Vaughan’s building boom from the 90s and 2000s left thousands of homes with popcorn ceilings. Walk through any Woodbridge neighborhood or Maple subdivision and you’ll spot them – those textured ceilings that scream “builder grade.” Last month, a homeowner in Concord called us after getting three quotes. Everyone else wanted to just paint over the texture. “That’s not a fix,” he said. “I want it gone.” Smart guy.

Here’s what we’ve learned doing popcorn ceiling removal across Vaughan for the past decade: most homes have painted popcorn, not the unpainted kind. That matters. Unpainted texture scrapes off relatively easy with proper equipment. But painted popcorn? That’s welded on there. Previous owners rolled latex paint right over the bumps, sealing everything solid. Different job entirely. We use dustless sanding systems because traditional wet-scraping creates a disaster zone.

Sanding Popcorn with Dustless System – The Game Changer

Remember when your neighbor tried removing their popcorn ceiling and their whole house looked like flour bomb went off? That’s why we invested in professional dustless sanding equipment. Not some shop-vac taped to a sander, we’re talking HEPA-filtered systems that capture 85% of dust particles before they hit the air.

Our dustless setup connects directly to specialized sanders that eat through both painted and unpainted popcorn texture. Vacuum system creates negative pressure, pulls every particle straight into containment. We’ve done entire popcorn ceiling removal jobs in occupied homes where homeowners kept working from their home office one room over.

The sander powers through painted texture like it’s nothing. Leaves uniform surface ready for next step. No gouges like hand scraping.

Popcorn Ceiling Removal Process

  • Contact Us – Complete an intake form with details about the project.
  • Get a Quote – Once we receive project details, we’ll offer a free, no-obligation quote.
  • Set a Date – Upon acceptance, we will arrange a date for your popcorn ceiling removal Toronto service.
  • On-Site Prep – We’ll prepare the room by covering floors, furniture, walls, and any light fixtures.
  • Dustless Texture Removal – After removal, we prime, paint and conduct a thorough cleaning to ensure we leave your place as clean as we found it.
  • Done!

Our Latest Projects

Before

popcorn ceiling removal

After

popcorn ceiling removal

FAQs

Most bedrooms take 2 days complete – one day for dustless sanding and removal, skimming and drying, and a final day for priming and painting. Larger spaces like open-concept main floors might need 3-4 days.

Yes, we can. However, houses built after 1980 do not contain asbestos, as it was banned in Canada in 1979. Read more about asbestos in popcorn ceiling here.

Yes, the condo ceiling will require some additional work due to its thickness, but can handle it.

No, we don’t wet the ceiling for popcorn ceiling removal in Toronto. We use sanders connected with a vacuum with a HEPA filter to collect dust and minimize mess in your home. Watch the video here to see the process of popcorn ceiling removal

Our system captures about 99% of dust, but we still cover flooring, electronics, furniture etc. Some parts like edges, rounded corners we have to sand by hand so we create some mess.

Unpainted popcorn sands off easier, taking less time. Painted popcorn requires more aggressive sanding, and typically costs 30% more to remove due to extra labour and materials needed.

With our dustless containment system, yes! We seal off work areas completely. Many clients stay home during the project, though some prefer to be out during the actual sanding hours for convenience.

You can quickly check if a popcorn ceiling has been painted by gently scraping a small spot with your fingernail. If the texture is soft, chalky, and easily crumbles off, it’s likely the original unpainted finish. But if the texture feels hard, doesn’t scrape away easily, and looks more uniform in colour or slightly shiny, then it has already been painted and sealed.