Quote for skimming living room.

newlifeahead

Hi

I am wanting to redecorate my front living room.
It is about 14 ft x 10 ft with a very large bay window which takes up about 2/3 of one wall.

I also have artexing on the ceiling and want to get rid of it.

I have so far had 3 quotes just wanting to know which one was better to go with.

1) skimming over the walls and the ceiling (he said the artexing wasn't that deep so this would be ok) total cost £290. He did say that I wouldn't be able to get a better price than that.

2) Skimming all walls and removing the artex from the ceiling and then plastering over it. £350. It would cost £220 just to skim the walls.

3) £350 to board over the ceiling and then plaster / skim over it and to also skim over the walls. He did say that he would also deal with the few cracks which were in the wall. Remove the skirting and the picture rail which is around the door. (sorry don't know if that is the name of it).
He did also mention removing the radiator from the wall so he could skim over it (others didn't mention this but I would have removed it anyway.)

They all said they could do the job within a day. Just want to make sure that a good job is done as I want to paint all the walls white and want a smooth finish. Not sure about the artexing thing as the last 2 guys said that if it was skimmed over I would still see the pattern underneath.

Just wanted to see if anyone thought these quotes were ok.

Thanks.

newlifeahead

I decided to go with the last quote. Not sure if it matters if the artex is skimmed over or if boarding over and then skimming is better.

Does anyone know which is better?

I have no idea what I should be asking or requesting as I know nothing about plastering as you can tell.:o

Thanks.

McKneff

I'm sorry no one came back to you to help, i know as much as you about plastering although i have great respect to the skill thats involved.

Personally, i would just have the artex skimmed over. I really dont know why
but i suppose in the long run, board sides can crack with the overhead traffic ie walking in the bedrooms, but I am a mere woman and can only offer my opinion.
Hope it all goes well.

newlifeahead

Thanks McKneff.

I did originally want to just skim it over but only one of the plasterer said that it would be ok and the other 2 said I may still see the artex underneath.

You mentioned about board sides cracking which is what I have read can also happen. I have also read that people have had it skimmed over and still seen the pattern.

I really hate not knowing what to do. I have already asked the 3rd guy to do the job but now I think I will cancel it and go with the skimming over instead. I feel so bad now.

I wish I knew what I was doing

Thanks for your opinion it is very much appreciated.

baldelectrician

The boarding over is a better job (if done right)

It gives you more noise and heat insulation as well, and a nice new ceiling surface that is skimmed and looks good- with no chance of the old artex showing through

Make sure he screws the new plasterboard on to the existing ceiling, more preferable than nailing - less movement, less cracking problems

keystone

baldelectrician wrote: »

Make sure he screws the new plasterboard...

through the existing ceiling directly into the joists.

If he's any good he'll do that anyway.

Cheers

inthesticks

If you can still see the Artex pattern after it has been plastered they should'nt call themselves plasterers.
Sometimes the paint or the Artex or whatever is under the Artex can react with the primer causing problems but only on rare occasions.
You should'nt need to remove the backmoulds unless there is another reason to take them off.
Speaking from experience there is nothing worse than giving someone the go ahead then backing out !

jcr16

i would say boarding over imo would be better.

were going to have to do that. we have probs with our ceilings in the fact nothing sticks to it. it has been re skimmed twice aparently and bits just keep falling off . ( 6 years ago before we moved in) our neighbours say same things is happening to them. it awful.

so were just gonna board over and start afresh. plus hubby will hopfully put the new downlighters( spot lights ) in at same time.
( don't worry he is a fully qualified sparks,lol)

newlifeahead

I have had my plastering done now. I didn't change my mind in the end and went ahead with plasterer 3.

The ceiling was boarded over and skimmed and all walls skimmed too.

I must say that he left a lot of mess behind. I have been to the skip this morning to get rid of the plasterboard he left behind.

I do have carpet down at the moment but will change it. I thought he might have still covered it over with something but he didn't and left a great deal of mess, so I will have to change it within the next week or so.

Anyway I am happy it is done now. Still drying out and have left the windows wide open and have a radiator on in the room.

Overall I am pleased with it and glad I went with the boarding and then skimming.

Thanks everyone.

paddypaws101

I have had artexing skimmed before and it has been fine....but best to be safe rather than sorry. You do not want to be going through all that mess again just to save a few pounds.

nitr02007

We've had 3 artex ceilings skimmed, kitchen, dining room and hall. In each case we did the prep ourselves to save money. Scrape off the highest "points" of the artex, then paint on PVA.

The plasterer did a great job and the ceilings look great. He also brought his own dust sheets to protect our floors - I can't believe that your plasterer didnt put anything down!