Water stains, sagging board, and dated stipple — repaired or removed and finished dead smooth. Popcorn removal $3–$6 per square foot.
Get a Free Quote — 226-212-1413Ceilings are the hardest drywall surface to get right. Every seam is lit from the side by windows and pot lights, gravity works against every coat of compound, and there's no furniture to hide behind — a wavy ceiling is visible from every chair in the room. Guelph Drywalling repairs water-stained ceilings, sagging board, cracked seams, and impact damage, and we remove popcorn (stipple) texture to leave a modern, smooth, paint-ready ceiling. We work across Guelph and Wellington County, and quotes are always free.
That yellow-brown ring on the ceiling is the finish line of a leak — a roof problem after an ice dam, a sweating or burst pipe, a tub overflow, or a failed wax ring upstairs. Step one is always stopping the water; we don't finish over an active leak. Once the source is fixed, the repair depends on what the water did to the board. A stain on flat, firm drywall that dried quickly can often be sealed with a shellac or oil-based stain-blocking primer and repainted — regular paint alone will not hold the stain back. Board that bubbled, softened, or sagged gets cut back to sound material and replaced, with a check of the insulation and framing above while the cavity is open. We tape, coat, blend any surrounding texture, and leave the ceiling ready to paint.
A sagging ceiling — visible pillowing between joists, or a seam pulling downward — usually traces to one of a few causes: moisture, 1/2" board hung on 24" joist spacing (a shortcut in some older builds), too few fasteners, or heavy blown-in insulation bearing on the board. Minor sag on sound board can sometimes be pulled back with additional screws into the joists. Real sag means replacement, and we'll typically re-hang with 5/8" board or add strapping so the problem doesn't return. If a large area is involved, replacing the whole ceiling is often cheaper and flatter than chasing patches — the same math we explain on our drywall repair page.
Stippled ceilings were standard in Guelph homes from the 1960s through the early 90s, and removing them is the fastest way to modernize a room. Our process:
Where stipple is heavily painted or the board underneath is rough, skimming directly over the texture (or in extreme cases overboarding with new 3/8" drywall) can beat scraping — we'll recommend the cheaper good option, not the default one. Typical cost is $3–$6 per square foot; a 300 sq ft living room usually lands between $900 and $1,800.
One caution we give every Guelph homeowner with an older home: some textured ceiling products used before 1990 contained asbestos, and there is no way to tell by looking. If your home was built — or the ceiling textured — before then, have a sample tested by an accredited lab before anyone scrapes it. Testing is inexpensive and definitive. If the result is positive, removal is a job for a licensed asbestos abatement contractor, not a drywall crew; we're happy to do the finishing work after proper abatement. If the result is negative, we proceed normally. It's a small step that protects your household and ours.
Beyond repairs, we do smooth-finish upgrades as a standalone project: removing dated texture room by room, or skimming a whole main floor before repainting or listing a home. Flat ceilings read as newer, reflect light better, and photograph dramatically better for resale. Pair the work with pot-light installation (we patch and finish around the electrician's cutouts) and the transformation is complete. Renovating more than the ceiling? See our drywall installation & taping service, and check real numbers in the 2026 drywall cost guide.
Popcorn (stipple) ceiling removal in Guelph typically costs $3–$6 per square foot, including masking, scraping, skim-coating, and sanding to a smooth, paint-ready ceiling. Painted-over stipple is harder to scrape and prices at the higher end, sometimes requiring a skim-over instead.
If your home was built or the ceiling textured before 1990, yes — some textured ceiling products from that era contained asbestos, and you can't tell by looking. A lab test from an accredited testing company costs little and gives a definitive answer. If the sample comes back positive, removal should be handled by a licensed abatement contractor before we do any finishing work.
Sometimes. If the board dried quickly and is still flat and firm, sealing the stain with a shellac or oil-based stain-blocking primer and repainting can be enough. If the board is sagging, soft, bubbled, or the paper has delaminated, the damaged section needs to be cut out and replaced. Either way, fix the leak first.
Common causes are moisture exposure, 1/2" board hung on framing spaced 24 inches apart, failed adhesive or too few screws, or heavy insulation resting on the board. Fixes range from re-screwing into joists to replacing the affected sheets — often with 5/8" board or strapping so the sag doesn't return.
We mask the room, remove or skim over the old texture, apply a full skim coat, sand, and leave the ceiling prime-ready. Most single rooms take 2–4 days including drying time. It's the single most noticeable finish upgrade in homes from the 1970s and 80s, and it modernizes resale photos instantly.
Call 226-212-1413 for a straight answer, or send the form below — a photo of the stain, sag, or stipple gets you a faster, more accurate quote. Free on-site quotes across Guelph and area.
Drywall Repair · Drywall Installation & Taping · 2026 Drywall Cost Guide
Guelph Drywalling provides ceiling repair and popcorn removal in Fergus · Elora · Rockwood · Erin · Kitchener · Cambridge.