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Ceiling Treatment Cost (2026): Smooth, Crown, Tray, Wood Plank, Beams and Coffered, With Labor Hours

One room priced eleven ways, from crown to a stained coffered ceiling, with popcorn and asbestos rules, built-down trays with cove LED, plank, beams and what stores publish.

By Clamp ResearchReviewed by Emmanuel ForgePublished Nov 1, 2026✓ Reviewed Nov 2026
Direct answer: In Clamp's catalog, a 12 x 16 ft room (192 sq ft) costs $631 direct for painted crown, $1,148 to take popcorn off and repaint, $2,082 for a painted tongue-and-groove plank ceiling, $2,518 for a built-down tray ($4,295 with cove LED), $2,319 for three stained faux beams, and $5,557 to $7,869 for a coffered ceiling, before markup.

The assumptions

This model assumes

  • A 12 x 16 ft room, 192 sq ft, 56 ft around, 9 ft flat drywall ceiling
  • Three 12 ft beams; a 4 x 3 coffer grid; 56 ft of crown or tray
  • Direct cost from Clamp's catalog, before markup
  • Retail prices observed November 1, 2026

The model, step by step

1One room, measured

Ceilings price by the square foot for finishes and the linear foot for crown and trays. This 12 x 16 ft bedroom has a 9 ft flat drywall ceiling.

12 x 16 = 192 sq ft
Around: 2 x (12 + 16)
= 56 ft
Beams: 3 at 12 ft
Coffers: 4 x 3 grid
192 sq ft, 56 ft around
Illustration of the same 12 by 16 ft room seen from below four times: a tray outlined in amber, three amber beams, an amber coffered grid of four by three, and close plank lines; the list reads Room 12 by 16 ft, Ceiling 192 sq ft, Around the room 56 ft, Beams 3 at 12 ft, Coffers 4 by 3 grid

One room, four ceilings

The room from below, drawn in the style of Quick Clamp's sketch pad: a tray, three beams, a coffered grid and plank, the added parts in amber. Illustration with typed labels. Demo data.

Ceilings over about 11 ft need a lift on most of these jobs; Clamp adds one by height.
2Eleven ways to finish it

From crown alone to a stained coffered ceiling, each priced on the same room.

This room, direct cost, Clamp's catalog
CeilingCostHours
Crown, painted$6316.5
Skim smooth, painted$1,13017.8
Popcorn off, repainted$1,14812.5
Drop ceiling$1,2495.8
Faux beams, painted$1,70620.6
Wood plank, painted$2,08219.7
Faux beams, stained$2,31922.1
Tray, painted$2,51823.5
Tray, cove LED$4,29533.3
Coffered, painted$5,55759.5
Coffered, stained$7,86961.5
Direct cost before markup, from Clamp's catalog. Sold at a 1.50 markup, the painted tray is about $3,777 and the painted coffered ceiling about $8,336.
3Popcorn, texture or smooth

Taking a ceiling smooth is a common ceiling job. Popcorn gets wet-scraped, skimmed where needed, primed and painted; knockdown or orange peel gets a full skim coat.

This room, painted, direct
JobCostPer sq ft
Popcorn off, repainted$1,148$5.98
Skim over knockdown, painted$1,130$5.89

Before you scrape

AsbestosEPA banned spray-applied asbestos surfacing in 1978, and OSHA presumes it in surfacing in buildings built through 1980; have it sampled by an accredited inspector first

Federal rulesEPA's federal asbestos rule for renovations (NESHAP) excludes homes of four or fewer units, but states and localities can be stricter

LeadPaid work on a painted ceiling in a pre-1978 home falls under EPA's lead rule (RRP) above six square feet a room

Finish levelUnder strong light, the Gypsum Association recommends a Level 5 finish: a skim coat over the whole ceiling

Painters publish $1 to $2 a sq ft for popcorn removal in Dallas-Fort Worth and $1 to $3 in Utah (Utah excludes asbestos work). Clamp's figures include room protection, priming and two coats.
4Crown

Crown is the cheapest way to finish where the ceiling meets the wall, priced by the foot around the room.

56 ft of crown, direct
CrownCostHours
MDF, painted, 4 to 6 in$6316.5
MDF, painted, 6 to 8 in$7567.6
Hardwood, stain gradeFinish not included$7495.4
At Home Depot, 5 1/4 in primed MDF crown is about $3.90 a foot and 4 in oak about $5.87. Inside corners on walls that aren't square take extra fitting; every corner adds time.
5Tray ceilings

In an existing house, a tray is built down: a framed and drywalled soffit runs around the room and the middle reads as raised. Framing a tray up into the joists or trusses is new framing.

This room, 56 ft of tray, direct
TrayCostHours
12 to 16 in step, painted$2,51824
18 to 24 in step$3,13829
Two steps$4,12138
With cove LED$4,29533
Cove LED and crown$4,79438
Illustration of five ceiling sections: crown at the wall, a tray step with an amber LED cove lip, a coffer beam with amber backing and crown on each side, plank over drywall in amber, and a drop grid hung 3 in below the ceiling; the list reads Tray step 12 to 16 in wide, Cove LED in a lip on the step, Coffer beam about 7 by 8 in, Drop grid clearance 3 in minimum

Sections

How each treatment meets the ceiling, drawn in the style of Quick Clamp's sketch pad: the LED cove, the beam's backing and the grid clearance in amber. Illustration with typed labels.

Don't cut trusses to raise a tray: an engineer writing in JLC says cutting a bottom chord needs an engineer's design, and framers on Fine Homebuilding frame the tray down instead. A very shallow built-down tray (about 2 in, furring and vinyl bead) was priced at about $10 a foot of room perimeter in a 2020 JLC article. Angi quotes trays at $2 to $4 a sq ft, which won't cover framing and finishing a soffit.
6Wood plank

Tongue-and-groove, shiplap or nickel-gap boards nailed through the drywall into the joists. Plank costs more stained than painted, and more on a vaulted ceiling.

This room, direct
PlankCostPer sq ft
Pine T&G, painted$2,082$10.84
Pine T&G, stained$2,697$14.05
Painted, vaulted$2,576$13.42
WindsorONE wants boards at 8 percent moisture or less, fastened to framing or furring, not drywall alone; Armstrong has its WoodHaven planks acclimate 2 to 3 days. Ceiling finishes must meet a flame spread index of 200 or less (IRC R302.9.1), and North Carolina's fire marshal has ruled that tongue-and-groove alone isn't a thermal barrier over spray foam. Retail pine T&G is about $5.15 a sq ft.
7Beams and coffers

Faux beams are box beams on blocking, built from a 2x ladder frame and MDF or plywood, or polyurethane beams glued and screwed to mounting blocks. A coffered ceiling is a grid of the same beams with crown inside each coffer.

This room, direct
CeilingCostHours
3 beams, painted$1,70621
3 beams, stained$2,31922
3 beams, hand-hewn$2,83726
Coffered, painted$5,55759
Coffered, stained$7,86962
Fine Homebuilding's coffered method uses a 2x6 backing grid with beams about 7 in wide and 8 in deep, and sizes coffers from the wall length less the beam widths. A Heritage and TimberThane polyurethane beam guide calls for mounting blocks at the ends and every 2 to 3 ft and says the beams are decorative only; Ekena's beams retail for about $30 to $54 a foot.
8What stores and installers publish

Retail prices are material alone. Few installers publish ceiling prices, so cost-guide pages fill the gap, and they disagree.

Published prices
SourcePrice
MDF crown, 5 1/4 in3 1/8 in colonial (8205) $1.71/ft$3.90/ft
Oak crown, 4 in$5.87/ft
Pine tongue and groove$5.15/sq ft
Ekena faux beams$30 to $54/ft
Coffered ceiling kitFrom $921
Armstrong ceiling tile$2.25/sq ft
COB LED tapePower supply extra$2.98/ft
Popcorn removal, painters$1 to $3/sq ft
Cost pages contradict each other: tray ceilings at $2 to $4 a sq ft on Angi against $2.50 to $10.50 on Fixr. Price from your own catalog. Drop ceilings need at least 3 in of clearance above the grid (Armstrong).

What it means

What to doPrice ceilings by the square foot for finishes and the foot for crown and trays. Test popcorn before you scrape it, build trays down instead of cutting trusses, and put LED, crown and paint on their own lines.
The room is the same 12 x 16 in every row. Ceilings run $631 to $7,869.

Every ceiling on its own line

Clamp's estimate prices ceilings from popcorn removal to coffered grids, with trays, cove LED, crown, plank and beams as separate lines.

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Questions

How much does a coffered ceiling cost?

About $5,557 direct painted and $7,869 stained for a 12 x 16 room in Clamp's catalog, $28.94 to $40.98 a sq ft, before markup.

How much does a tray ceiling cost?

A tray built down from the existing ceiling is about $2,518 direct for a 12 x 16 room in Clamp's catalog, painted, and $4,295 with cove LED lighting. Don't cut trusses to raise one.

How much does a wood plank ceiling cost?

About $10.84 a sq ft direct painted and $14.05 stained for pine tongue and groove in Clamp's catalog; the pine itself is about $5.15 a sq ft at retail.

How much does popcorn ceiling removal cost?

About $1,148 direct to scrape, prime and repaint a 192 sq ft ceiling in Clamp's catalog. Painters publish $1 to $3 a sq ft. Have it tested for asbestos first.

How much do faux ceiling beams cost?

About $1,706 painted and $2,319 stained for three 12 ft box beams in Clamp's catalog. Ekena polyurethane beams retail for about $30 to $54 a foot.

Related

Sources & provenance

  1. Clamp estimating catalog (2026-11): crown, popcorn removal, skim coat, drop ceiling, wood plank, faux beams, coffered and tray ceilings Clamp Research
  2. EPA Actions to Protect the Public from Exposure to Asbestos US EPA (official source)
  3. Information for Owners and Managers of Buildings that Contain Asbestos US EPA (official source)
  4. I'm Remodeling My Home. Do I Need to Be Concerned About Asbestos? US EPA (official source)
  5. 29 CFR 1926.1101, Asbestos OSHA (official source)
  6. Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors US EPA (official source)
  7. GA-214-10, Recommended Levels of Gypsum Board Finish Gypsum Association (official source)
  8. Recessed Ceilings JLC (Don Dunkley) (research)
  9. Quick Tray Ceiling JLC (Dave Holbrook) (research)
  10. Modifying Roof Trusses JLC (Christopher DeBlois, PE) (research)
  11. Cut trusses for tray? (forum) Fine Homebuilding forum (research)
  12. Flame Spread and Wall Finishes (R302.9), 2025 California Residential Code California Residential Code 2025 (IRC based), via GoCodeBook (official source)
  13. Spray foam and tongue-and-groove as a thermal barrier North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal (official source)
  14. Interior Tongue and Groove WindsorONE (official source)
  15. WoodHaven installation instructions Armstrong Ceilings (official source)
  16. An Easy Approach to Coffered Ceilings Fine Homebuilding (Gary Striegler) (research)
  17. Heritage and TimberThane faux beam installation guide Heritage and TimberThane beams (hosted by Architectural Depot) (official source)
  18. Suspended ceilings installation instructions Armstrong Ceilings (official source)
  19. House of Fara 3/4 x 5 1/4 in x 96 in MDF Primed Crown (8813) Home Depot (research)
  20. House of Fara 5/8 x 3 1/8 in x 8 ft Primed MDF Colonial Crown (8205) Home Depot (research)
  21. House of Fara 3/4 x 4 in x 8 ft Oak Crown (9660) Home Depot (research)
  22. 1 in x 6 in x 8 ft Pine Tongue and Groove, 6-pack (168PTG6PK) Home Depot (research)
  23. Ekena rough sawn faux beams (Zoro listings) Zoro (Ekena Millwork) (research)
  24. Ekena 2-sided L-beam, rough sawn, 6x6 in x 8 ft Zoro (Ekena Millwork) (research)
  25. Endurathane Coffered Ceiling Kit (CCKCL) Architectural Depot (research)
  26. Fine Fissured ceiling tile Armstrong Ceilings (research)
  27. Armacost RibbonFlex Pro 24V COB LED Tape, 16.4 ft (172430) Home Depot (research)
  28. How Much Does Popcorn Ceiling Removal Cost? Dallas Paints (Dallas-Fort Worth) (research)
  29. Popcorn ceiling removal cost Paint EZ (Bountiful, UT) (research)
  30. What Is a Tray Ceiling? Angi (research)
  31. Coffered Ceiling Installation Cost Fixr (research)
Changes: Nov 1, 2026: Published.