How much does gotelé popcorn texture removal cost? Price per m² and per flat
Removing gotelé (the popcorn wall texture found in most older Spanish flats) and smoothing the walls costs between €12 and €18 per m² of floor area in Valencia and Alicante, without the final paint, which adds another €8-10/m². A whole 90 m² flat (remove, smooth and paint white) costs between €1,800 and €2,500, and a 20 m² living room between €400 and €560. Temple (distemper) gotelé comes off with water and is cheaper; plastic gotelé has to be sanded or skimmed over and costs more. Fixed price after seeing a photo and scraping a corner.
Quick answer
Removing gotelé and smoothing the walls costs between €12 and €18 per m² of the flat's floor area in Valencia and Alicante, IVA (VAT) included, final paint extra (€8-10/m²). A 90 m² flat comes to €1,800-2,500 with white paint included; a 12 m² room, €250-400. Distemper gotelé is cheaper to remove than plastic.
Painters prices in 2026
| Job | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Walls in white | 6 € - 8 € €/m² | |
| Walls and ceilings in white | 8 € - 10 € €/m² | |
| Colour change | 10 € - 12 € €/m² | |
| Popcorn removal and smoothing | 12 € - 18 € €/m² | |
| Whole 90 m² flat | 800 € - 1500 € | |
| 12 m² room | 180 € - 300 € |
Gotelé removal price per m² and per room
We quote per m² of the flat's floor area, as on the cost to paint a flat page. The type of gotelé decides everything: distemper (the kind in 1960s-80s blocks in Valencia and Alicante) is wetted, softens and scrapes off with a stripping knife; plastic (1990s and 2000s renovations) does not soften and has to be machine-sanded or skimmed over with two coats of filler. We check by wetting a corner at the visit.
| Job | Price incl. IVA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Remove distemper gotelé and smooth | €12-14/m² of floor area | Wet scraping, two coats of filler, sanding |
| Remove plastic gotelé and smooth | €15-18/m² of floor area | Machine sanding or skimming over, more filler |
| Final white paint after smoothing | €8-10/m² of floor area | Sealing primer and two coats |
| 12 m² room (smooth and paint) | €250-400 | Walls; textured ceiling extra |
| 20 m² living room (smooth and paint) | €400-560 | Walls; textured ceiling extra |
| 90 m² flat (smooth and paint) | €1,800-2,500 | Walls throughout the flat |
| Textured ceiling (smooth and paint) | €15-22/m² of ceiling | Working at height, slower |
| Overboard with plasterboard (alternative) | €18-25/m² of wall | Builder; useful on badly damaged walls |
Gotelé removal price by town
Valencia has more gotelé than any other city in the area and also the highest prices, 10-15 % above Alicante because of parking and blocks without a lift. In Torrevieja and Benidorm gotelé is less common (many flats were built with smooth walls) and we add up to 10 % for travel to urbanisations. More detail on painters in Valencia, painters in Alicante, painters in Torrevieja and painters in Benidorm.
| Job | Valencia | Alicante | Torrevieja | Benidorm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remove gotelé and smooth, per m² | €13-20 | €12-18 | €12-19 | €12-19 |
| 12 m² room, smooth and paint | €280-450 | €250-400 | €260-430 | €260-430 |
| 20 m² living room, smooth and paint | €450-630 | €400-560 | €420-600 | €420-600 |
| 60 m² flat, smooth and paint | €1,350-1,900 | €1,200-1,700 | €1,250-1,800 | €1,250-1,800 |
| 90 m² flat, smooth and paint | €2,000-2,900 | €1,800-2,500 | €1,900-2,700 | €1,900-2,700 |
What changes the cost of removing gotelé
- Distemper or plastic. This is the biggest difference, €3-4/m². Distemper comes off in a day per room; plastic needs a sander with dust extraction or skimming over, with twice the filler.
- Grain size. Fine gotelé leaves the wall almost smooth after scraping; coarse or "fat drop" gotelé leaves craters and calls for three coats of filler instead of two.
- Condition of the wall underneath. Under gotelé there are usually cracks, hollow plaster and old holes that were not visible. They are repaired as part of the process, but in very old blocks whole areas of plaster can be missing.
- Ceilings. Smoothing a textured ceiling costs 30-40 % more than a wall because of the posture and the platform. Many customers smooth the walls and paint the ceiling over the gotelé to save.
- Area and rooms. A whole flat works out cheaper per m² than a single room because the set-up, the sheeting and the cleaning are spread out.
- Empty or occupied. Removing gotelé makes mud and dust. In an occupied flat rooms have to be sealed with plastic and cleaned every day, and the work is done in stages.
- Final paint. A freshly smoothed wall is very absorbent: it needs a sealing primer and two coats. We include this in the whole-room prices.
- Access. Carrying sacks of gotelé waste to the punto limpio (recycling centre) from a block with no lift in Ruzafa or Carolinas takes time and shows in the price.
What the price includes and what it does not
Included: full protection of floors, furniture and woodwork with plastic and tape, scraping or sanding of the gotelé, repair of any cracks and holes that appear, two or three coats of smoothing filler applied with a trowel, final machine sanding with dust extraction, sealing primer, removal of waste to the recycling centre and cleaning. In the whole-room prices, also the two coats of white paint.
Not included: coloured paint (€1-2/m² more), smoothing ceilings when only walls are booked, stripping wallpaper that is under the gotelé, active damp, and moving large furniture or emptying wardrobes. Nor does it include redoing services: if scraping reveals an unprotected buried cable or pipe, we stop and show you before continuing.
Three real quotes with the total
- 20 m² living room in Patraix, Valencia, fine distemper gotelé. Wet scraping in one morning, two coats of filler, sanding and white matt paint. 20 m² x €14 = €280 plus paint 20 m² x €9 = €180. Total: €460 including IVA, three days counting drying.
- 80 m² flat in Benalúa, Alicante, coarse plastic gotelé, empty. Machine sanding with extraction and three coats of filler, ceilings painted over the gotelé. 80 m² x €17 = €1,360 plus paint 80 m² x €9 = €720. Total: €2,080 including IVA, seven days with two operatives.
- Hallway and two bedrooms, 35 m², in Torrevieja (Los Balcones), distemper gotelé. British owners coming out at Easter; done in their absence with the key from the agency. 35 m² x €15 = €525 plus paint 35 m² x €9 = €315. Total: €840 including IVA, with daily photos by WhatsApp.
How to avoid a gotelé quote that spirals
The most common problem is not a scam, it is an incomplete quote. A painter quotes €8/m² to remove gotelé, starts, and two days in says the wall is worse than he thought and the smoothing is extra, or that the price was without paint, or that ceilings were not included. In the end it costs double and, worse, with the flat half done.
- Ask for the quote to state in writing: type of gotelé (distemper or plastic), m² and of what (floor area or wall), number of coats of filler, whether it includes ceilings, primer and paint, and the timescale.
- Ask for a test: wetting and scraping a 20 x 20 cm patch at the visit. If they will not do it, they do not know what gotelé you have and cannot give a serious price.
- Ask how they control the dust and what they do with the waste. Sanding plastic gotelé without extraction leaves the flat unusable for days.
- Be wary of "smoothing" prices under €10/m² of floor area: at that price they apply a single coat of filler and the ripples show in raking light.
- Ask for an invoice with IVA and a written guarantee. Badly done smoothing cracks in the first winter.
When it is worth removing the gotelé yourself
If the gotelé is distemper and the room is small, you can remove it yourself over a weekend with a water sprayer, a wide stripping knife and plenty of plastic on the floor. The materials cost €30-50. We explain it step by step in our guide how to remove popcorn wall texture, including the machines you can hire. The hard part is not scraping, it is smoothing: applying filler with a trowel across a whole wall without leaving ripples takes practice, and sanding it properly needs a wall sander with extraction, hired at €30-40 a day.
Do not try it yourself if the gotelé is plastic (fine, toxic dust without industrial extraction), if it is ceilings, if the flat is occupied or if there are more than two rooms: the €300-400 saving turns into three weekends and a smoothing job that then has to be redone. A middle way is for you to scrape and us to smooth and paint, which brings the price per m² down by €3-4. For the holes and cracks that appear when scraping there is the guide how to fill holes in a wall, and for small prior repairs, the small building works service. The smoothing and final paint are done by the painters team.
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Guides and tips
Frequently asked questions
Does the gotelé removal price include IVA?
Yes. Every price on this page includes 21 % IVA and we issue the invoice on completion. For owners who let the property, the invoice allows the maintenance expense to be deducted on the tax return, so it is worth always asking for it in the owner's name.
Do you charge for the quote visit?
No. For gotelé removal we always come to look at the wall and do the water test in a corner, free of charge, in Valencia, Alicante, Torrevieja and Benidorm. In the rest of the Costa Blanca we ask for photos first and, if the job is over €500, the visit is free as well.
Do you work at weekends or at night?
Monday to Sunday from 8am to 9pm with no surcharge. We do not work at night: sanding gotelé is noisy and comunidades do not allow it. In Benidorm and Torrevieja we respect each comunidad's working hours, usually 9am to 2pm and 4pm to 7pm on weekdays.
How do I pay?
On completion, in cash, by card, Bizum or bank transfer, with an invoice. On whole flats, which take one or two weeks, we charge in stages: the materials at the start (€150-300) and the rest on handover, after checking it with you in raking light. We never ask for the full amount in advance.
How long does it take to remove the gotelé from a 90 m² flat?
Between seven and ten working days with two operatives, counting the drying of the filler between coats (24 hours each). A room takes three days: one for scraping and the first coat, another for the second coat and sanding, another for primer and paint. It cannot be rushed without the smoothing cracking.
Is it better to remove the gotelé or overboard with plasterboard?
If the wall underneath is sound, removing and smoothing is cheaper (€12-18/m² of floor area) and you lose no space. Overboarding with plasterboard (€18-25/m² of wall) pays off when the wall is badly damaged, has extensive dried damp or you want to run new cables. We assess it at the visit.
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