Professional Artex Removal

mrobsessed

My home is infested with Artex on the ceilings and I want rid of this eyesore. I spoke to a plasterer but he just talked in terms of plastering over the offending surface and said it was a nightmare to remove and didn't even consider that as a possibility. He quoted me £700 to completely cover the artex in my hall/stairwell/ landing ceilings which is extra tricky as the ceiling curves into the wall above the picture rail which is all artexed fairly heavily. The quote is a lot of money and I'd rather get rid of it and back to the original plaster which can be fixed up.

Has anyone used a professional service or plasterer to remove Artex, what were the results and cost and what equipment did they use? I am aware that Artex can sometimes contain asbestos, so could an asbestos removal service be used to get rid of it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

keystone

Just get a skim put over it - cheaper and quicker.

Cheers

bryanb

When you've removed the artex you will need to skim it, just skim over it. Maybe knock off the longer bits first.

Don't even breathe the word asbestos, unless you want to get rid of a lot of money.

mrobsessed

Thanks for that. That's what's been offered and I'm tempted to go for that but just wondered what alternative options I had with a £700 budget.

mrobsessed

It's also tricky becuase I have some ceilings with plaster mouldings on them - all have been artexed over. Can a skim deal with these?

Myrtle

It's easy enough to remove yourself. Just spray with warm water, wait til it softens a little then scrape off. You never know what you'll find underneath mind.

dave82_2

I would highly reccomend overboarding it. The artex is likely covering up some bad lathe and plaster or badly cracked plaster.

Just overboard and skim for best finish and also if you want to add spot lights ever as if you try and put them in lathe and plaster it just falls to bits!

A.Penny.Saved

mrobsessed wrote: »

My home is infested with Artex on the ceilings and I want rid of this eyesore.

My thoughts exactly. I have the stuff stuck on the ceilings of five areas of my home and I think the stuff is absolutely appalling.

I spoke to a plasterer but he just talked in terms of plastering over the offending surface and said it was a nightmare to remove and didn't even consider that as a possibility. He quoted me £700 to completely cover the artex in my hall/stairwell/ landing ceilings which is extra tricky as the ceiling curves into the wall above the picture rail which is all artexed fairly heavily. The quote is a lot of money and I'd rather get rid of it and back to the original plaster which can be fixed up.

A wallpaper strippers steam makes removing Artex much easier, it can be strapped away afterwards but quite time consuming getting it flat. You would probably still need to plaster over afterwards. Precautions need to be observed. One is the possibility of the Artex containing asbestos and the other is steam/hot water running onto your face/hands. Some thick gloves would help and a hat and being very careful. Lots of rest for the arms at regular intervals.

There is that expensive stuff you can buy at the DIY store called something like cover over, it was advertised on TV. An expensive way of doing it.

Has anyone used a professional service or plasterer to remove Artex, what were the results and cost and what equipment did they use? I am aware that Artex can sometimes contain asbestos, so could an asbestos removal service be used to get rid of it?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Asbestos is the worst scenario and not something to be trifled with. There are asbestos testing services but seek an accredited person to do the testing/sampling.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/managing/sampling.htm

http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/campaign/duty/surveyors.htm

27col

I removed Artex from my living room which is 10 mtrs x4 mtrs, It took me several days and the plaster board tended to ripple with the water that was applied. In the end I ripped it all down and re-boarded and skimmed.

dave82_2

1 word

Overboard!!!

I also have a mate who had his artex skimmed and the whole lot fell down under the weight of the new plaster!! Messy.

Brallaqueen

how thick is Artex usually? I only ask because overboarding and skimming will take a couple of inches off the height of a ceiling. Not a problem in period properties perhaps but a bleeding pain in newer houses with lower ceilings.