Plank Paneling or Beadboard to Cover Popcorn Ceiling?

Rehabbing & House Flipping
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Plank Paneling or Beadboard to Cover Popcorn Ceiling?

Tim Porsche
Investor · Denver, PA · Member since 2015 · 193 posts · 55 votes

Hey All, would love to get your collective opinions on something. I have about 600 sq. feet worth of popcorn ceilings in a newly purchased property that I'm trying to figure out how to deal with. My options seem to be...

1. Leave it alone

2. Remove the popcorn drywall and replace with new drywall

3. Scrape the popcorn off, patch and dings, and repaint

4. Install something like beadboard or white plank paneling directly over the popcorn

Option 1 I definitely don't want to do, option 2 is doable but significantly more expensive than option 3 or 4. Option 3 is extremely hard to do because this popcorn ceiling has been painted, making it very difficult to scrape off even after wetting it down thoroughly. That leaves me with option 4 which would be very cost effective and relatively simple to do...cut the planks to the correct size, find the joists with a stud finder, and nail them up after applying an adhesive to them as well. 

My question is, would beadboard or plank panels for a ceiling look okay in a class B or C+ rental? Will it add any value to the home? Surely it would better than the popcorn right? What are your thoughts and what would you do? 

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JD MartinBusiness Member
Moderator
Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y

Be careful. Depending on the age that popcorn might have asbestos in it. What's your ultimate purpose here - rent or resell? If rent, I wouldn't bother with it at all. 

I had my drywaller redo one with 1/4" drywall right on top. Was solid as a rock when he was done. And it was surprisingly cheap (not as cheap as scraping), and since there was damaged spots on the popcorn it was a good solution. 

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  • Christopher Phillips
    Real Estate Agent · Garden City, NY · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Tim Porsche

    Scrape off. 600 ft isn't very much.

    1Reply
  • Robert T.
    Investor · Cameron Park, CA · Member since 2015 · 64 posts · 72 votes
    9y

    Ouch.  I hate painted popcorn, but I have still been able to remove it with lots extra work.  It took 3 days to scrape a 1,500 sq ft house.   When I did it, I thought about using one of those wallpaper scoring tools to pierce the paint but never tried it.  

    I have also seen people hang 3/8" drywall right over the top of the popcorn and it looked great.  You'll probably need a good mud/texture guy to make sure it all is floated out and looks good since your screwing over existing popcorn and may not have clean seams.

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  • Christopher Brainard
    Rental Property Investor · Rockwall, TX · Member since 2015 · 891 posts · 701 votes
    9y

    @Tim Porsche

    I agree with Christopher, your most cost effective and simplest solution is to scrape the ceiling, texture as you see fit, and paint. I don't think your wood planks or bead board are going to look good and I'm not sure its going to be as easy as you think to go over the popcorn, as the surface isn't going to be smooth.

    -Christopher

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  • JD MartinBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    9y

    Be careful. Depending on the age that popcorn might have asbestos in it. What's your ultimate purpose here - rent or resell? If rent, I wouldn't bother with it at all. 

    I had my drywaller redo one with 1/4" drywall right on top. Was solid as a rock when he was done. And it was surprisingly cheap (not as cheap as scraping), and since there was damaged spots on the popcorn it was a good solution. 

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  • Jason Benda-Joubert
    Wakefield, RI · Member since 2017 · 24 posts · 11 votes
    9y
    Personally, I would do the extra work to rip it down and Sheetrock it. At full retail in my area you are looking at 2500-2800 for Sheetrock and a plaster skin coat for the 19 boards that you would need. You can probably beet that price if you shop around. No one likes popcorn ceilings or patchwork. This would only work if you have a rehab budget in your deal.
    0Reply
  • Gail K.
    Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    This is a rental, correct?  For class B or C I'd leave it.  I have older homes (REAL old homes) with popcorn and swirly ceilings and frankly, not one applicant has ever made a comment about them.

    Gail

    1Reply
  • Jason Turo
    Investor · Norman, OK · Member since 2017 · 101 posts · 34 votes
    9y

    Rental = leave if there's no other reason to remove it rather than just your personal taste

    Flip = definitely scrape it 

    Personally = I would scrape it off (I absolute hate popcorn and always try to get rid of it)

    I would not do = install panelling OR bead board over it.  It would most like be wavy and look worse than leaving it alone

    2Reply
  • Jim Adrian
    Architect · Papillion, NE · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 840 votes
    9y
    I would not use bead board or plank. If trying to make a designer statement go with plank that has a reveal in it. Bead board will look super cheap. I vote for leaving it alone, or scaping, or 1/4 gyp cover.
    1Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    9y

    If this is a rental you leave it and paint. Not sure why you would waste time and money removing or covering it in a rental other than as your own personal preference.

    If that is the case it is a poor business decision.

    0Reply
  • Kathleen Leary
    Princeton, KS · Member since 2014 · 357 posts · 169 votes
    9y

    I've scraped a MILLION square feet (well, it seems like it!) of popcorn ceiling. Assuming it's non-asbestos straight spray texture or (like my own house) drywall mud with a cellulose "filler", you need a ladder, a taping knife with the corners rounded off, a water sprayer of some sort, some tunes & plenty of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage. Save that for when you're done! 

    I've had to deal with drywall-over-texture jobs - maybe they were done poorly in the first place, but I've seen a LOT of sagging drywall. 

    My preference would be to scrape it - you'll have basic, traditional ceilings that won't look weird or out-of-style & should hold up for many years to come.

    But you'll need to determine the ROI that works best for you long-term.

    1Reply
  • Tim Porsche
    OP
    Investor · Denver, PA · Member since 2015 · 193 posts · 55 votes
    9y

    Thanks for the replies everyone! Appreciate all of your input and suggestions. I've decided to not do beadboard or plank but instead put some more work into scraping the popcorn off, and then touching up any areas that need it, and painting with a good flat paint to help hide any imperfections. 

    It seems like I'll need to do at least two scraping sessions to remove it...one to take off most of the paint so the water can actually penetrate and soak in, and then a second scraping to get the rest of the texture off. I did the first scraping in the dining room a couple of days ago so we're making progress :)

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  • Tim Porsche
    OP
    Investor · Denver, PA · Member since 2015 · 193 posts · 55 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Thomas S.:

    If this is a rental you leave it and paint. Not sure why you would waste time and money removing or covering it in a rental other than as your own personal preference.

    If that is the case it is a poor business decision.

    My goal is to have an end product that looks nice that will attract good tenants. I feel if popcorn would turn me off as a potential renter, it will probably turn off others as well, so best to get rid of it. I am going to live in the property for at least a year before renting it out though, so I also want something that I'll like myself. 

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  • Russell Holmes
    Real Estate Broker · Apopka, FL · Member since 2017 · 492 posts · 528 votes
    9y
    I've never scraped popcorn myself, but have some drywall work under my belt. If the issue making it worse is the paint "sealing" it in, could you do a once over with course sandpaper (maybe 80 grit) on either a pole sander or handheld palm sander? The point being not to necessarily remove it all, but more so to break open the sealed popcorn pieces easier than an initial scrape. That way you could then spray and scrape with the water penetrating beyond the paint surface. If the underlying drywall is in decent shape, even a tough scrape job seems easier than re-drywalling. I built a wall (12' wide 8'8" high) with a recessed and arched alcove for the door to enclose an unused open dining room into an additional "bedroom". For such a small job, I didn't care to rent a real texture sprayer, but got great results from the aerosol canned texture. It matched the professional orange peel texture of the rest of the house well. I think I used 3 $9 cans total for both sides of the wall. After scraping, patch any big divots or blemishes and then texture with knockdown or orange peel (they sell cans for ceilings that spray up rather than horizontal)... it'll hide minor imperfections and be far easier than getting a perfectly smooth surface with no texture.
    0Reply
  • Carolyn W.
    Real Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 18 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    Hello, my contractor put in 1/2 inch drywall over existing popcorn ceiling.  He did not take out the original popcorn ceiling.  Just covered it.  Is the 1/2 inch drywall too heavy for the ceiling studs?  I'm on the ground floor condo and worried about leaks from the condo owner above my unit.

    0Reply
  • Richard Weinberg
    Rental Property Investor · Winston Salem, NC · Member since 2018 · 102 posts · 66 votes
    6y

    @Tim Porsche

    Yesterday a crew of roughly 6 removed the popcorn from a 2000 sq ft mid- 1970 era future rental. It was popcorn at 8 am and no popcorn at 5 pm. When they complete the prep, reprime and paint I will have about $4000 invested into the ceilings but about 50 years of neglect and poor repair scars will be gone. Do I like the price, no. Do I like the project, yes. The popcorn was up 50 years. Maybe the clean ceilings will give me a few good decades.

    We won’t rent what we won’t live in. I look forward to spending a night in this house, looking at the new ceilings.

    Hope that helps.

    0Reply
  • Jordan Rundell
    Member since 2019 · 14 posts · 5 votes
    6y

    I have to be the odd one out and say that even if it were a rental, I would scrape it.  Correct that the process may not yield to a higher rent, but the house is still worth something.  And with popcorn ceilings removed, I believe it would add to the equity of the house.  Possibly allowing you to pull more out of the house in refi. Just my thoughts.

    0Reply
  • Jon Malkowvich
    Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    I have always scrapped it using a vinegar water mixture in a sprayer. I've also seen good contractors skim coat right over the popcorn. If the popcorn is painted it will make the removal more difficult. 

    0Reply
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