Advice on Decorating

timmymeuk1 · 27 Dec 2015 at 15:43

I bought a house last year and have managed to decorate 2 of the rooms easy enough but ive come to the last bedroom.

The trouble with the last room is all the rooms are uneven to hell! even the ceiling is bobbly. artex or what ever you want to call it.

What have you done?
any advice?

Midlife Crisis · 27 Dec 2015 at 15:58

That artex may contain asbestos so careful if you sand it down.

timmymeuk1 · 27 Dec 2015 at 16:05

Whole house is full of the stuff! whos bright idea was that?? I thought about sanding but it might take weeks to sand a room

Minstadave · 27 Dec 2015 at 16:13

When was it built? We had all ours skimmed over, looks so much better.

Hyburnate · 27 Dec 2015 at 16:13

Plaster over the ceiling. By the way the asbestos content in artex is very low

timmymeuk1 · 27 Dec 2015 at 17:05

can I just skim right over the top of it? or do I have to prepare it before hand?

was built in 50s i think.

Minstadave · 27 Dec 2015 at 17:18

timmymeuk1 said:
can I just skim right over the top of it? or do I have to prepare it before hand?

was built in 50s i think.

I'm pretty sure our plasterer took off any loose bits, glued and skimmed.

If your house was built in the 50s though it's possible it's artex so I wouldn't sand it. Skim it or board over it then skim.

topgun06 · 28 Dec 2015 at 01:13

Get it skimmed over. Just had ours done. Much much better!

PaDE · 28 Dec 2015 at 09:14

Same here, moved in two months ago and every room had it (even the under stairs cupboard)

To crack on with the redecorating we had 6 rooms skimmed over. To prep you will need to drop your lights.

The plasterers knocked off the high points, bonded the ceilings and skimmed over.

If you get this done remember to mist coat your first layer or two of paint (50% water mixed with 50% white emulsion)

Our rooms have come up really nice, just the others to do now!

timmymeuk1 · 28 Dec 2015 at 11:36

So next question haha, is is feasible for me to do the skimming? I have no plastering experience.

Minstadave · 28 Dec 2015 at 11:54

timmymeuk1 said:
So next question haha, is is feasible for me to do the skimming? I have no plastering experience.

Personally it's not something I'd want to take on.

topgun06 · 28 Dec 2015 at 21:26

Nope. Get someone else to do it.

I'm all for trying to do things myself before getting someone in. But my small at attempt at plastering, even with the help of the inter webs, was atrocious.

boxman2000 · 29 Dec 2015 at 10:14

timmymeuk1 said:
So next question haha, is is feasible for me to do the skimming? I have no plastering experience.

Walls are one thing, ceilings a totally separate skill according to a friend of mine who does this professionally. I echo the advice above, get it skimmed.

Are you looking to put down lights in these rooms while your doing the work?

jellybeard999 · 29 Dec 2015 at 10:54

timmymeuk1 said:
So next question haha, is is feasible for me to do the skimming? I have no plastering experience.

It's one of those jobs where a professional can do it so quickly and relatively cheaply, it's not worth trying yourself. I struggle to polyfiller neatly lol, so I'd not even bother. Get someone in to do it.

If you are going to have a go however, the materials are cheap enough, so if you're on a real budget, give a wall ago. Not sure i'd want to try a ceiling however :eek:

B&Q do free (or very cheap) courses occasionally and you can do classes at college if you really want to get stuck in.

Deathjester · 29 Dec 2015 at 11:55

I'd get someone in to do it.

Although you can prep and PVA the ceiling yourself to save the plasterer some time, especially if you want more doing in a day.

billybob89 · 30 Dec 2015 at 19:37

If your trying to save money by doing it yourself I would over board the ceiling and tape and joint it. Not the best way of doing things but will be cheaper then someone skimming it for you. On the plus side you will have increased sound and heat insulation. Like others have said the artex could contain asbestos so if you must disturb it soak the area with water and wear a pf3 mask and disposable overalls.