Erase decades from your home's aesthetic. We provide dust-managed acoustic texture removal, complete room encapsulation, and flawless Level 5 skim coating for a bright, modern finish.
Acoustic ceilings (commonly known as popcorn ceilings) were widely used in home construction from the 1960s through the late 1990s because they were cheap to apply and easily hid drywall imperfections. However, by today’s design standards, they make a room look dated, lower the perceived ceiling height, and cast heavy shadows that darken your living space.
Furthermore, popcorn ceilings are a maintenance nightmare. The rough texture is a magnet for dust, spiderwebs, and smoke odors, and it is nearly impossible to clean or paint without the material flaking off and falling on your furniture. Removing it is the single most effective way to modernize your interior and instantly boost your home's resale value in the competitive Seattle and Tacoma real estate markets.
Popcorn ceiling removal is notoriously messy. Our systematic approach guarantees the protection of your home and a flawless end result.
We take dust control seriously. Before any scraping begins, we remove or completely cover your furniture. We wrap the walls and floors in heavy-duty plastic sheeting, effectively sealing the room. We also utilize negative air pressure and HEPA scrubbers to capture airborne particulates.
Dry scraping causes immense amounts of dust. Instead, we carefully mist the acoustic texture with a specialized enzyme-water solution to loosen the adhesive. Once saturated, the texture turns into a heavy paste that is gently scraped off and immediately bagged, minimizing airborne dust.
When builders applied popcorn, they often skipped finishing the drywall tape and joints underneath. Removing the popcorn reveals these ugly imperfections. Our expert tapers apply a full layer of joint compound (skim coating) across the entire ceiling, floating it perfectly flat.
Once the skim coat dries, we use advanced vacuum-attached sanders to smooth the ceiling without filling your home with drywall dust. We then seal the fresh compound with a high-build drywall primer.
Finally, we apply two coats of premium, ultra-flat ceiling paint. This dead-flat finish minimizes light reflection off the surface, resulting in a perfectly smooth, modern, and bright ceiling.
If your home was built before 1980, there is a significant chance that the popcorn ceiling material contains asbestos. When asbestos fibers are disturbed and inhaled, they pose severe, life-threatening health risks.
Do not attempt to scrape a pre-1980 ceiling yourself. We strongly advise having the material tested by a certified lab before any work begins. If the test comes back positive, we can coordinate with licensed asbestos abatement professionals to safely remove the hazard before our crews arrive to skim coat, prep, and paint your new ceiling.
"We put off removing the popcorn ceilings in our Bellevue home for years because we were terrified of the mess. Coles Painting was incredible. They wrapped the entire living room in plastic like a surgical room. When they took the plastic down a few days later, our ceilings were perfectly flat, bright white, and there wasn't a speck of dust on our hardwood floors. It completely transformed the house."
— Emily & John S., Recent Clients
Removing texture is easy; leaving the house clean and the ceiling perfectly flat is the difficult part. Here is how we differ from budget contractors.
| Process Feature | Coles Painting | Generic Contractors |
|---|---|---|
| Home Protection | Floor-to-Wall Plastic Encapsulation | Basic drop cloths (Dust everywhere) |
| Removal Method | Wet Scrape / Minimal Dust | Dry Scrape (Massive dust clouds) |
| Ceiling Repair | Full Skim Coat (Level 4/5 Flat) | Just paints over raw, ugly joints |
| Sanding Technique | Vacuum-Attached Sanders | Pole sanding (Drywall dust covers house) |
| Paint Finish | Dead-Flat Premium Ceiling Paint | Standard flat (Shows imperfections) |
No. Dust management is our highest priority. We fully encapsulate the work area with heavy-duty plastic sheeting—covering walls and floors—and use HEPA air scrubbers. Our "wet scrape" method and vacuum-attached sanders significantly minimize airborne dust before it even happens, leaving your home spotless.
For homes built before 1980, we strongly recommend a professional asbestos test before any work begins. If asbestos is present, we will advise you to work with certified abatement partners to safely remove the hazardous material before our crews come in to skim coat, sand, and paint the new smooth surface.
Removing the popcorn texture reveals the raw drywall joints and tape underneath, which often look terrible. That is why we never just paint over raw drywall. We apply a full Level 4 or Level 5 skim coat of joint compound across the entire ceiling, sand it perfectly flat, prime it, and paint it to ensure a flawless, modern finish.
Because skim coating requires drying time between layers, a standard living room usually takes 3 to 4 days from prep to final paint. Day 1 is masking and removal. Days 2 and 3 are skim coating and sanding. Day 4 is priming, painting, and clean-up.
Instantly increase your property value with flat, bright, modern ceilings.
(253) 478-2745Fast, Free Quotes
We take immense pride in updating the interiors of the Pacific Northwest. Whether you are remodeling a 1970s home in Tacoma or removing outdated acoustic texture from a condo in Seattle, Coles Painting brings strict dust-containment protocols, expert drywall skimming, and unmatched white-glove customer care to every single project.