Artex Ceilings

naturals

I was wondering if anyone had any experience of getting rid of Artex ceilings on the cheap.

We have quite high ceilings so I was thinking of putting some battens through the artex into the ceiling joists and sheeting a new ceiling with tape and joint style boards. I'm not bad at patching in plaster with a float so do you think this is a feasible option?

naturals

Tried steaming the walls - the state behind the paper was awful so I don't fancy trying it on the ceiling too much.

willu_2

Please dont try and remove your artex, chances are it WILL contain asbestos!!!!

nelly_2

you say your not bad at patching plaster.... whats the biggest area you have done and was it a ceilling?

Ceilings are a lot different to walls, or lets put it this way go and get a bag of sugar and hold it over your head for 2 hours

Generally artex can be sorted out by just skimming over it.

If its a really deep patern then board it, battens arnt needed just board into the joists that are there.

cargo

Depends what ya call cheap.
For the best finish you need a plasterer.

naturals

Well, I did a patch yesterday that was about 30x50cm at a guess. It came up suprisingly well - I didn't need to sand it back and it feels flush with the surrounding wall. I guess taping and jointing would mean joints of around 10-15cm (width) so I think it should look ok.

Re the depth of the pattern - no more than 3-4mm I think.

Ericson_2

I think pollycell have got a product that skims over Artex ceilings now to level them , Don't know how good it is,

kittiwoz

Trying to remove Artex it, drill into it or sand it is dodgy because it creates dust and as willu says there's a good chance it contains asbestos depending on how old the ceiling is. Skiming over it is fine because it seals it in and prevents dust.

Dingdangdoforme

Ericson wrote:

I think pollycell have got a product that skims over Artex ceilings now to level them , Don't know how good it is,

I would say stay well clear of this product as I fell for the advertising on this product, absolute rubbish, might as well of burnt the £33 or so I spent on the smoothover + application tool, will now need to pay a plasterer to do the job properly (and that was on a very small area of ~1-2 sq.m, to do a room size ceiling would have cost a small fortune).

Have since found the following site with a few reviews of the product on, all say pretty much the same.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews93950.html

p.s. none of the reviews are from me - well not yet.

nelly_2

naturals wrote:

Well, I did a patch yesterday that was about 30x50cm at a guess. It came up suprisingly well - I didn't need to sand it back and it feels flush with the surrounding wall. I guess taping and jointing would mean joints of around 10-15cm (width) so I think it should look ok.

Re the depth of the pattern - no more than 3-4mm I think.

Skim over it 3/4 mill is nothing.
Pva it, twice, first let both coats set.

I reckon youd be best getting a plasterer in it'll be between £100 to 150 @ a guess. Well thats what I charge anyway.

wobbley

Without sounding like I'm trying to suck up to Nelly (!!!)
He's right, you'd be far better (and probably cheaper in the long run) getting a plasterer to do it. Plastering (properly) is not a skill - it's an art.