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Price the scrape before anyone sets foot on a ladder — per-sqft bands for painted and unpainted texture, asbestos caveat included. No signup. ·
The consistent 2026 band is $1.25–3.25 per square foot for unpainted texture, scraped, skim-coated smooth, with masking and cleanup included — Angi's $1–3 removal range and CalcBuilt's $1.25–3.60 scrape-and-skim range overlap almost exactly there. A typical 800 sq ft ceiling lands at $1,000–2,900. Whole-home jobs in the 1,500–2,500 sq ft range are a four-figure project either way.
Paint glues the texture down. Unpainted popcorn softens with a sprayer and scrapes off in ribbons; painted texture needs heavier wet-scraping and usually a full skim coat to look flat again — that is the 1.5–2× multiplier (CalcBuilt). If a quote treats painted and unpainted identically, that is the corner being cut.
Popcorn texture applied before about 1980 can contain asbestos, and scraping launches it airborne. A lab test costs $50–150 and takes a few days. Positive results change the job entirely: professional abatement runs $5–15+ per sq ft with containment and disposal protocols — a different quote, a different crew, and not a DIY situation. Test first; it is the cheapest line item on the whole project.
Ceiling height (vaulted or above-normal walls add staging time), furniture masking, whether you want a level-5 skim or a light texture re-spray, and local labor rates. Debris adds up too — a scraped ceiling fills a 10–20 yard box fast, so price the haul alongside the scrape with the dumpster rental calculator.
| Job | Typical US range (2026) |
|---|---|
| Unpainted texture, per sq ft | $1.25 – $3.25 |
| Painted texture, per sq ft | $1.90 – $6.50 (×1.5–2) |
| 800 sq ft ceiling, unpainted | $1,000 – $2,600 |
| Asbestos test | $50 – $150 |
| Abatement if positive | $5 – $15+ / sq ft |
Keep going with these tools — they build on this calculation: Dumpster Rental Cost Calculator and Drywall Repair Cost Calculator.
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In 2026 US data: $1.25–3.25 per sq ft for unpainted texture with scraping, skim coat and masking included (Angi and CalcBuilt ranges overlap there). Painted texture runs 1.5–2× more because it must be wet-scraped harder and re-skimmed.
Roughly $1,000–2,900 for unpainted texture (CalcBuilt example lands right there; the $1.25–3.25/sq ft band gives $1,000–2,600). Painted texture on the same area runs about $1,500–5,200.
If the texture was sprayed before about 1980, yes. A lab test costs $50–150; positive results mean professional abatement at $5–15+ per sq ft with containment, not a standard scrape. Never dry-scrape suspected material.
For unpainted texture in a small room, DIY scraping is genuinely doable — sprayer, scraper, drop cloths and patience. The costs that surprise people are skim-coating to look flat, disposal volume, and the asbestos risk in older homes. Whole-home or painted jobs are where contractors earn the rate.