Popcorn Ceiling Removal in Ontario (2026): What It Costs, the Asbestos Test That Comes First, Scrape vs Cover, and the Smooth Ceiling After

Drywall, Taping & Painting

Popcorn Ceiling Removal: What It Costs, the $150 Test Before Anyone Touches It, and the Two Ways to Get a Smooth Ceiling

Every house in Ontario built between about 1960 and 1990 got a sprayed texture ceiling, and most of the ones I walk into now have an owner who wants it gone. It is a good job to do: the smooth ceiling changes the room more than any paint colour. It is also the one drywall job where you do not start with a scraper. Textured ceiling finish from those years can contain asbestos, Ontario’s regulation treats it as suspect until tested, and the test is $150 and a few days. Then you scrape it, or you cover it, and here is what each costs.

Ontario, October 2026, before HST. The regulation is O. Reg. 278/05 and it is linked at the bottom.

Step one: the test

Any sprayed or stippled ceiling finish applied before about 1990 may contain asbestos, and so may the joint compound under it. The Ontario regulation on asbestos in construction says these materials are to be assumed to contain asbestos until a sample analysed by a qualified lab says otherwise, and that disturbing them (scraping, sanding, cutting) is regulated work with specific precautions depending on the amount and the method. For the homeowner that means: a contractor takes a small sample from an inconspicuous spot, bags it, sends it to an accredited lab, and in a few days you have a report. About $150. If it is negative, any drywall contractor can scrape it. If it is positive, it is an abatement contractor working wet, in containment, with the right gear and disposal, and the price roughly doubles. Nobody honest skips this step on an older ceiling, and a contractor who offers to is telling you what else he skips. The asbestos page.

The two routes

Scrape and skimCover with new board
What is doneTexture wetted and scraped to the board, then a skim coat over the whole ceiling (it is never smooth underneath), sanded, primed.New 1/2 in. ceiling board screwed up through the texture into the joists, taped and finished to Level 4 or 5, primed.
Cost, negative test$4 to $7 per sq ft; $900 minimum$4.50 to $6 per sq ft; plus crown or re-trim at the walls
Cost, positive test$8 to $14 per sq ft by an abatement crew, plus disposalSame as negative, because the texture is not disturbed; this is why covering is the usual answer to a positive test
MessWet scraping is less dust than you think; the skim coat sanding is dust. Full poly containment either way.Dry, fast, a lot of screws. Some dust at the edges.
ResultA skim-coated ceiling: Level 5, the best possible.A new ceiling 1/2 in. lower. Any pot lights get re-trimmed; the ceiling-wall joint needs a new bead or a crown.
When it is the wrong choicePainted popcorn: paint seals the texture and it will not wet and scrape. Covering, or a very long day with a grinder, in containment.Ceilings with heavy mouldings, tight head heights, or a lot of fixtures.

What a whole house costs

A 1,200 sq ft bungalow with popcorn throughout, negative test, scraped and skimmed: $6,000 to $8,000 before HST, plus $1,500 to $2,000 to prime and paint every ceiling flat white afterwards. The same house covered with new board: $6,500 to $7,500 plus the painting and the trim. Positive test, scraped by an abatement crew: $10,000 to $17,000, which is why most people with a positive test cover it. Do it with the house empty if you possibly can; furniture out, floors covered, poly everywhere, and the family somewhere else for the week.

Where homeowners go wrong

  1. Scraping a 1975 ceiling on Saturday with a spray bottle and a shop vac. Test first. It is $150. There is no undo.
  2. Expecting a smooth ceiling under the popcorn. It was textured because the taping underneath was Level 2. The skim coat is not optional.
  3. Trying to scrape painted popcorn. It does not come off. Cover it.
  4. Leaving the pot lights for later. The cover-board route lowers the ceiling 1/2 in. and every fixture needs a trim ring or a reset. Plan the electrical in the same job.
  5. Painting the new ceiling in eggshell. Flat. Always flat. Sheen.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to remove a popcorn ceiling in Ontario?

$4 to $7 per square foot scraped, skim-coated and primed, with a $900 minimum, in 2026, after a negative asbestos test. $8 to $14 by an abatement crew if the test is positive. Painting is extra, about $1.65 to $1.85 a square foot.

Do I have to test a popcorn ceiling for asbestos?

If it was applied before about 1990, Ontario’s regulation treats it as asbestos-containing until a lab says otherwise, and any contractor disturbing it is required to know. A sample is $150. Yes.

Is it better to scrape or cover a popcorn ceiling?

Negative test, unpainted texture: scrape and skim gives the best ceiling. Positive test, or painted popcorn, or you want it done fast and dry: cover with new board and lose 1/2 in. of height.

Can I paint over a popcorn ceiling instead?

Yes, with a thick-nap roller or a sprayer, at about $2.25 a square foot, and it will look like a painted popcorn ceiling. It also seals the texture, so if you ever want it gone the scrape route is closed and covering is the only option.

Price it with the test

The repair calculator prices popcorn removal by the square foot and adds the test automatically for a pre-1990 house. The skim coating page covers what the smooth ceiling costs on its own.

Price my ceilingAll the repair guides

Sources and further reading