Randy’s Painting & Drywall

Newtown, Bucks County

Popcorn ceiling removal in Newtown, PA.

Newtown Borough is mostly plaster from before 1940, and Newtown Township mostly drywall from 1980 on. Popcorn turns up in between, in each place's postwar houses, and older texture is tested first.

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Two painters working a ceiling on poles and a ladder, the kitchen below sealed in clear plastic.
Ceiling work, the room sealed in plastic.

Popcorn ceiling removal for Newtown homes

Two different housing stocks share the Newtown name, and a popcorn ceiling means something different in each. Nearly six in ten borough homes were built before 1940, when ceilings were plastered, and about a quarter from 1940 to 1979. In the township around it the numbers run the other way: only about one home in five predates 1980, and the 1980s alone account for more than a third.

Most township houses therefore came late in the sprayed-ceiling era or after it, and the early-1980s ones fall right at its tail. The rule doesn't change with the address: texture sprayed before the mid-1980s is sampled by an accredited professional and tested by a lab before anyone disturbs it, and a positive result makes the removal the job of a certified asbestos abatement contractor.

Newtown

Borough plaster, township drywall from the 1980s on

The borough's historic district runs from the Court Street core to the Victorian streets east of State Street, and in its later extensions about three-quarters of the buildings are frame. Houses of those years were plastered inside, so a spray texture on one of their ceilings is a later layer, and taking it off returns the room to its original plaster, old cracks and patches included. The borough's review board doesn't review interior changes, so no certificate is involved.

Out in the township, the population went from about 4,500 in 1980 to more than 18,000 by 2000, and most of its homes date from those two decades. Its houses from the 1940s through the 1970s, roughly one in six, are the likelier candidates for an original popcorn ceiling. Along the Sycamore Street edge between borough and township, buildings run from about 1800 to 1970, plaster and postwar side by side.

A ceiling and walls patched in white compound, a work table of tools in the middle of the room.
Ceiling and walls, patched mid-job.

Worth knowing

  1. Say which Newtown

    Borough houses are mostly plaster, township houses mostly drywall. What sits under the texture, not the name on the deed, sets how it comes off.

  2. Early-1980s township houses

    A township house finished before about 1985 sits inside the testing window, and one finished just after it is close enough that testing is the prudent course.

  3. The borough's postwar quarter

    About a quarter of borough homes date from 1940 to 1979. Set among much older houses, they are the borough's likeliest popcorn ceilings.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to popcorn ceiling removal.

A smooth white kitchen ceiling with recessed lights and a ceiling fan above glass-front wood cabinets.
A finished kitchen ceiling. Mike Galuppo’s photograph, from his Google review.

  1. The walkthrough

    Randy looks at the ceilings with you, how they were built and how the rooms are lit, and explains what removal and refinishing will involve. You get a written estimate; like the walkthrough, it is complimentary.

  2. Test before anything else

    If the texture may date from before the mid-1980s, a sample has to be taken by an accredited asbestos professional and tested by a lab before the ceiling is touched. If it tests positive, the job belongs to a certified asbestos abatement contractor, not a painter.

  3. Containment

    The room is emptied, floors and walls are sheeted in plastic, and power to the ceiling fixtures is shut off. The texture comes down as wet, heavy debris, and it should stay inside the room it came from.

  4. Wet scraping

    The texture is misted lightly, given time to soften, and scraped off in small sections. Too much water can damage the drywall beneath it, and painted texture resists water, so it needs a slower approach.

  5. Repair and skim

    Gouges, open seams and loose tape are repaired, then the ceiling is skim-coated so it reads flat under side light. Each coat dries before it is sanded, which is where most of the time goes.

  6. Prime and paint

    The finished ceiling is primed so compound and bare paper take paint evenly. It is then painted, usually in a flat finish that keeps minor flaws overhead from catching the light.

Questions

Popcorn ceiling removal, Newtown.

Our 1980s township house has knockdown texture on the ceilings, not popcorn. Is that the same job?

Close, but not identical. Thinner textures such as knockdown or orange peel are usually painted and bonded tight, so rather than being scraped, the ceiling is often skimmed over in thin coats and sanded flat. The testing rule depends only on when the texture went up: anything applied before the mid-1980s is sampled first.

Our borough Victorian has a popcorn ceiling in one room only. Can it match the others?

Usually. The texture in that room is a later addition over the original plaster, so once it tests clear and comes off, the plaster is repaired and skimmed to sit flat like the plaster ceilings in the other rooms.

Should the walls be painted at the same time?

It makes sense to plan them together, with the ceiling first. Scraping and skimming overhead marks the tops of the walls, so walls painted before the ceiling usually need touching up afterward.

More in Newtown

Other services here.

  1. Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
  2. Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
  3. Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
  4. Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
  5. Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
  6. Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
  7. Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
  8. Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
  9. Wood stainingDecks, porch floors, doors and trim, inside and out, stained by hand.

Consultation

Request a private consultation.

Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.

Hours
Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
Service area
Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.

Randy’sPainting & DrywallReply card
The project
Preferred contact

Walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary.