Salem, New Hampshire
Popcorn Ceiling Removal, Skim Coating & Drywall in Salem, NH
Salem is fifteen minutes from our shop. Most of what gets called in here is dated ceiling texture, walls that need skimming flat, and basements finished decades ago that are being reworked.
Recent work near Salem, NH
Has J&B completed work in Salem, NH?
Not yet — we have no completed job on record in Salem, and we will not pretend otherwise. Salem is fifteen minutes from our shop and firmly inside our normal working radius. The photos below are real jobs finished in nearby New Hampshire towns, each labelled with the town it was actually done in.
These are jobs completed in nearby towns, not in Salem. Each photo is labelled with the town where the work was actually done.
Londonderry, NH
DrywallTwo-story stairwell hung and finished around a spiral staircase — staging required throughout.
Auburn, NH
RepairWater-damaged section cut out, insulation replaced, new board patched in and textured to match.
East Hampstead, NH
DrywallWhole first floor hung, taped and sanded ahead of flooring and paint.
Londonderry, NH
DrywallNew construction drywall on a two-story great room, staged for the ceiling work.
Auburn, NH
DrywallBullnose corners and a curved header hung and finished by hand.
East Hampstead, NH
DrywallBonus room over the garage boarded and finished, ready for primer.
What drywall and ceiling work do Salem homes usually need?
Salem is dominated by 1960s through 1980s split-levels and ranches, with newer subdivisions and condo associations filling in around them. That era of building means popcorn and heavy stipple ceilings, textured walls that read dated under modern lighting, and finished basements built decades ago that are now being opened up and redone.
Popcorn removal is the single most requested job in this town. It looks simple and it is not: the scraping is one day, the skim coating that follows is the real work, because a scraped ceiling that has only been scraped shows every trowel scar the moment paint goes on. We skim the whole plane, sand it, prime it, and check it under a work light from a low angle before we call it flat.
Textured walls get the same treatment. Where a homeowner wants smooth modern walls in a split-level, we skim the surface rather than tear it out — cheaper, far less disruptive, and the result is a wall that takes flat and eggshell paint the way new board does. Skimming also fixes the accumulated dings, old anchor holes and failed patches in one pass.
Basements are the other Salem staple. A basement finished in the 1980s usually comes apart before it goes back together: paneling out, framing checked, moisture behaviour looked at before anything is fastened. Where the slab or foundation wall shows damp, we fur out and keep board off concrete. If water is still getting in, that gets solved by someone else first — drywall over a wet wall is money burned.
One thing we say to every Salem homeowner with an older ceiling: texture applied before about 1980 can contain asbestos, and paint in a pre-1978 home can contain lead. We do not test for or abate either. Testing is your step, and if either comes back positive a certified contractor handles it before our prep begins.
Which services does J&B do most in Salem?
Salem work is mostly popcorn ceiling removal and skim coating, basement drywall in homes finished decades ago, and interior repainting once the surfaces are flat. Condo and association units are common too, which means tight schedules, shared hallways and strict containment.
Popcorn ceiling removal
Scraped, skimmed flat, sanded and primed under full containment — the finish step is what separates a real removal from a scraped mess.
See the serviceBasement drywall
Older finished basements stripped back, framing and moisture checked, then reboarded and finished with board kept off concrete.
See the serviceInterior painting
The coat that shows off the flat ceiling you just paid for — walls, ceilings, trim and doors, cut in by hand.
See the serviceQuestions
Common questions from Salem homeowners
Salem questions are almost always about popcorn ceilings: whether the house has to be emptied, how long a room takes, whether the ceiling has to be tested first, and whether skimming walls is cheaper than replacing them. Short answers below.
- Do I have to move out while a popcorn ceiling is removed?
- No. We work room by room with plastic on the floors and walls, doorways sealed and fixtures dropped or masked. You lose the use of that room for two to three days, not the house. Furniture that cannot leave gets covered and moved to the middle.
- Should my Salem ceiling be tested before scraping?
- If the texture went up before roughly 1980, yes. Asbestos was still in ceiling texture then, and lead paint is common in pre-1978 homes. We do not test or abate. A lab test is inexpensive, and we would rather wait a week than disturb something that needs a certified contractor.
- Is skim coating cheaper than replacing textured walls?
- Almost always. Skimming leaves the existing board in place, so there is no demolition, no debris and no disturbance to wiring or insulation. It also fixes old holes and failed patches at the same time. Replacement only makes sense when the board itself is damaged or wet.
- Can you work around a condo association's rules?
- Yes. We work to posted hours, keep shared hallways protected and clean, carry debris out rather than staging it on common property, and provide a certificate of insurance naming the association as certificate holder before the first day.
Other towns we work in
Free estimate
Get a written estimate for your Salem project
Tell us what the job involves and we will come out, look at it and send a written estimate — normally within 24 hours of the visit. Free, and no obligation.