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Removal of acoustic popcorn ceiling?

We are remodeling our house and currently have an acoustic (popcorn) textured ceiling. My wife would like to remove the popcorn texture but I am afraid it is going to hurt the sound. We have a very open floor plan and the room where our system is only has three walls (side wall is brick) with the fourth wall being our dining room and kitchen. I have a fairly modest system (compared to many of you) but I am fairly content with the sound I currently enjoy and do not wish to compromise the sound for this aesthetic change. My wife is very accommodating and has agreed that the popcorn stays if its removal will have a negative impact on the sound. Your input is greatly appreciated.

The system (if it matters):
Anthem AVM-2
Anthem MCA 5
B&W N805
B&W HTM2
Ceiling mounted rears
Klipsch sub (to be replaced by REL Storm)

- Dave
djg
themusicshop
41 posts
 
Get rid of it !! You and your wife will be happy.
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
FWIW, I have always liked the way a textured ceiling both sounds and looks, and when I get to my final ultimate listening room, I intend to redo the ceiling as such. Seems like my sentiments are in the minority here, though.
rmacdon
5 posts
 
Excuse me for being a kill-joy here but has anyone thought about the possiblity of asbestos in the ceiling pop-corn. Before 1979 asbestos was a major part of it and even afterward. Prudence dictates that you consider this possiblity. A test would be a minor expense. And if asbestos is involve, I would have it professionally done. Or seal it up with a new sprayed-on paint job and leave it.

judit
217 posts
 
We have removed popcorn from our own ceiling using a
specially designed scraping blade. Another option would
be to install a second ceiling over the present ceiling.
This latter goes much more quickly and gives a better
finished result.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
dunno what you mean by "popcorn ceiling" but if it helps to reduce slap echo then you'll be the worse for removing it. I had our whole living room ceiling sprayed 1" thick with cellulose insulation fiber (bleached white vs. the standard warehouse gray). This helped tremendously & while the room is still slightly 'hot' acoustically, ordinary wall rugs, partial floor carpet, & some stuffed furniture were adequate enough treatments that no 'special treatment appliances' were needed. For me this ceiling is much more WAF-freindly than the ugly alternatives if I didn't have that ceiling.
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