Popcorn Ceiling Removal Cost — Cambridge 2026
Direct Answer
How Much Does Popcorn Ceiling Removal Cost in Cambridge?
Popcorn ceiling removal in Cambridge costs $4.50 to $7.50 per square foot all-inclusive, the same in Galt, Preston, and Hespeler: $4.50/sqft unpainted, $6.50/sqft latex-painted, $7.50/sqft oil-based painted. Every quote covers containment, removal, two skim coats, bonding primer, and two coats of Sherwin-Williams ceiling paint. A standard bedroom runs $585 to $810 unpainted, a condo or a few rooms $2,000 to $4,500, and full Cambridge homes start from $8,100.
2026 Cambridge Pricing
Cambridge popcorn ceiling removal rates
All prices include removal, skim coating, priming, and two coats of paint. Free quotes — call (519) 729-7394
All Canadian dollars, all-inclusive, identical across Galt, Preston, Hespeler, and Blair with no travel surcharge. Protection, containment, and cleanup are inside the price. Per-square-foot rates mean the quote follows your actual ceiling area rather than a rounded-up room guess.
Room-by-Room Cost
What Cambridge homeowners pay by room
| Room Type | Ceiling Area | Unpainted | Latex | Oil-Based |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small bedroom | 100–130 sqft | $450–$585 | $650–$845 | $750–$975 |
| Standard bedroom | 130–180 sqft | $585–$810 | $845–$1,170 | $975–$1,350 |
| Master bedroom | 180–250 sqft | $810–$1,125 | $1,170–$1,625 | $1,350–$1,875 |
| Living room | 200–350 sqft | $900–$1,575 | $1,300–$2,275 | $1,500–$2,625 |
| Condo / a few rooms | 400–600 sqft | $1,800–$2,700 | $2,600–$3,900 | $3,000–$4,500 |
| Full main floor (bungalow) | 900–1,400 sqft | $4,050–$6,300 | $6.50/sqft | $7.50/sqft |
| Full home incl. basement | 1,800–2,500 sqft | $8,100–$11,250 | $6.50/sqft | $7.50/sqft |
All prices in CAD, everything included from containment to the second coat of paint. A single room takes two days, a main floor two to three, a whole home three or more; drying time between coats is why no honest quote promises one day. Painted whole-home work is priced at the posted rates with one exact figure at the free assessment.
Cambridge Neighbourhoods
Three towns, three kinds of ceiling
Cambridge is really Galt, Preston, and Hespeler stitched together, and each brought its own housing stock into the mix. Where your home sits usually predicts what is on the ceiling and whether testing comes first.
Galt: century homes and mid-century renos
Older Galt streets carry texture that was often sprayed during 1960s and 70s renovations, sometimes over plaster. Removal works over sound plaster; the free assessment confirms the substrate before the quote is locked.
Preston and East Galt subdivisions
The 1960s to 80s build-out where popcorn on drywall is the standard case. Pre-1980 homes get asbestos testing first: $300 to $500 at cost, per Ontario Regulation 278/05.
Hespeler
A mix of village-era homes and later subdivisions. Older ceilings follow the testing rule; the newer streets lean to knockdown and stipple, which come down at the same posted rates.
Blair and the newest surveys
Blair heritage properties are assessed case by case, and the newest Cambridge surveys mostly post-date texture entirely.
Cost Factors
What decides your Cambridge price
Painted or bare texture
The single biggest swing. Bare popcorn is $4.50/sqft; latex-painted $6.50/sqft; oil-based painted $7.50/sqft. Check by running a finger across the texture: chalky residue means unpainted.
Build year
Before 1980 means asbestos testing before anything is disturbed, $300 to $500 at lab cost with no markup. Confirmed asbestos goes to licensed abatement before any removal.
Plaster vs drywall substrate
Common in older Galt homes. Sound plaster takes the standard process; failing plaster is discussed honestly at the assessment before a number is locked.
Ceiling height
Standard height is base rate; 9-foot-plus and vaulted great rooms need scaffold and carry a modest surcharge.
Project size
Whole-home projects get volume efficiency: one containment setup across every room shows up in the final number.
Work out your own number with the cost calculator, visit the Cambridge service page, compare Kitchener and Ontario-wide costs, or read the asbestos guide for a pre-1980 home.
Common Questions
Cambridge cost questions
Popcorn ceiling removal in Cambridge is priced at $4.50 per square foot for unpainted texture, $6.50 for latex-painted, and $7.50 for oil-based painted ceilings, all-inclusive. The price covers containment, removal, two skim coats, bonding primer, and two coats of Sherwin-Williams ceiling paint. A standard bedroom runs $585 to $810 unpainted, and a condo or a few rooms (400 to 600 sqft) typically comes in between $2,000 and $4,500.
Not for the price. All three parts of Cambridge get the same $4.50 to $7.50 per square foot rates with no travel charge. What changes is the ceiling itself: older Galt homes often carry texture applied over plaster during mid-century renovations, while the 1960s to 80s subdivisions in Preston and East Galt tend to have popcorn on drywall, which is the standard removal.
Usually yes, and the free in-person assessment settles it. Texture over sound plaster is removed and skim coated at the posted rates. Where the plaster underneath is failing, we discuss repair or an alternative approach honestly before quoting, so the number you get is one the job can actually hit.
Bare texture softens with water and scrapes clean at $4.50 per square foot. Paint seals the surface, so a latex-painted ceiling needs scoring and extra labour at $6.50, and oil-based paint is the toughest at $7.50. Many Cambridge ceilings from the 70s and 80s have seen at least one repaint, so bring the ceiling history to your quote if you know it.
The risk window is homes built before 1980, which covers a large share of Cambridge housing in all three former towns. Chrysotile asbestos was commonly mixed into ceiling texture through the 1970s into the mid-1980s. Ontario Regulation 278/05 requires testing before the material is disturbed, and we coordinate lab testing at cost, $300 to $500 with no markup.
Two days minimum for any job, including a single room, because the skim coats and paint need drying time between coats. A main floor takes two to three days and a whole home three or more. Anyone promising your ceilings done in a day is leaving coats out of the job.
Dust containment with full floor and furniture protection, complete removal of the popcorn, two skim coats sanded to a Level 5 finish, bonding primer, and two finish coats of premium ceiling paint, plus cleanup. That is what $4.50 to $7.50 per square foot buys. If a competing quote is missing any of the five, ask what the ceiling looks like when they leave.
A full home including the basement, 1,800 to 2,500 square feet of ceiling, starts at $8,100 to $11,250 for unpainted texture. Painted ceilings are priced at the standard $6.50 or $7.50 per square foot rates, and the free assessment turns your exact square footage into one locked figure.
A $2 per square foot number covers scraping only. The skim coats, primer, and paint appear on the invoice later, once the crew is already in your home. An honest, finished-ceiling rate in Cambridge is $4.50 to $7.50 per square foot depending on paint condition, stated before work starts.
No, it costs more. Skim coating over intact texture runs $8.50 per square foot because burying the bumps takes more compound and more passes than removing them. Full removal with the complete finish is $4.50 to $7.50. Skim-over is reserved for cases like encapsulated asbestos where removal is not an option.
Yes. Bonding primer and two coats of Sherwin-Williams ceiling paint are part of the same all-inclusive Cambridge price. You are not handed a scraped ceiling and a second bill; the job ends with a finished, painted, smooth ceiling.
The company is owner-operated: Eddie is on every Cambridge job. Workmanship carries a one-year warranty, backed by $2M insurance and WSIB coverage, with over 500 homes completed across the region since 2019.