Overboarding and skimming artex ceilings, very different quotes

ThisIsWeird

Niy, did either of them mention the ceiling prep? Using sealing and bonding agents such as 'Bond It' or 'Blue Grit', with or without a prior sealer/adhesive such as SBR?

NB, I'm not suggesting these are the products to use, as I don't know. But I don't understand how there's any real concern about skimming the existing textured paint as products do exist that will ensure a secure bond. And there can't be much concern about the paint being strong enough to hold a skim either. All I'm saying is, almost certainly skimming on to the existing surface should work. Imuo.

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said: All I'm saying is, almost certainly skimming on to the existing surface should work. Imuo.

It very much depends on what the ceilings have been painted with in the past - I have artex on a few ceilings here, and it will peel off in large strips in some areas. One ceiling had (what I assume to be) distemper, and even emulsion paint will flake off. Yes, bonding agents like Blue Grit and SBR will work, but only if previous coatings are well adhered.

The other option to overboarding and/or skimming is to take the existing ceilings down entirely - No guess work about where the joists are when screwing the new plasterboard up. Gives you the opportunity to fix any issues with electrics/plumbing in the voids, plug any draughts, and add insulation if required. Downside is it is messy work.

IvyFlood

Niy said:

As I have learnt now, I should add, I then google them independantly, but what other ways can I check? We are moving to a new area without much local knowledge. Got a few friends who have lived there for years but they have never used a plasterer before.

See if there's a local Facebook Group and ask for recommendations in there. I always do this and usually find good tradespeople. Even better when multiple people are giving the same name. I then check their Facebook profile for pictures/reviews etc but what I find really valuable is Instagram. I think its a great tool for tradespeople to show their work as they don't have to pay a domain fee for a website, and its up to date. We are having our bathroom done and I've seen endless photos from our fitter & tiler that I'm confident they will do the standard of work I'm after.

Niy

Cheers all, @ThisIsWeird, pretty much what @FreeBear said, I know the prep work include a couple of layers of PVC wash as they call it, but it the weight of the new plaster that might pull the whole thing down.

@I@IvyFlood, good shout, cheers. I am also on the Plastering forum and without naming the tradespeople I have gotten qoutes from (as it wouldn't be fair on them), I showed those guys their work and apparently they are bad quality mainly due to how their screw the plasterboards onto the ceilings. This goes to both plasterers I included in my OP... not sure if they are just gobby grumpy tradespeople on that forum or they mean well like trying to protect theit trade, maybe a bit of both.

FreeBear

Niy said: I know the prep work include a couple of layers of PVA wash as they call it, but it the weight of the new plaster that might pull the whole thing down.

A few plasterers have starting using SBR instead of PVA - The reason being, PVA can soften when damp, and sometimes be the cause of a skim coat failing.

subjecttocontract

We have had quite a few ceilings plastered over artex.
* We clear the room &/or cover what can't be moved.
* We do all the painting after plastering has dried.
* Although plasterer sheets floor..we find there is usually quite a bit of clearing/ tidying up when he is finished.
It's costs us £150 a room or £100 if it's a small bathroom or utility room.
These prices are pre pandemic.

Squeaky9

In my previous house I had five Artex ceilings skimmed and only one ended up having to be re-boarded as the plaster pulled the Artex off. That was in the master bedroom and it looked like there had been a leak in the ceiling at some point in the past so possibly that was the problem. 

pmartin86

How long are you planning to live in the house? How much work are you able/willing to do yourself? Do you have a few freinds that can help out for a care of beed / box of chocolate / AN Other future-favour?

The house I moved into about 2 years ago had artex everywhere, like yours, no asbestos thankfully. I plan to live here 20+ years so my views are influenced by that. In short, I've done 5 rooms with 3 different methods so far, including:

- Steaming old artex off, blu-gritting the celing and skimming
- Blu-Grit and skim directly
- Takle down celing complete, insulate and reboard and skim

The only room I'll be keeping is the one i took down.

The steaming and skimming looks better than the grit and skim direct, but both are "uneven" in the right light and both have hairline cracks, one has a small area thats come away completely.


All the work, except for the skim was done by myself, taking donw the celings isnt hard, you just need a prybar and hammer, some patience and a good mask and goggles. It WILL create a lot of mess. Then putting new boards up is relativly easy if you ahve 2-3 able bodied people, its just a case of holding the board in place, sticking a load of screws in (plenty of guides online for spacing/amount/type etc) and using a board saw or even a stanley blade and a straight edge for the cuts, once its up, any half decent plasterer will be able to get a great finish. You can also use this time to tidy up plumbing / exlectics, move lights, run cables, re-route pipes, add insualtion etc.

All in all, if you want the best finish and intend to stay in the house for a while, just rip it down and reboard for the best finish long term.

Phil4432

Agree with Freebear.  Totally taking down the plasterboard is also an option.

Had that done in my garage after after water damage, they left no mess, area was sealed and then vacuumed by them with appropriate vacuum.

Might actually be less messy than skimming, and is a thorough solution.

I've just painted emulsion over mine, on the advice of an asbestos company.

35har1old

Niy said:

Hi, new here and would be grateful for some advice. Got a few quotes to overboard and skim or just skim some ceilings due to artex, tested all and are without asbestos.

Is overboarding a better option than skimming only? What have you done in yours?

Anyway, another question I have is the 2 plasterers gave me very different quotes, the job is for 4 rooms - 3 x 4mx3.5m and 1 x 2.5mx2m.

Plasterer A quoted £1640 for skim on exising ceilings and £2530 for overboarding and skim (He works with 1 other person, so expect this is to pay for 2 men day's rate)

Plasterer B quoted £1100 for skim exising ceilings and £1480 for overboarding and skim (He works by himself, but surely this would take longer hence more days to pay for?)

A seems to be a little on the high side but not over the top as I got a £6.5k quote and a £3.5k quote for skimming only, B seems to be very cheap for 2023, no? Both A and B have very good CheckATrade ratings. We are in the Midlands area not far from Birmingham.

Thanks a lot

Both have given you a quote for the job so if it takes 2 days or a week the price is fixed and it makes no difference if there is 1 or more people  involved if the 2 are both plasters then they would be faster buy if one is only a labourer time difference would be negible between the  2 quotes