Popcorn Ceiling Mold in Shreveport, LA

Popcorn ceiling mold: test for asbestos before anyone touches it

Sprayed-on ceiling texture made before the late 1970s can contain asbestos, and older stock was still being applied for some years after that. If the texture in your house may date from before the mid-1980s, a small piece is sampled and sent to a lab before anything is scraped, sanded or cut. Results usually take two to three days.

If the sample comes back clear, the ceiling is handled as a mold and water-damage job. If it comes back positive, removing the texture becomes asbestos abatement, which in Louisiana is regulated by the Department of Environmental Quality and is done by an asbestos abatement contractor working under those rules, not as an ordinary mold job.

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Find the water first

A stained ceiling that has stopped getting wet is a cleanup. One that is still wet is a repair first. The usual sources are flashing or a pipe boot on the roof, a tub drain or supply line in the bathroom above, an AC condensate line running across the attic, or an attic with too little ventilation, where moisture condenses on the back of the ceiling sheetrock overnight. That last one is common under hot Shreveport attics; see attic mold removal. A bath fan that blows into the attic instead of outdoors does the same thing; see bathroom mold removal.

Who tests the ceiling, and who removes it

Louisiana does not allow one company to both assess and remediate mold on the same property. An independent assessor checks the ceiling with a moisture meter, takes the asbestos sample where needed, and samples the mold if anyone needs to know what it is. The removal work is then priced and carried out separately. See mold inspection and testing in Shreveport.

How a moldy textured ceiling is dealt with

A small stain, texture tested clear. The affected texture is wetted and scraped inside a sealed room, the sheetrock behind it is checked with a meter, cleaned and treated, and the patch is retextured or skimmed smooth.

A large area, or a sagging ceiling. The wet section comes down in a sealed room, along with the soaked insulation above it, and new sheetrock goes up once everything is dry. That is a mold remediation job with containment.

Texture that tests positive for asbestos. The ceiling goes to an asbestos abatement contractor, who removes it wet under containment and disposes of it as regulated waste, with an air test before the room is handed back.

Taking the whole ceiling flat. Plenty of people use a leak as the reason to get rid of popcorn texture for good. Once it has been tested and the water is fixed, that is either an ordinary ceiling job or an abatement job, and both can be priced.

What popcorn ceiling mold removal costs in Shreveport

An asbestos test is typically $80 to $150 per sample. Removing moldy texture and repairing the ceiling in one room, once it has tested clear, usually runs $1,100 to $3,200 depending on the ceiling height and how much has to come down. A ceiling that tests positive for asbestos generally costs $5 to $12 per square foot to remove under containment. Fixing the leak, the fan or the attic ventilation is priced separately and comes first. Every price on the site is on the mold removal cost page.

Prices on this page are estimates from previous work. We cannot quote an exact price. The actual cost can be lower or higher depending on the job. The person who knows is the professional who will do the work. You get a written quote after we see the house.

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Getting a stained ceiling checked

Call (318) 666-4874 and tell us roughly when the house was built, which room the stain is in, and whether it is still growing. If you would rather write it down, use the callback form below or the contact page. If the stain followed a storm or a burst pipe, see water damage restoration.