Short answer: $1–$3 per square foot in Columbia, quoted as one flat price per room. A typical 12 × 14 bedroom lands around $168–$504; a 15 × 20 living room around $300–$900. Painted popcorn, tall ceilings and a dead-smooth finish push toward the top of the range.
Published September 14, 2026 · by Tiger Drywall Repair. Columbia's 1960s–80s ranches and split-levels — Parkade, Rothwell Heights, the Shepard Boulevard area, older parts of Ashland, Fulton and Jefferson City — are full of original popcorn ceilings, and removing them is one of the highest-impact updates an older home can get.
Popcorn ceiling removal prices by room
| Room | Typical Columbia price ($1–$3 / sq ft) |
|---|---|
| Bedroom, 10 × 12 (120 sq ft) | $120–$360 |
| Bedroom, 12 × 14 (168 sq ft) | $168–$504 |
| Living room, 15 × 20 (300 sq ft) | $300–$900 |
| Kitchen + dining, 250 sq ft | $250–$750 |
| Hallway, 4 × 20 (80 sq ft) | $80–$240 |
| Whole 1,400 sq ft ranch main floor | $1,400–$4,200 (quoted as one flat price) |
Every price includes full plastic containment, wet scraping, repair of the nail pops and seams underneath, a full skim coat, sanding, your choice of smooth or knockdown finish, primer and cleanup. Ceiling paint is not included unless you ask.
What changes the price
- Painted vs. unpainted popcorn. Unpainted texture softens with water and scrapes off cleanly. Painted popcorn is sealed, scrapes slowly and gouges the drywall, so it costs more — or gets a bonding skim coat instead.
- Ceiling height. Standard 8-foot ceilings are the base price. Nine-, ten-foot and vaulted ceilings need staging and slow everything down.
- Condition underneath. Popcorn was sprayed to hide rough finishing. More pops, bad seams and gouges under the texture mean more repair before the skim coat.
- Finish choice. Light knockdown is the most forgiving and the most common choice in Columbia. Dead-smooth needs a Level 5 skim and careful sanding, so it costs more.
- Fixtures and furniture. Ceiling fans, can lights and a room full of furniture add masking and handling time. An empty room is cheapest.
- Asbestos testing. A small lab fee for pre-1980 homes. If the test is positive, abatement by a licensed contractor comes first and is a separate cost.
Asbestos: test first if the home is older than the early 1980s
Popcorn texture sold before the late 1970s often contained asbestos, and leftover stock was applied into the 1980s. Disturbing it without testing is the one mistake on this list you can't undo. For any ceiling from that era we ask for a lab test before we quote — you can collect the sample yourself with a kit, or we'll walk you through it. Negative result: we proceed. Positive result: a licensed abatement contractor removes it, and we come in afterward to skim and finish.
The alternatives to full removal
- Skim coat over the popcorn — a bonding primer and two or three skim coats flatten the texture without scraping. Good for painted popcorn in decent shape.
- New drywall over the old ceiling — 1/4" or 3/8" board screwed through the popcorn into the joists, then taped and finished. Costs more in material but avoids scraping entirely and gives a perfect surface.
- Patch and blend — if you're keeping the popcorn, we repair water damage and holes and blend new popcorn texture into the old.
Get a flat price for your ceiling
Send a photo of the ceiling and the room's rough size to (913) 375-8472 and we'll give you a flat price for the whole room, usually within the hour. Details on the process are on the popcorn ceiling removal page; for everything else drywall, see the drywall repair cost guide.