How much to charge for popcorn ceiling removal
Scraping is the cheap part. Testing, containment and everything that happens after the texture comes off is the job.
Below: the published wage for this work, why your billing rate has to be well above it, how this job is actually priced, and what moves the number. Put your own rate into the generator and you get a real itemized estimate built on it.
Generate this estimate now
Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.
What you get — see the format first
A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor — itemized by task | hrs | hour | your rate | — |
| Materials — with your markup applied | qty | ea / sq ft | cost + markup | — |
| Permits, disposal, access | — | — | — | — |
Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.
Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.
How popcorn ceiling removal is priced
Priced per square foot of ceiling, but as a sequence rather than one number: test, contain, scrape, repair, skim, texture, prime, paint. Whether the popcorn has been painted changes the method completely — unpainted texture wets and scrapes, painted texture often does not and becomes a skim-coat job instead. On any home built before the 1980s, asbestos testing comes before a price is committed, and a positive result stops the job and hands it to a licensed abatement contractor.
What the labor actually costs
$28.74/hour — US median wage for drywall and ceiling tile installers and tapers, May 2025 ($59,780/year).
That is a wage, not your billing rate. It excludes payroll burden, insurance, the hours you spend driving and quoting, overhead and profit. Billing at or near it means working the job for free once those land — which is where underpricing starts. What your multiplier should be depends on your business, so put the rate you actually bill into the generator and every line prices from your number.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — national median, May 2025. Wages vary widely by metro.
What moves the number
- Age of the home and whether the texture has been tested for asbestos
- Whether the popcorn was painted, which can turn scraping into skimming
- Ceiling height and whether staging or stilts are needed
- Containment and masking — walls, floors, fixtures and doorways all get sealed
- Condition of the drywall underneath, which is invisible until the texture is off
- The finish afterwards: smooth level 5, knockdown or orange peel
- Whether the room is furnished and occupied while the work happens
How popcorn ceiling removal gets underpriced
- Quoting before asbestos testing on a pre-1980 ceiling
- Assuming the texture will wet-scrape when it has been painted over
- Pricing the scrape and treating skim, prime and paint as small extras
- Underestimating containment and daily cleanup in an occupied house
- No allowance for drywall repairs revealed once the texture is gone
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How to estimate
How to write a contractor estimate · Estimate vs quote vs bid — and which one you should send · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to price a job as a contractor · Should you charge for estimates? · How to follow up on an estimate · How to handle change orders · Estimate vs invoice: what's the difference? · How to raise your prices as a contractor