Best way to remove or cover artex

[Jml]

We have artex ceilings in some of our rooms (where not covered in swirly wallpaper which will also need removing!) which is likely to include asbestos as probably pre 1980’s.  Just wondering best way to get rid of it.  Have found X tex artex remover product on line, has anybody used it, is it safe to use?  Thoughts appreciated.

[nod]

If it’s not painted

use a steamer soften and scrape

[Jml]

Painted white, probably many layers, so assuming steamer would not work.

[Nickfromwales]

Overboard the ceilings? 

[Tennentslager]

Hard hard work to remove, skim on top and repaint it will look like new

[Dee J]

If its not too thick, pva it and plaster skim. If it's really ott then replace the plasterboard.

[nod]

  On 04/11/2017 at 12:27, Jml said:

Painted white, probably many layers, so assuming steamer would not work.

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  On 04/11/2017 at 12:27, Jml said:

Painted white, probably many layers, so assuming steamer would not work.

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Scrape the high spots SBR prime 

two coats of skim

[jpinthehouse]

Hi

We scrape with a garden hoe, as easy to reach from the floor,   then pva and skim 

John 

[SteamyTea]

How can you tell if it has asbestos in it.

For some reason they decided to cover my house ceilings in it, no idea why.

1987 vintage.

[Jml]

Many thanks for responses consensus seems to be pva and skim.  Its circular swirls with small peaks in the middle of each.  Is it safe to ‘hoe’ or scrape off the small peaks, given possible asbestos? How deep generally is a skim layer of plaster, i.e will it cover few mm easily or are two layers needed as suggested by Nod?

The alternative route of over boarding, I assume is easier than replacement of the plasterboard. Can the over board just be screwed into the existing roof joists and then skimmed? Does this way give a neater finish or does that depend on the plasterer?

[Dee J]

  On 04/11/2017 at 13:09, SteamyTea said:

How can you tell if it has asbestos in it.

For some reason they decided to cover my house ceilings in it, no idea why.

1987 vintage.

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If you're worried about asbestos then get a sample tested. If it does contain asbestos the sealing and plastering is a good fix.... professional removal is very spendy.

[Dee J]

If the artex is to lumpy for skimming then its too lumpy for direct overboarding. Levelled battens would be needed first.

[Vijay]

Just gad a quick google and plenty of products to remove artex (No idea how good they are) such as https://fuze-products.co.uk/artex1.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyvXPBRD-ARIsAIeQeoFNCLGOhH3XK7EiRD565or_bLPScSWuMTt8_KUyWMAzZQVPwuuNbYwaAu59EALw_wcB

 

or https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p83638?r=googleshopping&rr=marin&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyvXPBRD-ARIsAIeQeoHJguDg2hzv7S0vg1j9BfCjzo4rU0W1MplVdNxIQffEk2PO2VuYIowaAlv5EALw_wcB

Edited November 4, 2017 by Vijay

[Jml]

I’d seen the second of those products, wondered if anyone had tried them? It’s something I could do myself.

[Jeremy Harris]

Not a lot of Artex that's still around will have asbestos in it, plus, as long as you don't try and sand it off then the risk is pretty low.  Any "wet" method, like steaming, will be pretty safe, but if it's well-bonded on then frankly it may cheaper, quicker and easier to just replace the ceiling, if the area's not too large.  Our old bathroom ceiling was artexed, not in swirls, more like dimples, and the stuff was very well adhered to the underlying plasterboard.  As the ceilings in that house were just boarded, taped and filled, I opted to just rip the ceiling down, take the opportunity to add some insulation under a part of it that extended under a small flat roof and re-board it.  All told it was about half an hour of making a bloody awful mess, plus cleaning up, then maybe two hours to put new plasterboard up and tape and fill the joints.  After that it was just a matter of decorating from a new surface, which was a doddle, even for me, who hates painting with a passion.

[Jml]

  On 04/11/2017 at 13:15, Dee J said:

If the artex is to lumpy for skimming then its too lumpy for direct overboarding. Levelled battens would be needed first.

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Means loss of quite few cm of headroom.  Can asbestos artex plasterboard be taken down without specialists?

[Nickfromwales]

Just love the way it says "harmful fibres" not asbestos fibres. . If it doesn't fully penetrate then the risk remains. 

2 coats over PVA will sort just about anything. Get a plasterer that weighs more than 8 stone wet and has big arms. First coat bulks and fills, top coat levels and finishes. 

[Nickfromwales]

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:08, Jml said:

 

Means loss of quite few cm of headroom.  Can asbestos artex plasterboard be taken down without specialists?

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Mask up, and hire a big air mover for forced ventilation. Yank the lot down and renew. Good opportunity to add spots if it's a kitchen. 

[Jeremy Harris]

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:08, Jml said:

 

Means loss of quite few cm of headroom.  Can asbestos artex plasterboard be taken down without specialists?

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Yes, with care.  Don't try and break or saw the boards if you can help it.  our ceiling had a few popped nails, and I was able to get a Stanley knife in around the very edge and cut the board, then lever a bit away.  Once I had a hole, then getting in behind the board and levering the board away from the joists where it was nailed was pretty easy.  A fair few of the nails pulled through the plasterboard, but in the main it all stayed pretty much intact as it came down.  The biggest job was cleaning up the mess.

 

I did take the precaution of spraying the ceiling to wet it, using water and a spray bottle, in the hope that this would keep the dust down.  I also wore a Tyvek suit, gloves and a respirator,  but 99% of the dust came from the crap in the ceiling void, not the plasterboard.

[Jml]

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:07, JSHarris said:

Not a lot of Artex that's still around will have asbestos in it, plus, as long as you don't try and sand it off then the risk is pretty low.  Any "wet" method, like steaming, will be pretty safe, but if it's well-bonded on then frankly it may cheaper, quicker and easier to just replace the ceiling, if the area's not too large.  Our old bathroom ceiling was artexed, not in swirls, more like dimples, and the stuff was very well adhered to the underlying plasterboard.  As the ceilings in that house were just boarded, taped and filled, I opted to just rip the ceiling down, take the opportunity to add some insulation under a part of it that extended under a small flat roof and re-board it.  All told it was about half an hour of making a bloody awful mess, plus cleaning up, then maybe two hours to put new plasterboard up and tape and fill the joints.  After that it was just a matter of decorating from a new surface, which was a doddle, even for me, who hates painting with a passion.

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We seem to have the full range of swirls, dimples, textured wallpaper and just noticed woodchip on our ceilings, someone had fun!  Replacement does seem to have it merits.  I like a good bit of demolition!

 

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:12, Nickfromwales said:

Mask up, and hire a big air mover for forced ventilation. Yank the lot down and renew. Good opportunity to add spots if it's a kitchen. 

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Certainly adding spots would be extra bonus. 

 

[Jml]

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:15, JSHarris said:

 

 

Yes, with care.  Don't try and break or saw the boards if you can help it.  our ceiling had a few popped nails, and I was able to get a Stanley knife in around the very edge and cut the board, then lever a bit away.  Once I had a hole, then getting in behind the board and levering the board away from the joists where it was nailed was pretty easy.  A fair few of the nails pulled through the plasterboard, but in the main it all stayed pretty much intact as it came down.  The biggest job was cleaning up the mess.

 

I did take the precaution of spraying the ceiling to wet it, using water and a spray bottle, in the hope that this would keep the dust down.  I also wore a Tyvek suit, gloves and a respirator,  but 99% of the dust came from the crap in the ceiling void, not the plasterboard.

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The roof space above is accessible so perhaps that woud be the best way to approach it initially and we can remove a lot of dust from ceiling void before starting.

 

Is disposal of the plasterboard a problem?

[Jeremy Harris]

  On 04/11/2017 at 14:25, Jml said:

 

The roof space above is accessible so perhaps that woud be the best way to approach it initially and we can remove a lot of dust from ceiling void before starting.

 

Is disposal of the plasterboard a problem?

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Not for us, there is a plaster and plasterboard skip at the local recycling centre, plus when we were building the new house the skip people were fine with plasterboard, as long as we kept it separate in the skip from the other waste (we used a bit of scrap plasterboard to make a barrier in the skip so all the plasterboard waste went in one end).

[Jml]

Will have to look at skip companies,  £4 per sheet at local tip, soon to go up to £12! And they wonder why people fly tip!

Edited November 4, 2017 by Jml

[Gone West]

My daughter used X Tex to remove the worst Artex on the ceilings of their last house before having the house skimmed. Where the Artex wasn't too lumpy they just had it skimmed. I think the plasterer painted SBR on before skimming.

[Jml]

Lot of work to do, if then have to skim and from prices not cheap as my ceilings probably covered many layers paint so will have to put on thickly.   Thinking may be easier just to replace plasterboard.  Will have to work out costs.