This interior finish consists of a water-based mixture containing paper or polystyrene aggregates sprayed directly onto drywall. Builders traditionally used it to quickly hide framing imperfections and tape joints without the need for extensive mudding and sanding. The heavy texture also provides modest acoustic dampening in residential rooms.
Heard on the job
We need to scrape the popcorn ceiling in the master bedroom and skim coat it smooth before painting.
Insider tip
Older spray-on textures frequently contained asbestos, so crews must test the material before scraping or sanding it during renovations.
Also heard as
- acoustic ceiling
- cottage cheese ceiling
- stucco ceiling