Acoustic (popcorn ceilings) came about in the fifties. This fad was force fed to the public as a great ceiling coating that improved the noise and echo in rooms and looked good. It was actually a cheap & easy way for builders to hide imperfections. Did you know, if the home was built between the 1950s and early eighties, the materials in the ceiling could be made of asbestos.

 Removal Tips: 

DO NOT paint your popcorn ceiling with latex paint. That is the biggest mistake homeowners can make. The labor to remove the coating has now doubled.  

  • First, removal of furniture is recommended. Lay down contractor's paper or plastic. Make sure to wear a hat, long sleeves and a filter mask because this stuff more than likely contains asbestos, not to mention cooking grease, cigarette smoke and remnants of years of other people's bodily functions....how delightful. Ventilate the area, because it's a smelly job. 
  • Popcorn is usually painted with with a flat water based paint and can easily be scraped off with a drywall scraper after it's been sprayed and soaked with a pump sprayer. These sprayers can be found at any Home Depot or Lowe's, probably in the garden section.  
  • Spray an area of about ten square feet at a time and wait a couple of minutes for the water to soak and the texture to thicken, then scrape in a forward motion and it will easily come off in sheets falling to the floor. 
  • The removal should take about 3 days between two people on a 1500 sq ft home with 8 ft ceilings. Removing it yourself will save a chunk of money, then can call a professional to apply a nicer ceiling of your choosing. Don't take this part on yourself.

Source: Steve Medina – Austin Area Professional Inspector