News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
A Message to Our Readers
 8.8K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
EarthCam Time-Lapse Documents Rafael Viñoly-Designed New Stanford Hospital Construction
 40K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
Resort Town
 5K     0 

wannabeplanner said:
WOW, I can't believe what some builders are charging for smooth ceilings.. I had the options to upgrade to smooth ceiling at my one bedroom loft on Roncesvalles and I went for it because it only costed me $500 bucks for 530sqft... I wouldn't pay 5k, but 500 bucks, hell ya!
Click to expand...


wow, that's cheap!

before yours, based others members posts, prices varied from $2 PSF (reasonable) to $10 PSF !?!?!
 
iSlutsky said:
Wow. I am amazed at the "pro popcorn ceiling" response.

I can't stand the popcorn ceilings. I feel that it gives condo units a very 1970s feel, and ruins any modern feeling to the unit.

I also find them to give units a very "dusty" feeling to them, and I imagine they collect dust and impossible to clean.

I especially find it looks "odd" when the ceiling in the kitchen is smooth, and the rest of the unit is popcorn.

Without a doubt, it is the first thing I notice when I walk into a condo unit. In second place is carpet. Then, I start paying attention to unit-layout.

M.
Click to expand...

Before this forum I always thought the popcorn or the smooth ceilings they were just two different looking features. Of course the common sense tells us that it is more difficult to make a flat panel that is all I assumed why you need to pay more.

My kitchen is smooth and the rest of the unit is popcorn. I never felt it looks "odd" even now when I am looking up it is fine to me. So if 1 out 10 people will notice the ceiling and have the preference well you sell your unit to the rest 9 people. It sounds the real problem coming from if you want to paint the ceiling.

I have the laminated floor throughout the whole unit. I indeed have the preference not to live in a used carpeted unit at all so I assumed there are people out there like me. Even though it was not an upgrade offered by the builder at the time, I had negotiated hard and changed my bedroom carpet to the laminated floor with a reasonable premium added. My opinion this is something worth to get.
 
Last edited:
I prefer the look of flat ceilings, but popcorn ceilings create a warmer sound in the room. Each has a trade off if you care for such matters.
 
I didn't realize that some condos don't have regular ceilings! As someone who has lived in a place with this "popcorn" stuff, I think it's absolutely dreadful. The worst is how it collects dust over the years, especially in units with high hard-to-reach ceilings. You can only clean it with a vacuum, and it drops white dust down over your stuff. Horrific, criminal building material that needs to be outlawed!
 
Tabitha Draws said:
I didn't realize that some condos don't have regular ceilings! As someone who has lived in a place with this "popcorn" stuff, I think it's absolutely dreadful. The worst is how it collects dust over the years, especially in units with high hard-to-reach ceilings. You can only clean it with a vacuum, and it drops white dust down over your stuff. Horrific, criminal building material that needs to be outlawed!
Click to expand...

Want to know what's worse? Move into an apartment or condo with dark yellow/brownish popcorn ceilings because the previous tenants/owners smoked. Then try to paint it it white again. I did it once, the living and dining room areas (about 500 sq. ft.) sucked in 10 or 12 gallons of white latex paint and 3 days later I was laid up with back & neck problems for nearly a week. Never again. But they looked great after 4 or 5 coats!
 
I don't like the popcorn ceilings either. Last January my neighbours (really rude ignorant people) decided to burn down their condo by putting all their recycling in the oven and then turning it on. :rolleyes: The smoke damage to my condo was really bad. My ceilings/walls/everything were black with greasy soot. There was no way that stuff was coming clean. I went through my insurance and had my whole place cleaned and repainted, etc.

I did learn something interesting about the popcorn ceilings: apparently when it's first applied it's supposed to be mixed with paint so it dries solid. Most developers are cheap and don't want to pay for the extra paint so the painters just mix the stuff with water or whatever and spray it on. That's why it creates dust and falls off if you try to clean it. Now that my ceilings have been painted over, the popcorn doesn't fall off anymore and it actually looks MUCH better. Not as fluffy.
 
Wow....I've never heard of anyone cleaning their ceilings before :confused:
Maybe lighting fixtures with a duster but not the actual ceilings...
 
Does anyone have recommendation for someone who can do a good job of smooth ceiling at a reasonable price? The developer quoted about $3500 & we decided to find our own "contractor. I've called 2 companies for a quote but would like a 3rd one.

TIA
 
I much prefer a smooth ceiling. It looks better, and it's easier to deal with when you replacing light fixtures with a different sized base.

That said, I didn't bother with smooth ceilings for my condo, because I thought the upgrade premium was a total ripoff.
 
Not many builders these days feature popcorn ceilings. If they do, I would pay extra to have it smooth or even have the concrete exposed if you are into the more modern/contemporary look.
In general they remind me of the stuff you see in suburban houses built in the 80's and 90's.

$5000 seems like a huge premium for a smooth ceiling.
Some builders offer exposed concrete ceilings for an extra $1000, which I really like the look of as the slightly darker color makes the ceiling receed a bit and you don't notice it as much as opposed to a stark white ceiling.
I think anything under $2000 for a smooth plaster ceiling seems reasonable, anything above that you could scrape it yourself and save a ton of money (just be sure to do it before you move in).

If you decide to keep the popcorn ceiling, avoid any lighting fixtures that shine upward which will emphasize the ceiling.
 
I guess it depends on which condos you are looking at. The higher end luxury condos don't do popcorn, for obvious reasons. You're already paying for the "upgrade" with their high initial prices.
 
WHC has lots of upgrades but yet popcorn ceilings. Go figure. And you can't get them to do it during construction, you have to do it yourself after you take possession.
 
PinkLucy said:
WHC has lots of upgrades but yet popcorn ceilings. Go figure. And you can't get them to do it during construction, you have to do it yourself after you take possession.
Click to expand...

That is really wierd cos I thought it can be "included" as an upgrade. We had asked the developer to do it but the price was too high so we decided to hire a contractor to do it when we got possession. It can get pretty "dusty" but I'm overall very happy with the result as the contractor cleaned up pretty well.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top