooth: the clean, flat look most buyers expect, and how the plaster ceilings in older houses looked originally. It needs the most skill because low light shows every ridge. Smooth ceiling finish
  • Knockdown: soft, flattened splatter that forgives older drywall and costs less than smooth. Popular in bedrooms and basement dens. Ceiling retexturing
  • Orange peel: a very fine texture, close to smooth from across the room and practical in rentals.

If the living room, dining area and hall share one ceiling, as they do in many ranches here, finish that whole ceiling the same way so there's no visible line.

Illustration of three ceiling finish samples side by side: smooth, knockdown and orange peel

Should you do it yourself?

Scraping looks easy on video. The hard parts are the ones that come after it, and the one that comes before: testing, if the texture could have gone up before the late 1980s.

DIY can work when…

  • The lab test came back negative
  • It's one small room with a flat drywall ceiling
  • Nobody ever painted the texture
  • A textured finish is fine with you

Hiring a pro makes sense when…

  • The ceiling is plaster, or you're not sure
  • You want a smooth, seamless finish
  • The texture has been painted
  • It's the main rooms or a whole house you're living in
  • There are stains, sags or cracks to repair

Homewood and the over-the-mountain suburbs

We connect homeowners in Homewood, from Edgewood and Hollywood to West Homewood and the Lakeshore area, and in nearby Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Bluff Park, Cahaba Heights, Crestline, Irondale, Forest Park.

Free, no obligation

Tell us about your ceiling

A few details are enough. We'll pass them to an experienced, qualified local professional who works in Homewood and can give you an estimate.

  • Mention if the texture was painted or the ceiling is plaster
  • Your details are used only to respond to your request
  • Rather talk? (205) 528‑6076

Get a free estimate

A local Homewood-area pro will follow up with an estimate. Free, no obligation. Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

10-digit US number

Has the ceiling been painted?

e.g. which rooms, vaulted ceilings, water stains, test results, timeline

Prefer to talk? Call (205) 528‑6076

Popcorn ceiling questions from Homewood homeowners

My Homewood house was built in the 1930s. Why would the ceiling need testing?

Because the popcorn is usually younger than the house. Many older Homewood homes had texture sprayed over cracked plaster during a remodel between the 1950s and the 1980s, the period when some texture products contained asbestos. A lab test of a small sample is the only way to know. Testing is outside our referral service; our testing guide explains the steps and Alabama's rules.

How much does popcorn ceiling removal cost in Homewood?

It's priced mainly by square foot of ceiling, then adjusted for painted texture, plaster underneath, ceiling height, repairs and the finish you choose. The Homewood cost guide explains each factor. For a number on your rooms, call (205) 528-6076 and we'll connect you with a local pro for a free estimate.

Can the popcorn come off a plaster ceiling?

Usually. Unpainted texture over sound plaster often scrapes cleanly, and the plaster is then skim coated smooth. Loose or badly cracked plaster may be better skimmed over or covered. See popcorn over plaster.

Can we stay in the house during the work?

Most families do. The rooms being worked on are sealed off with plastic, floors are covered and HVAC vents are closed, so the rest of the house stays usable. Ask each pro exactly how they contain dust, especially with kids, pets or allergies at home.

Someone painted over our popcorn. Is removal still possible?

Often, but it's slower and causes more drywall repair, because paint keeps water from softening the texture. Skim coating over it or covering it can be the better choice. See painted popcorn ceiling removal.

Is this a contractor?

No. Popcorn Ceiling Removal Homewood AL is a referral service. We connect you with independent, experienced, and qualified local professionals who give their own estimates and are responsible for their own work, licensing and insurance. See how it works.

Ready to lose the popcorn?

One call or a short form connects you with an independent, experienced, and qualified professional who works in Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Hoover. It costs you nothing to get connected.

Call now to get connected: (205) 528‑6076 Get a free estimate