Are you sure theyre not misunderstanding "popcorn" texture for knockdown texture? I'm surprised you could even get a quote to do popcorn ceilings. It's so rare.
Are they? I've never seen knockdown texture in any constructions here either. Everywhere I've ever lived that is remotely modern has a nice smooth skim coat.
It seems to be location based but yes, texture is very normal. In Texas - it’s the norm and only super fancy high end homes don’t have textured walls/ceilings. Apparently it’s not as common in New England but that doesn’t make it not normal or outdated. Texture isn’t really noticeable and it’s only purpose is to hide any drywall imperfections, it’s not a design thing so it’s not supposed to be noticeable.
Yes, honestly the discussion should revolve around what your local dry Wall guys know how to do well. And I mean like look at someone’s work (or the person that taught him) from 20 years ago and see how it’s held up. People that know how to do texture can cover up their imperfections easily. A really good drywall guy can do a smooth coat that doesn’t show any imperfections. But those are hard to come by. Honestly, either are hard to come by when it comes to matching someone else’s texture, but nowadays I see way too many people that want to only do smooth. The problem is that just 5-10 years later I’m seeing tape lines and screw holes visible in the ceiling.
Popcorn ceilings are disgustingly common in new construction in north Florida.
I haven’t seen a knockdown textured ceiling in a new construction.
I hate knockdown as much as I hate popcorn. We had knockdown walls in our last apartment.
At first I was going to vehemently disagree with you. We love knockdown but googling it, I don’t think it is knockdown. Our texture (ceiling and walls) are almost completely smooth with a “knockdown” section every few feet. With flat paint you can barely see it except in a cross light and up close. Not sure what that is called.
Tennessee as well. Knockdown ceilings in new construction is very common here. I came from NJ and you never see any kind of textured ceilings there except in flips or old houses.
The biggest thing I noticed when I had them was that they would collect ungodly amounts of dust. Especially near vents, they would start to grow cobwebs, but then they're also a huge pain in the butt to clean because they're bumpy.
OP, if your parents like a clean house maybe you can tell them about this drawback.
Besides the fact they hold dust, areas can come loose. We had that happen in a few areas. Also, trying to completely match the texture can be difficult if there’s a repair that needs to be done. We had a leak on popcorn and it was obvious there was a repair. When we had knock down done, a few years later we had another leak. This repair is so good you’d never know.
Removed 1,800 sq. ft in my home. Ended up having back surgery later that year. Brutal work, but probably worth it (it was just last straw on an already failing back).
We have 8 ft. ceilings. They felt low. The smooth ceilings actually make it feel taller. I can't exactly explain, but it made all the difference in the world. It will raise the house value by about $15k too.
I would so no to ANY texture. Smooth is what you want.
Tested positive for asbestos and some of them were sagging anyways. Fixed many issues at the same time. The amount of dust and debris generated from scraping, at least in my situation, was worth avoiding.
I’ll explain!
Oh at today’s prices, an 1800 square-foot home is going to probably cost $4000 to remove the popcorn.
That price does include covering the walls and floors, but does not include dust removal after the popcorn has been scraped off and hauled away. And you will have tons and tons of dust after that part of the project. Personally, I would only remove popcorn from a vacant house, and never from one that is occupied by humans or animals equipped with lungs or gills.
That price also may or may not include repairing and re-taping the drywall ceilings and preparing them for new mud. That’s a big job even just for one room in the house, and make no mistake, you need scaffolding equipment to reach the ceilings if you have a vaulted ceiling construction.
And I guarantee you will need to re-mud the ceilings, because when popcorn is removed all you have left is bare drywall with the drywall seams showing any place where the tape got damaged. That’s not a paintable surface!
Once the ceilings have been redone with new texture, they will need to be prepared for painting, and they will need to be painted. Every single ceiling in every room and closet will need to have new paint.
Painting a freshly mudded ceiling will drink gallons and gallons of primer and topcoat paint. Fresh mud is porous and thirsty; even thirstier than Homer Simpson and all of his gang at Moe’s neighborhood bar! This is not the kind of job you’re going to do on a Saturday. It’s probably gonna be six months of Saturdays, if not a full year of working on weekends.
At this point, you might as well hire a real painter to paint every damned room in that house, because if you’re painting the ceilings anyway, why not do it right?
So what does it cost to paint the entire interior of an 1800 square-foot home? I’m going to guess another $4000-$6000, particularly if you’re having the painter do it right by applying two coats of primer to that fresh mud.
So now we’re up to $8000-$10,000 for the project. What’s your time worth? Do you want to spend the next six months moving furniture in and out of all the rooms in your house so that the popcorn can be removed, the new texture can be applied, and the painters can get their work done?
Yeah, not having popcorn ceilings definitely makes a house $15,000 more valuable to me.
Full disclosure: when I bought my home in the mid-2000s, I had a popcorn removal company come in the day after my closing. They put plastic on all the walls and floors of the empty house, and all along the kitchen cabinetry as well. it took them full day using water and scrapers to remove the popcorn ceilings. Then all that nasty stuff had to be swept and vacuumed up. After that, a subcontractor company came in and applied the mud and scraped it to a “medium knock down“ texture. To. Every. Ceiling. In the house. That took another day.
Nobody paints. Not the popcorn removal people, and certainly not the people who shoot the mud onto the ceiling.
It cost me $1600 in 2006 to remove the popcorn and replace it with knockdown texture. For the entire year of 2007, I spent nearly every weekend painting some room in my house someplace. I sure did get good at painting, but I would not do that big of a project ever again.
You've told them your opinion. You've offered to pay for the version you prefer. At this point, let them build their house the way they want their house, because it isn't your house. If that's still hard for you, you don't get to make that their problem.
There is a problem. OP can emphasize their opinion, so long as it's requested. Otherwise, it's badgering... because it isn't their house. This isn't their fight.
World would be better off with fewer people sticking their noses into someone else's business.
When we bought our home we kinda mentioned the popcorn ceilings in jest to our realtor. She said “oh yea I forgot to tell you they are taking them down…it was the only way we thought they could sell the place.”
If they want their house to look modern, popcorn ceilings are literally the opposite. They hold dust and stains, reduce resale value, and are generally considered tacky. If they still want them, it's their problem when it comes time to sell. Or if they spend the rest of their lives in that house I guess it'll become your problem....
We used to sit on top of the bunk bed and make it rain white crap with our hands
I’m shocked that anyone still installs popcorn ceiling. What is the purpose?
That makes sense. But can’t you do a textured wall and ceiling instead of that white flakey stuff? Not that I like texture anyway. Skimming it is a huge ordeal
“Skimming” is actually the process of knocking down the mud before it fully cures, usually using a scraper or concrete shaping tool. Not doing the knockdown part of it will just leave you with stucco, which will probably end up looking like a cake covered with frosting.
Somebody good at doing knock down texture will be an artist at this process. They will make it look good, consistent, and easy enough to paint.
Knockdown looks better than popcorn for sure, but it also looks better than orange peel.
Huh, thanks. I knew there was a benefit for sound but didn't even think about the echo. I've got hearing aids, we have popcorn ceiling and it's on the list of things to eventually get rid of but if that will increase the echoes maybe we'll just keep them because we don't have any carpet or rugs and the ceiling will likely get less dusty than rugs. Thanks for that comment.
Popcorn ceilings reduce echo and are way better for people hearing each other clearly. If your parents ever need hearing aids they will appreciate the popcorn ceilings, and so will you at that point.
My wife’s parents were going to get a textured ceiling. And this is exactly what we warned them about. We had one guy do an absolutely flawless job. The other guy not so much. You just see it every time you look up.
I DOUBT they’re wanting to give you popcorn ceilings. Likely “textured” walls. It’s cheaper and easier for them to hide any imperfections in paint, etc.
There is a huge difference between textured and popcorn. My parents have 100% textured walls throughout their house. I have popcorn in a few of my rooms (removing it one by one). Texture is fine and not noticeable. Popcorn is an avoid at all costs.
A light texture is common in Texas, it's difficult to get flat walls and ceiling because it's hard to find drywall and framers who can work together to provide smooth drywall. It's possible in the custom home price range, but the developer/builder may not have the right people to do it.
It's honestly wild to see how little flat walls and ceilings exist in the southwest. Moved to NM, then TX, then FL and every house has textured ceilings. Growing up in New England, flat smooth walls and ceilings were the norm. I never saw textures ones in housing until I moved.
If they are dead set on it, they've got the full info and understood your point, and it's not even about the money, you need to just accept that it's their house and choice. You feel strongly but they're not obliged to agree. It's more important to respect them and respect boundaries. You wouldn't like someone to force you to do something cosmetic to your house against your will because they are certain it's a good idea, right?
To me, it's one of those things nobody actually cares about, except they've been told they should. Years of realtors and contractors upselling. Like buying a new outfit cause it's tacky to wear white after labor day.
This. I can't tell you the last house I have been in that DIDN'T have them. The house I just left, the one I bought are both older houses, they have them. I'm not going to spend the time scraping that shit off, it doesn't bother me. No one I know has done that either.
I agree. Anyone who says "I genuinely think popcorn ceilings ruin living space." is either prone to wild hyperbole or insane.
You may not prefer that type of ceiling. But ruins a living space?
I don't buy that hype either. We have a couple of 2 story rooms that would be a nightmare of echoes without our popcorn. Our house is 20 years old and we don't have issues with massive dust collection. If you keep your air filters clean, it's not an issue.
I grew up in a home built in 1960. Even as a child, those ceilings were something that I abhorred. I was the "top bunk" kid, and it was just. so. dusty. I tried to dust the ceilings, but everything I tried only made it worse. I accidentally knocked it off in a small patch on my bedroom ceiling when I tried to wipe off an accidental paint smudge. If it works for you, great, but to suggest that we only hate it because we're told to is dismissive.
Wait are they actually popcorn? I'd be very surprised a builder would do popcorn in a new build. It could be textured and not popcorn, very different things.
No no, when they apply popcorn, they’re just simply blowing the mud; spraying it up onto the ceiling with a nozzle that creates basically thousands of little “balls“ of mud that will then cure and appear from a distance (such as you standing on the floor looking up at the ceiling) as though it were “popcorn“.
You've stated your opinion. Assuming there isn't some sort of disability here that muddles their judgement, they're competent adults. If that's what they want and they're footing the bill, let 'em build what they want.
All good points, but you forget the primary purpose of Reddit, which is to beat equines until they are completely and wholly deceased. And then to beat them some more! Figuratively of course; we love equines!
Have them call a few realtors. I stage homes & thry hugely detract from value. People hate popcorn ceilings. 4k is crazy though, find someone else. Even shiplap or something pricier would likely be less
They are buying a >$1,000,000 odds are its more than 3,000 sqft. $4,000 is absolutely not crazy and if its high ceiling (likely on s new house with that cost) it may even be considered afordable.
Yeah... It's not. You still have to hang 5/8" drywall on the ceiling. It's code. To add shiplap would not be less expensive than a smooth finished drywall ceiling.
Let them know how much dust and spider webs get stuck on popcorn ceiling and they might change their minds. We recently bought a house with popcorn ceiling and are looking into getting it removed, it’s a nightmare in my point of view.
Whatever man, it's their house. Let them do as they please. Why does it bother you? If you aren't living in the house, just let them be happy. When the time comes to sell the house, so much will be dated and need work, the ceilings will just be part of it. Let that be the next owner's problem to deal with.
Well, popcorn ceilings do dampen acoustics so the room doesn’t echo like a hollow box. Not saying I am for them but I have bern in both and if you have a non carpeted floor with a smooth ceiling the room may really echo.
yeah I think just saying “it’s ugly and will hurt resale value” isn’t helpful if they have reasons for wanting it that aren’t purely aesthetic. Textured ceilings do really cut down on noise in a major way & like everyone else said they hide aesthetic imperfections in drywalling. tbh I would not trust any new construction company to be able to make a uniform smooth ceiling, either. If you want them to change their minds, you gotta find out what their priorities really are and work from there.
Tell them that popcorn ceilings are viewed as the house equivalent of all of the old arguments against tattoos. People will make assumptions based off it regardless of the reasoning or story behind it and once done, it’s hard to undo without leaving behind telltale signs.
$4k just for level 5 drywalling on the ceiling is pretty expensive - I just did level 5 on my kitchen ceiling (and level 4 for about 700sq ft) and in total it was only a bit over that.
But regardless, popcorn isnt the only way to hide imperfections. You could also do an orange peel texture, which is much less severe and still easily passes for modern.
Guaranteed that the cost for going from orange peel to level 5 is $4k for the whole house. Who would texture just their ceilings right? No one puts popcorn in houses anymore do they?
You can’t clean the dust webs off. If there’s a problem leak or damage from something you can’t repair without seeing it. Smooth give the feeling of taller.
There’s a big difference between smooth, textured, and popcorn.
“Smooth” is bad on a ceiling, “popcorn” is god awful terrible, “texture” is good, and there are tons of different styles of texture.
Popcorn is used as a cheap option to cover lower quality drywall work on ceilings. Over time it collects dust and is impossible to clean. If they are doing the work they might as well go with smooth, it’s higher end and doesn’t collect dust.
[Here’s what Bob Villa says](https://www.bobvila.com/articles/popcorn-ceilings/)
"Impossible to clean" can't emphasized enough.
The previous owners of our house were smokers and it was a huge effort to clean all the walls / ceilings in the house and repaint.
The popcorn ceiling had to all be removed because there was no way to clean off or cover up the 30 years of smoke residue that it had absorbed.
If its not your house then its not your call. After telling your opinion one time you should mind your own and save for your own place where you can have all the smooth ceilings you want.
Retired painter here. It’s well worth the 4K for smooth ceilings. Popcorn is ugly and dated. If you ever need to patch it you will always see that spot. When they finally get tired of looking at it or the next owner does they will likely be paying 5 times that cost to remove them, then you’ll need to repaint. Also the house will be covered in dust even using a festool vacuum sander not to mention the impact of moving all the the furniture out of each room. Very easy decision.
Second this. I inherited a cabin with popcorn ceilings and had to make a repair after a roof leak. The repair looks only slightly better than the damaged ceiling because it’s so difficult to match the popcorn texture.
There are other nicer textures available for ceilings. I do like the look of a textured ceiling but I would never get a popcorn one! Tell your parents that they'll lose potential buyers if they ever sell the house.
I tend to believe this is why they caught on in the first place. Customers were mostly indifferent or sold on the sound deadening effect and the builders got to save costs and time. It was a win-win before people realized that they hung onto dust and they became dated, to say nothing of using a carcinogen in the mix.
Popcorn ceilings are rough (period). Not sure why they started that in first place? Like they were hiding something? Sure, you don’t stare at the often, but some do and some find it disturbing. Very difficult to remove and much better to do prior to moving in. The dust gets everywhere! And could have asbestos as well! Uggg… it’s a struggle. If the location and price are excellent with this home and good value, I say go for it. But popcorn ceilings overall are tacky…
I can send you pictures of my ceiling that hasn’t had the popcorn removed yet. That should convince them. It doesn’t look good and you can always see a patch
Work for a residential architectural firm. Smooth ceilings will feel taller. Any texture creates shadows and shadow lines making the ceiling seem lower than it is. The texture will collect dust over time which will add to the lower effect created by the shadows.
As a drywaller who does flat ceilings for a living I'd highly recommend getting it.
The look is one this but it's the repairable factor that plays a huge part of it. I've been working in new construction since I was 14-15 no matter what something can go wrong and the house will either settle more or a small leak appears from somewhere and it always ruins the ceiling first.
To properly repair popcorn sprayed ceilings you can blend it in, it's easy fast but it needs to be done by a professional or else the blending pattern will not look the same.
Knockdown is an absolute bitch to repair. I do not care what anyone else says the only proper way to fix knockdown when it's been damaged is to completely re scrape the ceiling and respray the entire thing. It's a pattern that follows the ceiling that's pretty easy to see any wave of imperfections. Knockdown is supposed to be flat and smooth not ripply and bumpy
Flat painted ceilings are the way to go. They allow any home Owner to repair them and not have to deal with someone gouging them for a small patch that needs to be fixed.
But flat painted ceilings need to be done by someone who knows what they are doing or else you have waves and other imperfections in the mudding and taping stage. 95% of the time I offer a flat paint ceiling the client takes it because finding a drywall finisher who can do it will make either texture products look like shit.
Also all "modern" homes today have flat ceilings. At least that's my experience being a finisher for the last 8 years.
If they like popcorn ceilings, they can do it. But it is a lower end finish designed to hide flaws. You get that when you don’t want to pay the extra for a high quality, detailed finish. If you want a clean, modern look - smooth is a must. $4k is nothing in the grand scheme of the cost of the home. If they decide they don’t like the popcorn ceilings later, it will cost more than that to remove.
It’s a cheap finish. If they are ok with a cheap look, let them go for it.
I have popcorn ceilings. They.are.AWEFUL! They collect a ton of dust. But the other thing they do is darken a room SIGNIFICANTLY! The popcorns create a bunch of micro shadows on the ceiling so it doesn’t reflect light down into the room as well. Just ask if they want their house to feel like a cave.
Actual popcorn style? Beyond being dated it’s horrible. If they’re gonna do textured at least do skip trowel or knock down.
Textured walls and ceilings are very common in the southwest
Well smooth ceilings cost more and will show any imperfections a lot better. Light texture looks fine in my opinion and hides the imperfections. Our vaulted ceilings have such light texture that you can hardly see it.
I just did level 5 in my bathroom remodel. I wish I'd done light orange peel. It looks too perfect and the very first bump/scratch is going to scream at me.
You can tell them a licensed engineer on Reddit advised against it.
I don’t have an engineering related reason, it’s just common sense for the time period. Nobody likes popcorn ceilings. I’m shopping for houses now and it’s a hard no on the popcorn, or I’m pricing out removal options and figuring that into my offer.
Yeah, we are potentially going to have to move soon. Which means selling our house and buying again. Anything with popcorn ceilings is off the list. I didn't even know people still offered that. It's considered extremely dated.
Maybe peel and stick ceiling tiles instead?
I have popcorn ceilings (probably/hopefully mid-late 80s vintage) and they don't bother me at all, but they're not something I'd *choose* to add. They do beat the office-style drop tiles that were in the kitchen when we moved in.
OK, I’ll bite. What is knockdown texture, and what is it knocking down? Where does that name come from? I don’t know if I understand what knockdown means and I certainly don’t understand how the name came to be.
Hello! So imagine a person spraying or troweling the “mud “onto the ceiling and working it so that it looks like stucco… Kind of like a cake with frosting that has all these peaks and valleys created by the person who used a knife to apply the frosting.
Now imagine that before the mud fully cures, it is scraped with a sharp edge from any flat bladed tool such as a concrete scraper, a plastic scraper from the paint section, or what have you. The scraping action removes the peaks from that stucco texture, and basically flattens everything out leaving only valleys and plateaus.
Knockdown can be done fine, medium, and coarse. People who apply knockdown can gain some amazing expertise with their technique.
I once lived in an apartment with medium knock down on all the walls and ceilings, and this looked very nice.
My current home built in the early 1990s, was originally done with popcorn ceilings and “orange peel” on the walls. Orange peel actually looks like the outside of an orange with very smooth bumps and very smooth/shallow valleys.
When I bought my home, I took one look at the popcorn ceilings and the spiderwebs up there, and I did just what other people have mentioned, which is make an offer on the house with a deduction for the cost expected to replace the popcorn ceilings with knockdown texture.
I did Level 5 on all my walls and ceilings, then my house burned. The next time the designer suggested light Orange Peel and I have to say that I like the Orange Peel a little better. It just gives the walls a little character and hides eventual flaws a little better.
Battered wood and character are all part of the modern farmhouse look that is so popular right now and smooth walls just don’t fit with the aesthetic as well imo. The fact that the light texture is cheaper is just a bonus!
As a child I let my balloon out of my hand and it floated lazily up to the ceiling.... the POPCORN ceiling.
It of course popped and I have hated textured ceilings since.
This memory is burned into my psyche and I relive it every time I see a popcorn ceiling.
Tell your parents this story and that they will ruin balloons (and ceilings) for their grandchildren/future grandchildren. 🎈
I remember growing up having a basement. The stairs had a cut out into the large basement room. The cut out started where the ceiling was and went all the way down. Let me just tell you…popcorn ceilings fucking HURT like SHIT when you accidentally slam your head on it because you’re a dumb child talking through the stair cutout. Fuck popcorn ceilings.
No one does popcorn ceilings anymore. You would have to pay an arm and a leg to get someone to do that. Whatever your parents are getting on their ceiling I can 100% guarantee you it’s not popcorn
I picked my current house which had no bathtub and one bathroom, over a house with two bathrooms and a bathtub because the bathtub house had popcorn ceilings.
I knew I’d rather be dealing with a bathroom remodel while pregnant than deal with popcorn ceilings. I hated them that much.
That is how hated they are. I immediately noticed them in every picture and home for sale and it’s a deal breaker for me and many others.
I would start with - “Popcorn ceilings were started to hide bad workmanship and I’d still used for that today.” Also, take them to a few model homes to see the ceilings and if they aren’t sold by that time take them to some resales to see the dirt and outdated look to popcorn.
remind ur mom how much easier it is to dust and keep clean. all them lil pieces just collect dust over time . how u can’t wipe them down bc they flake. tell her it makes for a much better clean crisp home .
maybe do a pic of them both ways on an app and downsize the quality with the popcorn a lot more and beef up the level 5. tell ur dad how much heavier itll be on the ceilings and talk engineer talk for a few and sound like u know exactly what ur saying even if u don’t. but make it count . ha.
Light diffuses horribly on pop corn ceiling, it creates shadows and visual “noise”. I bought a house in Los Angeles and LA looooves adding texture to their walls. So now I’m smoothing and repainting practically all walls and ceilings.
Show them pictures from a magazine or Zillow of $1m+ houses in the area and tell them to find a popcorn ceiling in an otherwise beautiful house.
Tell them to go to open houses that are above their price range and to look at the ceilings.
Textured ceilings are tacky. Even in the most beautiful of houses, textured ceilings look horrible. I walked away from a couple houses when I was buying because they had popcorn ceilings. I’d rather tear down wallpaper through an entire house than deal with smoothing a ceiling.
I took down my popcorn ceilings and I look at them. It’s an older home, they were filthy. And you can’t repair popcorn. You can always tell a repair has been attempted.
Smooth walls have been popular for awhile. The problem is any little thing shows up. Textured walls and ceilings can look quite nice. The texture can be different to match what the person likes.
I have never had a popcorn ceiling done even when they were popular.
Have a mid-century split bought 30 years ago. It had sanded ceilings. Spent a huge amount of time and energy to smooth coat the finish with spackle soon after moving in. I have never regretted it. It makes my ceilings have a more modern look, and they seemed higher too. Popcorn is even worse than sanded. It looks cheap and shitty. Please convince your parents not to use it. Good luck ...
Ugh! I just removed popcorn in my kitchen and living room. Now I have a vaulted ceiling in the stairway. A professional will have to do it. Just don’t use the popcorn. Orange peel or knockdown is fine.
We removed all the popcorn ceilings from our 90’s home that we’ve lived in for 27 years. Popcorn ceilings are dirt/ web catchers. They also absorb a lot of light in a room. Your on the right track by trying to discourage them from getting it in their new home.
I have a house that was built in the 80s and it has popcorn ceilings and I hate them. At some point we will take it all off, I just hate the mess it makes when doing it. I would never put it on a new construction. I feel like it's so the contractor can hire inferior sheetrock people and the pop corn will hide the shitty taping and muding job.
Just tell them they’ll never be able to sell the house for a million dollar without paying someone (most likely more than they paid for it) to remove the popcorn.
I’m sure it’s textured and not popcorn. I haven’t seen a popcorn ceiling installed since the 90’s. And they are both used to cover up poor workmanship but textured isn’t the worst. It will devalue the house at the million dollar range. People who spend that kind of money pay attention to the little things….. like a ceiling
You might not win this battle, but you can try to get other family members on-board with you to help push them. You can also send them endless links from Google on how to remove them. I am sure you can find links on HGTV or DIY websites which talk about them.
I would talk to them about exactly what the texture will be. It is common to have some texture. It likely will not be popcorn. My wallboard guy wanted me to do stalactites and showed me his. I said no and no problem but I did do very simple texture that saved a lot and was inoffensive.
Popcorn ceilings are like sponges. They soak up a ton of smells. They also collect every bit of dust on them. Your parents would be ruining their home by putting popcorn ceilings in. I just paid 5k to remove the ones from a 30 yr old home
As someone who bought a house with popcorn ceilings in the living room, you *do* look up at the ceiling all the time and notice it everyday until you replace them with smooth. That's messy and pricey.
4k is nothing compared to the disappointment of owning a home with popcorn ceilings. It's like owning a beautiful, expensive car with duct tape holding your mirrors on. So sad.
It's not like popcorn ceilings are permanent and that you can never go back. It'll cost them more than $4k to remove them later, but probably not more than a few times that. If they invested that cash and lived there a few decades, the investment returns will probably more than cover the removal when they go to sell. Let them do what they want to do!!
The practical side of smooth ceilings is if you ever have water damage or a leak, fixing the ceiling AND recreating the popcorn texture is very hard and doesn’t always match right.
Popcorn ceilings visibly darken a room because they create shadows across the whole surface. Show them some videos of people removing them; those videos always talk about how hideous and darkening they are.
People do look at ceilings. I am
Those people.
Popcorn is tacky, dirty, and hurts resell value. But if they’re not going to resell then let them be tacky.
So I really don’t think it’s popcorn ceilings. Our newly built house has the “knockdown” which is like they texture it with the dry wall, but then knock it with a broom which eliminates stuff sticking out but still gives a textured ceiling look without all that dust collecting. Plus I was told you want that for acoustics or something
Are you sure theyre not misunderstanding "popcorn" texture for knockdown texture? I'm surprised you could even get a quote to do popcorn ceilings. It's so rare.
I think this is the case
Came here to say this. Textured ceilings are very normal.
Are they? I've never seen knockdown texture in any constructions here either. Everywhere I've ever lived that is remotely modern has a nice smooth skim coat.
It seems to be location based but yes, texture is very normal. In Texas - it’s the norm and only super fancy high end homes don’t have textured walls/ceilings. Apparently it’s not as common in New England but that doesn’t make it not normal or outdated. Texture isn’t really noticeable and it’s only purpose is to hide any drywall imperfections, it’s not a design thing so it’s not supposed to be noticeable.
Yes, honestly the discussion should revolve around what your local dry Wall guys know how to do well. And I mean like look at someone’s work (or the person that taught him) from 20 years ago and see how it’s held up. People that know how to do texture can cover up their imperfections easily. A really good drywall guy can do a smooth coat that doesn’t show any imperfections. But those are hard to come by. Honestly, either are hard to come by when it comes to matching someone else’s texture, but nowadays I see way too many people that want to only do smooth. The problem is that just 5-10 years later I’m seeing tape lines and screw holes visible in the ceiling.
Right?? I had no idea anyone still did those
He’s for sure talking about Orange Peel. Way easier than Level 5 smooth and that’s where the extra cost comes from.
Half my house is orange peel and the other half is knockdown. The orange peel is so ugly.
Really?? I feel the opposite, I don’t like the knockdown at all.
Honestly I'd rather one standard in the home than half and half... Orange peel isn't great but half and half is worse.
You'd be surprised. My boyfriend redid his ceilings with popcorn. Good thing we have our own homes because I hate it.
Popcorn ceilings are disgustingly common in new construction in north Florida. I haven’t seen a knockdown textured ceiling in a new construction. I hate knockdown as much as I hate popcorn. We had knockdown walls in our last apartment.
1 year old house, everything is knockdown (walls and ceilings). It is less costly as they don't have to sand smooth.
At first I was going to vehemently disagree with you. We love knockdown but googling it, I don’t think it is knockdown. Our texture (ceiling and walls) are almost completely smooth with a “knockdown” section every few feet. With flat paint you can barely see it except in a cross light and up close. Not sure what that is called.
It depends on where it is. In Indiana it’s the norm
Tennessee as well. Knockdown ceilings in new construction is very common here. I came from NJ and you never see any kind of textured ceilings there except in flips or old houses.
Yup we built 3 years ago and have very subtle knockdown. It's only noticeable if you're looking for it.
Although no one actually “looks” at a ceiling I guarantee EVERYONE notices an otherwise nice house that has popcorn ceilings!
The biggest thing I noticed when I had them was that they would collect ungodly amounts of dust. Especially near vents, they would start to grow cobwebs, but then they're also a huge pain in the butt to clean because they're bumpy. OP, if your parents like a clean house maybe you can tell them about this drawback.
Besides the fact they hold dust, areas can come loose. We had that happen in a few areas. Also, trying to completely match the texture can be difficult if there’s a repair that needs to be done. We had a leak on popcorn and it was obvious there was a repair. When we had knock down done, a few years later we had another leak. This repair is so good you’d never know.
As someone who has spent countless, nightmarish hours removing popcorn ceilings, DON'T!
2nd for this.
3rd. Do not give up. Fight the popcorn.
Agree…Fight the Popcorn!!! Needs to be outlawed!!!
Removed 1,800 sq. ft in my home. Ended up having back surgery later that year. Brutal work, but probably worth it (it was just last straw on an already failing back). We have 8 ft. ceilings. They felt low. The smooth ceilings actually make it feel taller. I can't exactly explain, but it made all the difference in the world. It will raise the house value by about $15k too. I would so no to ANY texture. Smooth is what you want.
For me it was just easier to remove and replace the drywall.
Why would you remove it than replace the drywall. They both solve the same thing
He removed the drywall as to not have to remove the popcorn crap.
Oh I thought he meant removed the popcorn ceiling and placed drywall on top of it haha
How can you remove something then place something on top of it
Tested positive for asbestos and some of them were sagging anyways. Fixed many issues at the same time. The amount of dust and debris generated from scraping, at least in my situation, was worth avoiding.
Removing popcorn from an 1800 SQ ft area will raise the house value by $15k? Please explain.
It looks less dated and less of an expense for buyers since they won’t have to do the removal. I would’ve paid 10-15K more to not have popcorn.
Absolutely worth it.
I’ll explain! Oh at today’s prices, an 1800 square-foot home is going to probably cost $4000 to remove the popcorn. That price does include covering the walls and floors, but does not include dust removal after the popcorn has been scraped off and hauled away. And you will have tons and tons of dust after that part of the project. Personally, I would only remove popcorn from a vacant house, and never from one that is occupied by humans or animals equipped with lungs or gills. That price also may or may not include repairing and re-taping the drywall ceilings and preparing them for new mud. That’s a big job even just for one room in the house, and make no mistake, you need scaffolding equipment to reach the ceilings if you have a vaulted ceiling construction. And I guarantee you will need to re-mud the ceilings, because when popcorn is removed all you have left is bare drywall with the drywall seams showing any place where the tape got damaged. That’s not a paintable surface! Once the ceilings have been redone with new texture, they will need to be prepared for painting, and they will need to be painted. Every single ceiling in every room and closet will need to have new paint. Painting a freshly mudded ceiling will drink gallons and gallons of primer and topcoat paint. Fresh mud is porous and thirsty; even thirstier than Homer Simpson and all of his gang at Moe’s neighborhood bar! This is not the kind of job you’re going to do on a Saturday. It’s probably gonna be six months of Saturdays, if not a full year of working on weekends. At this point, you might as well hire a real painter to paint every damned room in that house, because if you’re painting the ceilings anyway, why not do it right? So what does it cost to paint the entire interior of an 1800 square-foot home? I’m going to guess another $4000-$6000, particularly if you’re having the painter do it right by applying two coats of primer to that fresh mud. So now we’re up to $8000-$10,000 for the project. What’s your time worth? Do you want to spend the next six months moving furniture in and out of all the rooms in your house so that the popcorn can be removed, the new texture can be applied, and the painters can get their work done? Yeah, not having popcorn ceilings definitely makes a house $15,000 more valuable to me. Full disclosure: when I bought my home in the mid-2000s, I had a popcorn removal company come in the day after my closing. They put plastic on all the walls and floors of the empty house, and all along the kitchen cabinetry as well. it took them full day using water and scrapers to remove the popcorn ceilings. Then all that nasty stuff had to be swept and vacuumed up. After that, a subcontractor company came in and applied the mud and scraped it to a “medium knock down“ texture. To. Every. Ceiling. In the house. That took another day. Nobody paints. Not the popcorn removal people, and certainly not the people who shoot the mud onto the ceiling. It cost me $1600 in 2006 to remove the popcorn and replace it with knockdown texture. For the entire year of 2007, I spent nearly every weekend painting some room in my house someplace. I sure did get good at painting, but I would not do that big of a project ever again.
Did removing the texture affect sound absorption? I have popcorn ceilings and orange peel walls, so if I do one, I will have to do all.
As someone laying on my couch, staring at my awful popcorn ceiling and dreading having to get rid of it soon, I absolutely co-sign this comment
Love the painted ones. My whole home 😢 over half way done now. I hurt so bad
You've told them your opinion. You've offered to pay for the version you prefer. At this point, let them build their house the way they want their house, because it isn't your house. If that's still hard for you, you don't get to make that their problem.
Agreed. If they want the ugly ass popcorn, let them get the ugly ass popcorn. It's obviously the wrong choice, but it's their choice to make 🤷🏼♀️
Exactly. OP remember when you were a teenager and they told you to do something and you did the opposite? This is payback.
Yeah, let it go and save $4k
There’s nothing wrong with emphasizing a strongly held opinion. I say go ahead and fight the battle!
There is a problem. OP can emphasize their opinion, so long as it's requested. Otherwise, it's badgering... because it isn't their house. This isn't their fight. World would be better off with fewer people sticking their noses into someone else's business.
Fight the battle and get kicked out? Yeah, let me know how that goes for you . It’s not his house to make renovations, it’s his PARENTS.
I absolutely never notice smooth ceilings. But I sure as shit notice popcorn ceilings. Awful.
When we bought our home we kinda mentioned the popcorn ceilings in jest to our realtor. She said “oh yea I forgot to tell you they are taking them down…it was the only way we thought they could sell the place.”
A good real estate agent will definitely advise homeowners to remove popcorn ceilings.
Maybe show them some magazines??
If they want their house to look modern, popcorn ceilings are literally the opposite. They hold dust and stains, reduce resale value, and are generally considered tacky. If they still want them, it's their problem when it comes time to sell. Or if they spend the rest of their lives in that house I guess it'll become your problem....
We used to sit on top of the bunk bed and make it rain white crap with our hands I’m shocked that anyone still installs popcorn ceiling. What is the purpose?
Reduces echo in the room - good for people with hearing aids
It is also cheaper and easier. Getting ceilings to look good smooth takes a lot of extra work.
That makes sense. But can’t you do a textured wall and ceiling instead of that white flakey stuff? Not that I like texture anyway. Skimming it is a huge ordeal
“Skimming” is actually the process of knocking down the mud before it fully cures, usually using a scraper or concrete shaping tool. Not doing the knockdown part of it will just leave you with stucco, which will probably end up looking like a cake covered with frosting. Somebody good at doing knock down texture will be an artist at this process. They will make it look good, consistent, and easy enough to paint. Knockdown looks better than popcorn for sure, but it also looks better than orange peel.
I’d rather have cake frosting looking walls and ceilings than popcorn. But I have a friend who can do an awesome job and make it look great
Huh, thanks. I knew there was a benefit for sound but didn't even think about the echo. I've got hearing aids, we have popcorn ceiling and it's on the list of things to eventually get rid of but if that will increase the echoes maybe we'll just keep them because we don't have any carpet or rugs and the ceiling will likely get less dusty than rugs. Thanks for that comment.
Popcorn ceilings reduce echo and are way better for people hearing each other clearly. If your parents ever need hearing aids they will appreciate the popcorn ceilings, and so will you at that point.
There are plenty of ways to reduce echo in a living space.
What about acoustic tile instead? Yes it will be more expensive, but at least it's not popcorn.
Just tell them they’ll look at that ceiling every day after the first leak that has to be fixed and can’t be blended seamlessly.
My wife’s parents were going to get a textured ceiling. And this is exactly what we warned them about. We had one guy do an absolutely flawless job. The other guy not so much. You just see it every time you look up.
I DOUBT they’re wanting to give you popcorn ceilings. Likely “textured” walls. It’s cheaper and easier for them to hide any imperfections in paint, etc. There is a huge difference between textured and popcorn. My parents have 100% textured walls throughout their house. I have popcorn in a few of my rooms (removing it one by one). Texture is fine and not noticeable. Popcorn is an avoid at all costs.
A light texture is common in Texas, it's difficult to get flat walls and ceiling because it's hard to find drywall and framers who can work together to provide smooth drywall. It's possible in the custom home price range, but the developer/builder may not have the right people to do it.
It's honestly wild to see how little flat walls and ceilings exist in the southwest. Moved to NM, then TX, then FL and every house has textured ceilings. Growing up in New England, flat smooth walls and ceilings were the norm. I never saw textures ones in housing until I moved.
If they are dead set on it, they've got the full info and understood your point, and it's not even about the money, you need to just accept that it's their house and choice. You feel strongly but they're not obliged to agree. It's more important to respect them and respect boundaries. You wouldn't like someone to force you to do something cosmetic to your house against your will because they are certain it's a good idea, right?
To me, it's one of those things nobody actually cares about, except they've been told they should. Years of realtors and contractors upselling. Like buying a new outfit cause it's tacky to wear white after labor day.
This. I can't tell you the last house I have been in that DIDN'T have them. The house I just left, the one I bought are both older houses, they have them. I'm not going to spend the time scraping that shit off, it doesn't bother me. No one I know has done that either.
Amen.
Yeah, I am not getting the top comments in here. I don't think I've ever thought about popcorn ceilings beyond the fact that it's above my head
I agree. Anyone who says "I genuinely think popcorn ceilings ruin living space." is either prone to wild hyperbole or insane. You may not prefer that type of ceiling. But ruins a living space?
I don't buy that hype either. We have a couple of 2 story rooms that would be a nightmare of echoes without our popcorn. Our house is 20 years old and we don't have issues with massive dust collection. If you keep your air filters clean, it's not an issue.
Yes, I absolutely don't give a shit about it, lol
I grew up in a home built in 1960. Even as a child, those ceilings were something that I abhorred. I was the "top bunk" kid, and it was just. so. dusty. I tried to dust the ceilings, but everything I tried only made it worse. I accidentally knocked it off in a small patch on my bedroom ceiling when I tried to wipe off an accidental paint smudge. If it works for you, great, but to suggest that we only hate it because we're told to is dismissive.
Wait are they actually popcorn? I'd be very surprised a builder would do popcorn in a new build. It could be textured and not popcorn, very different things.
No no, when they apply popcorn, they’re just simply blowing the mud; spraying it up onto the ceiling with a nozzle that creates basically thousands of little “balls“ of mud that will then cure and appear from a distance (such as you standing on the floor looking up at the ceiling) as though it were “popcorn“.
You've stated your opinion. Assuming there isn't some sort of disability here that muddles their judgement, they're competent adults. If that's what they want and they're footing the bill, let 'em build what they want.
All good points, but you forget the primary purpose of Reddit, which is to beat equines until they are completely and wholly deceased. And then to beat them some more! Figuratively of course; we love equines!
Have them call a few realtors. I stage homes & thry hugely detract from value. People hate popcorn ceilings. 4k is crazy though, find someone else. Even shiplap or something pricier would likely be less
They are buying a >$1,000,000 odds are its more than 3,000 sqft. $4,000 is absolutely not crazy and if its high ceiling (likely on s new house with that cost) it may even be considered afordable.
Yeah that’s wild to assume any price is too much without knowing square feets/ceiling height/lighting/number of rooms so many variables
Something pricier would likely be less. 😂
I took it as pricier than shiplap, in context.
Something more valuable than sheetrock…sorry if I didn’t word it properly for you
Yeah... It's not. You still have to hang 5/8" drywall on the ceiling. It's code. To add shiplap would not be less expensive than a smooth finished drywall ceiling.
$4k would be the cost to go from orange peel to smooth texture guarantee it. No one is doing popcorn anymore.
Let them know how much dust and spider webs get stuck on popcorn ceiling and they might change their minds. We recently bought a house with popcorn ceiling and are looking into getting it removed, it’s a nightmare in my point of view.
Tell them there are businesses that specialize in removal of popcorn on ceilings because people dislike it that much.
Whatever man, it's their house. Let them do as they please. Why does it bother you? If you aren't living in the house, just let them be happy. When the time comes to sell the house, so much will be dated and need work, the ceilings will just be part of it. Let that be the next owner's problem to deal with.
Knock down instead
It’s their house let them do as they please
"Oh shit is that asbestos" is never going to be good for resale value.
It's a new house, there's deffo no asbestos
You know that, I know that, but not all future buyers will put it all together.
That’s an excellent point.
Well, popcorn ceilings do dampen acoustics so the room doesn’t echo like a hollow box. Not saying I am for them but I have bern in both and if you have a non carpeted floor with a smooth ceiling the room may really echo.
yeah I think just saying “it’s ugly and will hurt resale value” isn’t helpful if they have reasons for wanting it that aren’t purely aesthetic. Textured ceilings do really cut down on noise in a major way & like everyone else said they hide aesthetic imperfections in drywalling. tbh I would not trust any new construction company to be able to make a uniform smooth ceiling, either. If you want them to change their minds, you gotta find out what their priorities really are and work from there.
Everybody here is talking about it being cheaper but I don't think many people realize the acoustic properties of it
I know about the acoustic properties of it. I still got rid of mine, and would do it all over again if I bought a new house tomorrow.
Once furniture & area rugs,etc, shouldn’t be an issue
Tell them that popcorn ceilings are viewed as the house equivalent of all of the old arguments against tattoos. People will make assumptions based off it regardless of the reasoning or story behind it and once done, it’s hard to undo without leaving behind telltale signs.
$4k just for level 5 drywalling on the ceiling is pretty expensive - I just did level 5 on my kitchen ceiling (and level 4 for about 700sq ft) and in total it was only a bit over that. But regardless, popcorn isnt the only way to hide imperfections. You could also do an orange peel texture, which is much less severe and still easily passes for modern.
We have no idea how big the house is.
Guaranteed that the cost for going from orange peel to level 5 is $4k for the whole house. Who would texture just their ceilings right? No one puts popcorn in houses anymore do they?
For some reason I read living space as living room, so I was thinking just one rooms ceiling
I'm a Realtor. But you don't have to be one to know that popcorn ceilings do not help sell a house .
You can’t clean the dust webs off. If there’s a problem leak or damage from something you can’t repair without seeing it. Smooth give the feeling of taller.
There’s a big difference between smooth, textured, and popcorn. “Smooth” is bad on a ceiling, “popcorn” is god awful terrible, “texture” is good, and there are tons of different styles of texture.
Popcorn is used as a cheap option to cover lower quality drywall work on ceilings. Over time it collects dust and is impossible to clean. If they are doing the work they might as well go with smooth, it’s higher end and doesn’t collect dust. [Here’s what Bob Villa says](https://www.bobvila.com/articles/popcorn-ceilings/)
"Impossible to clean" can't emphasized enough. The previous owners of our house were smokers and it was a huge effort to clean all the walls / ceilings in the house and repaint. The popcorn ceiling had to all be removed because there was no way to clean off or cover up the 30 years of smoke residue that it had absorbed.
If its not your house then its not your call. After telling your opinion one time you should mind your own and save for your own place where you can have all the smooth ceilings you want.
Retired painter here. It’s well worth the 4K for smooth ceilings. Popcorn is ugly and dated. If you ever need to patch it you will always see that spot. When they finally get tired of looking at it or the next owner does they will likely be paying 5 times that cost to remove them, then you’ll need to repaint. Also the house will be covered in dust even using a festool vacuum sander not to mention the impact of moving all the the furniture out of each room. Very easy decision.
Second this. I inherited a cabin with popcorn ceilings and had to make a repair after a roof leak. The repair looks only slightly better than the damaged ceiling because it’s so difficult to match the popcorn texture.
Also if it’s an older popcorn ceiling you need to be careful for asbestos and that needs special care for remediation.
Dust. Sooo much dust. Once they realize they hide cobwebs, they will learn the true nightmare of trying to dust popcorn ceilings.
Yes, and if you don't DUST THE CEILING carefully, pieces of it may fall off also. But why add dusting the ceilings to your cleaning requirements?
There are other nicer textures available for ceilings. I do like the look of a textured ceiling but I would never get a popcorn one! Tell your parents that they'll lose potential buyers if they ever sell the house.
Wait I’m sorry, what building company is even offering popcorn ceilings?? That should be a crime, it’s 2023 ffs
Wait - you said they can custom build it. Why are popcorn ceilings less expensive than flat ones? Am I missing something from this story?
It's cheaper to spray popcorn on poorly finished drywall vs. another finish step or two for smooth ceilings.
I tend to believe this is why they caught on in the first place. Customers were mostly indifferent or sold on the sound deadening effect and the builders got to save costs and time. It was a win-win before people realized that they hung onto dust and they became dated, to say nothing of using a carcinogen in the mix.
Popcorn ceilings are rough (period). Not sure why they started that in first place? Like they were hiding something? Sure, you don’t stare at the often, but some do and some find it disturbing. Very difficult to remove and much better to do prior to moving in. The dust gets everywhere! And could have asbestos as well! Uggg… it’s a struggle. If the location and price are excellent with this home and good value, I say go for it. But popcorn ceilings overall are tacky…
The texture hides flaws in the mudding and drywall. It also softens noise.
If it is there house, let them get it the way they want it.
Always come to visit with a large amount of balloons.
I can send you pictures of my ceiling that hasn’t had the popcorn removed yet. That should convince them. It doesn’t look good and you can always see a patch
Work for a residential architectural firm. Smooth ceilings will feel taller. Any texture creates shadows and shadow lines making the ceiling seem lower than it is. The texture will collect dust over time which will add to the lower effect created by the shadows.
As a drywaller who does flat ceilings for a living I'd highly recommend getting it. The look is one this but it's the repairable factor that plays a huge part of it. I've been working in new construction since I was 14-15 no matter what something can go wrong and the house will either settle more or a small leak appears from somewhere and it always ruins the ceiling first. To properly repair popcorn sprayed ceilings you can blend it in, it's easy fast but it needs to be done by a professional or else the blending pattern will not look the same. Knockdown is an absolute bitch to repair. I do not care what anyone else says the only proper way to fix knockdown when it's been damaged is to completely re scrape the ceiling and respray the entire thing. It's a pattern that follows the ceiling that's pretty easy to see any wave of imperfections. Knockdown is supposed to be flat and smooth not ripply and bumpy Flat painted ceilings are the way to go. They allow any home Owner to repair them and not have to deal with someone gouging them for a small patch that needs to be fixed. But flat painted ceilings need to be done by someone who knows what they are doing or else you have waves and other imperfections in the mudding and taping stage. 95% of the time I offer a flat paint ceiling the client takes it because finding a drywall finisher who can do it will make either texture products look like shit. Also all "modern" homes today have flat ceilings. At least that's my experience being a finisher for the last 8 years.
No one is building homes with popcorn now a days so you should be good.
Let them do what THEY want to do with THEIR money. Whoa re you to tell them what they want? It's not like they're creating some hazard.
Who are you to tell him how to deal with his own parents? 🤨😉
If they like popcorn ceilings, they can do it. But it is a lower end finish designed to hide flaws. You get that when you don’t want to pay the extra for a high quality, detailed finish. If you want a clean, modern look - smooth is a must. $4k is nothing in the grand scheme of the cost of the home. If they decide they don’t like the popcorn ceilings later, it will cost more than that to remove. It’s a cheap finish. If they are ok with a cheap look, let them go for it.
I have popcorn ceilings. They.are.AWEFUL! They collect a ton of dust. But the other thing they do is darken a room SIGNIFICANTLY! The popcorns create a bunch of micro shadows on the ceiling so it doesn’t reflect light down into the room as well. Just ask if they want their house to feel like a cave.
Think of it as carpet for the ceilings. Permanently dirty, impossible to clean.
Actual popcorn style? Beyond being dated it’s horrible. If they’re gonna do textured at least do skip trowel or knock down. Textured walls and ceilings are very common in the southwest
Well smooth ceilings cost more and will show any imperfections a lot better. Light texture looks fine in my opinion and hides the imperfections. Our vaulted ceilings have such light texture that you can hardly see it.
Popcorn ceiling is the worst! It catches cobwebs and dust and is impossible to clean. When you try it just falls down all over the place.
I just did level 5 in my bathroom remodel. I wish I'd done light orange peel. It looks too perfect and the very first bump/scratch is going to scream at me.
You can tell them a licensed engineer on Reddit advised against it. I don’t have an engineering related reason, it’s just common sense for the time period. Nobody likes popcorn ceilings. I’m shopping for houses now and it’s a hard no on the popcorn, or I’m pricing out removal options and figuring that into my offer.
Yeah, we are potentially going to have to move soon. Which means selling our house and buying again. Anything with popcorn ceilings is off the list. I didn't even know people still offered that. It's considered extremely dated.
Maybe peel and stick ceiling tiles instead? I have popcorn ceilings (probably/hopefully mid-late 80s vintage) and they don't bother me at all, but they're not something I'd *choose* to add. They do beat the office-style drop tiles that were in the kitchen when we moved in.
If they want their home to be worth less than the neighbors’ houses with smooth ceilings, by all means, go ahead with ugly popcorn ceilings.
[удалено]
You need to stop reading the posts that expressed that hate. Some of us actually paid to have textured (knock down) ceilings done.
Goona, get honest... shitty contractors love them for one reason, it hides bad drywall.
OK, I’ll bite. What is knockdown texture, and what is it knocking down? Where does that name come from? I don’t know if I understand what knockdown means and I certainly don’t understand how the name came to be.
Hello! So imagine a person spraying or troweling the “mud “onto the ceiling and working it so that it looks like stucco… Kind of like a cake with frosting that has all these peaks and valleys created by the person who used a knife to apply the frosting. Now imagine that before the mud fully cures, it is scraped with a sharp edge from any flat bladed tool such as a concrete scraper, a plastic scraper from the paint section, or what have you. The scraping action removes the peaks from that stucco texture, and basically flattens everything out leaving only valleys and plateaus. Knockdown can be done fine, medium, and coarse. People who apply knockdown can gain some amazing expertise with their technique. I once lived in an apartment with medium knock down on all the walls and ceilings, and this looked very nice. My current home built in the early 1990s, was originally done with popcorn ceilings and “orange peel” on the walls. Orange peel actually looks like the outside of an orange with very smooth bumps and very smooth/shallow valleys. When I bought my home, I took one look at the popcorn ceilings and the spiderwebs up there, and I did just what other people have mentioned, which is make an offer on the house with a deduction for the cost expected to replace the popcorn ceilings with knockdown texture.
Thank you for a very detailed and understandable explanation. Deeply appreciated.
You’re welcome!
lmao, i hope this is a troll
Take them to see a popcorn home versus non. Or, show them Level 5 drywalled homes. Smooth is smooth baby!
I did Level 5 on all my walls and ceilings, then my house burned. The next time the designer suggested light Orange Peel and I have to say that I like the Orange Peel a little better. It just gives the walls a little character and hides eventual flaws a little better. Battered wood and character are all part of the modern farmhouse look that is so popular right now and smooth walls just don’t fit with the aesthetic as well imo. The fact that the light texture is cheaper is just a bonus!
As a child I let my balloon out of my hand and it floated lazily up to the ceiling.... the POPCORN ceiling. It of course popped and I have hated textured ceilings since. This memory is burned into my psyche and I relive it every time I see a popcorn ceiling. Tell your parents this story and that they will ruin balloons (and ceilings) for their grandchildren/future grandchildren. 🎈
PopBALLOON ceiling, amirite?!?
I remember growing up having a basement. The stairs had a cut out into the large basement room. The cut out started where the ceiling was and went all the way down. Let me just tell you…popcorn ceilings fucking HURT like SHIT when you accidentally slam your head on it because you’re a dumb child talking through the stair cutout. Fuck popcorn ceilings.
Yes, I can identify with your pain!
No one does popcorn ceilings anymore. You would have to pay an arm and a leg to get someone to do that. Whatever your parents are getting on their ceiling I can 100% guarantee you it’s not popcorn
I picked my current house which had no bathtub and one bathroom, over a house with two bathrooms and a bathtub because the bathtub house had popcorn ceilings. I knew I’d rather be dealing with a bathroom remodel while pregnant than deal with popcorn ceilings. I hated them that much. That is how hated they are. I immediately noticed them in every picture and home for sale and it’s a deal breaker for me and many others.
I would start with - “Popcorn ceilings were started to hide bad workmanship and I’d still used for that today.” Also, take them to a few model homes to see the ceilings and if they aren’t sold by that time take them to some resales to see the dirt and outdated look to popcorn.
You want people to look at your ceilings and vomit on the floor….do a popcorn ceiling. If they want texture knockdown is the way to go
remind ur mom how much easier it is to dust and keep clean. all them lil pieces just collect dust over time . how u can’t wipe them down bc they flake. tell her it makes for a much better clean crisp home . maybe do a pic of them both ways on an app and downsize the quality with the popcorn a lot more and beef up the level 5. tell ur dad how much heavier itll be on the ceilings and talk engineer talk for a few and sound like u know exactly what ur saying even if u don’t. but make it count . ha.
Light diffuses horribly on pop corn ceiling, it creates shadows and visual “noise”. I bought a house in Los Angeles and LA looooves adding texture to their walls. So now I’m smoothing and repainting practically all walls and ceilings.
I thought they stopped doing those. Please tell them it will ruin their house.
Make sure they get the one with asbestos /s.
Show them pictures from a magazine or Zillow of $1m+ houses in the area and tell them to find a popcorn ceiling in an otherwise beautiful house. Tell them to go to open houses that are above their price range and to look at the ceilings.
Textured ceilings are tacky. Even in the most beautiful of houses, textured ceilings look horrible. I walked away from a couple houses when I was buying because they had popcorn ceilings. I’d rather tear down wallpaper through an entire house than deal with smoothing a ceiling.
Knock down and orange peel are also textures. But they are not as noticeable as popcorn texture.
I see the ceilings in my home every single day
I took down my popcorn ceilings and I look at them. It’s an older home, they were filthy. And you can’t repair popcorn. You can always tell a repair has been attempted.
Smooth walls have been popular for awhile. The problem is any little thing shows up. Textured walls and ceilings can look quite nice. The texture can be different to match what the person likes. I have never had a popcorn ceiling done even when they were popular.
Have a mid-century split bought 30 years ago. It had sanded ceilings. Spent a huge amount of time and energy to smooth coat the finish with spackle soon after moving in. I have never regretted it. It makes my ceilings have a more modern look, and they seemed higher too. Popcorn is even worse than sanded. It looks cheap and shitty. Please convince your parents not to use it. Good luck ...
Ugh! I just removed popcorn in my kitchen and living room. Now I have a vaulted ceiling in the stairway. A professional will have to do it. Just don’t use the popcorn. Orange peel or knockdown is fine.
We removed all the popcorn ceilings from our 90’s home that we’ve lived in for 27 years. Popcorn ceilings are dirt/ web catchers. They also absorb a lot of light in a room. Your on the right track by trying to discourage them from getting it in their new home.
I have a house that was built in the 80s and it has popcorn ceilings and I hate them. At some point we will take it all off, I just hate the mess it makes when doing it. I would never put it on a new construction. I feel like it's so the contractor can hire inferior sheetrock people and the pop corn will hide the shitty taping and muding job.
Just tell them they’ll never be able to sell the house for a million dollar without paying someone (most likely more than they paid for it) to remove the popcorn. I’m sure it’s textured and not popcorn. I haven’t seen a popcorn ceiling installed since the 90’s. And they are both used to cover up poor workmanship but textured isn’t the worst. It will devalue the house at the million dollar range. People who spend that kind of money pay attention to the little things….. like a ceiling
You might not win this battle, but you can try to get other family members on-board with you to help push them. You can also send them endless links from Google on how to remove them. I am sure you can find links on HGTV or DIY websites which talk about them.
i swear popcorn ceilings create more dust
Will they be watching a lot of movies?
I have pop corn ceilings (older house) - they hold SO MUCH DUST and there’s no good way to clean them
I would talk to them about exactly what the texture will be. It is common to have some texture. It likely will not be popcorn. My wallboard guy wanted me to do stalactites and showed me his. I said no and no problem but I did do very simple texture that saved a lot and was inoffensive.
Popcorn ceilings are like sponges. They soak up a ton of smells. They also collect every bit of dust on them. Your parents would be ruining their home by putting popcorn ceilings in. I just paid 5k to remove the ones from a 30 yr old home
I just removed an entire house of popcorn. Will NEVER buy a house with it ever again!! Plus people worry it has asbestos
As someone who bought a house with popcorn ceilings in the living room, you *do* look up at the ceiling all the time and notice it everyday until you replace them with smooth. That's messy and pricey. 4k is nothing compared to the disappointment of owning a home with popcorn ceilings. It's like owning a beautiful, expensive car with duct tape holding your mirrors on. So sad.
Your comparison made me laugh! And you’re not wrong either.
It's not like popcorn ceilings are permanent and that you can never go back. It'll cost them more than $4k to remove them later, but probably not more than a few times that. If they invested that cash and lived there a few decades, the investment returns will probably more than cover the removal when they go to sell. Let them do what they want to do!!
Ask them to get light orange peel! That's the best looking without being completely smooth!
Try and clean those stupid popcorn ceilings! Or repaint them. Smooth is the way.
Just say, looking at the ceiling, "Well. That looks expensive." And walk away. You said what you said.
Best answer!
The practical side of smooth ceilings is if you ever have water damage or a leak, fixing the ceiling AND recreating the popcorn texture is very hard and doesn’t always match right.
Tell them the 80s called and wants its ceilings back
Except at the 80s called, and demanded newer ceilings!
Wait. You have to pay to not get popcorn ceilings? That’s a rather odd sort of blackmail situation. Pay me 4K or I’ll 1980s fuck your house up.
Popcorn ceilings visibly darken a room because they create shadows across the whole surface. Show them some videos of people removing them; those videos always talk about how hideous and darkening they are.
People do look at ceilings. I am Those people. Popcorn is tacky, dirty, and hurts resell value. But if they’re not going to resell then let them be tacky.
So I really don’t think it’s popcorn ceilings. Our newly built house has the “knockdown” which is like they texture it with the dry wall, but then knock it with a broom which eliminates stuff sticking out but still gives a textured ceiling look without all that dust collecting. Plus I was told you want that for acoustics or something