New home. Asbestos artex behind plaster?

mrnorm

Hello!

My partner and I are in the last few weeks of completing a purchase on our first property and we're super excited!

One thing we've noticed is that there is artex in the kitchen/diner, which is likely to contain asbestos since the property was built around 1984. We're looking to get it tested when we move in. This isn't too much of an issue for us, as we're comfortable taking our time and using something like X-Tex to get rid of it safely and with all precautions considered.

One thing that does bother me is that other rooms in the property have smooth walls and artex ceilings. If the kitchen/diner returns positive for asbestos then I'll be worried that the other rooms could have had the artex skimmed over with plaster. If we're looking to drill / chase out any walls, I'd be worried that I'll be disturbing any potentially buried asbestos artexing.

Is there any way we can get to / check for any potential artex to remove it safely without disturbing it?

Does anyone have any further advice on how to deal with this sort of situation? Skimming artex seems to be the most popular option for dealing with asbestos, so I'm hoping this issue has been covered before.

Many thanks,
Oliver

Furts

When your house was built the asbestos problem was known and manufacturers of artex (there were many) were reducing the asbestos content to zero. Your house may not have asbestos in the artex, but if it does the percentage should be low.

I recall asbestos free artex in 1985, and a competitor had removed asbestos by 1987-8.

Normally it would be only on the ceilings - not the walls. Leave in place, decorate over, or skim over are options.

The current fashion trend is to condemn artex ceilings. My instinct is it will come back into fashion, simply because trends tend to go full circle. It would only take Phil, Kirsty, LLB or Sarah to come up with the "new idea". Those with skimmed over artex ceilings will then be asking for the artex to be applied again

NewtoDIY

Find a suitable firm in your area to test all the textured ceilings in your property. That will give you piece of mind and enable you to make informed decisions. I had ten ceilings done in my house and only one came back with white chrysotile which I then removed with x-tex. In our case, we had to remove it because of commencing building work which would have smashed the ceiling to bits. As the previous poster wrote, if you don't need to damage it, then leave it as it is perfectly safe.

Twor1989

You are probably aware that continuous inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause sickness and even death. These are invisible to the naked eye and can get stuck in your lungs forever. It is believed that materials containing asbestos are safe as long as there are left untouched. But some material deteriorate with age. Air quality test is useful to make sure that your health is not at risk. It would be better to opt for an Asbestos Abatement Contractor .

Ninnut85

I had a similar concern about the artex in the house I bought however mine was built in 1963.
I sent an email to asbestoswatchdog.co.uk and this is the reply they sent me

"Artex of that vintage can contain small amounts of white [ chrysotile ] asbestos but it has no measurable risk to your health"

A lot of companies out there use the scaremongering that surrounds asbestos to make a lot of cash.
Make sure you find out the truth about it before spending any money to remove it

simplymegreg

My purchase is 1930s build and the hallway walls are covered in artex which is really thick. Looks like a target for X-Tex.

The ceilings are a much more subtle pattern but still need attention. I understand that these can be skimmed over or overboarded and then skimmed. My question really is what do the new boards get drilled into? Surely the artex boards? Doesn't some kind of dust extraction machinery need to be in place then to stop the dust from escaping?

I've also got to remove a horrendous ceiling rose / coving but wouldn't removing these disturb the artex on the ceiling? Perhaps I'm being overly cautious. I understand that coving can be skimmed over too?

southcoastrgi

Ninnut85 wrote: »

A lot of companies out there use the scaremongering that surrounds asbestos to make a lot of cash.
Make sure you find out the truth about it before spending any money to remove it

I think post #4 falls into that catagory

nickj_2

if asbestos in artex was a problem it would have caused a major health scare by now ,

[Deleted User]

I had early 1980s artex removed in my kitchen and re-plastered last year. Never did any tests to check for asbestos. Neither did the plasterer say anything.

mrnorm

Thanks for your replies everyone. I'm not as worried as I was about it all now. I think I'm just going to skim the lot to get a nice clean finish, then just be careful when drilling/gunning out bits of the wall later down the line.

A.Penny.Saved

simplymegreg wrote: »

My purchase is 1930s build and the hallway walls are covered in artex which is really thick. Looks like a target for X-Tex.

The ceilings are a much more subtle pattern but still need attention. I understand that these can be skimmed over or overboarded and then skimmed. My question really is what do the new boards get drilled into? Surely the artex boards? Doesn't some kind of dust extraction machinery need to be in place then to stop the dust from escaping?

I've also got to remove a horrendous ceiling rose / coving but wouldn't removing these disturb the artex on the ceiling? Perhaps I'm being overly cautious. I understand that coving can be skimmed over too?

Or maybe Biostrip 20 Artex Remover which is quite a bit cheaper than X-Tex and sounds like very similar stuff from what I have read. I've not tried it yet so don't know how well it works, but I do intend giving it a try. The 5 litre tub is about £20 less than X-Tex.

I have been attempting to remove that awful textured stuff from a small room using a wallpaper steamer. Not painted which would make it much harder to remove and it's taken me a lot of hours so far. Stopping every few minutes to wipe the sweat off myself and cool down. A very slow process and not one I intend to repeat on all the other rooms where the mad people did their unspeakable dead.

My thoughts are "Why the hell do people put that textured crap on their ceilings? They don't do it by halves, they do it all over the place. Grrrrrr Some people! Absolutely vile stuff.

With regard to Artex/textured wall/ceilings and asbestos, I was told that it is very low risk and they were not very bothered by it and suggested that I shouldn't be either. They just told me to wet it and stick it in two bags. However that is not to say there is zero risk if you breathe the stuff in. I have been using a drager full (3500)/half face (3300) mask with P3 particle filters. Started with a full face mask but the steam was a problem and had to resort to a half face mask which I had purchased some years earlier, which was more useable.

It's hard going I assure you when using a steamer. After all your using a steamer in an angle that it is not designed for with the hot water collecting on the steam plate which if your not careful could end up down your arm on on your face. Gloves help a little. Plus steam going everywhere and the heat building up and even when wearing only a disposable overall and boxers, it gets damn hot! I have to spend more time cooling off and drying sweat than actually removing Artex. Grrr@those people.

BTW This isn't an ad for any product, even though it's littered with mentions, only a warning that steam isn't the answer IMO after my experiences. My wallpaper stripper, an Earlex, claims it can be used to remove Artex too. Hey another name mention lmao.