Plaster over artex ceiling

unwashed potato! · 28 Mar 2020 at 00:26

I've got a plasterer coming to do a few rooms plus the ceilings. He said he needed all the wallpaper removed and artex ceilings. Wallpaper has been easy but the artex ceiling is just impossible to do anything noticeable to it. I've asked and he said it really does need to be removed, however I've noticed areas behind the coving in other rooms that were preovusly artex have at some point been plastered fine so not sure what to do.

Can the artex ceiling be plastered over? Is it worth getting plasterboard and putting that over the ceiling to hide the artex, or can the artex be removed some how? Currently being using a large heavy duty scraper for the wallpaper

Mcnumpty2323 · 28 Mar 2020 at 00:29

Depends how it's artexed I think
Ie the pattern depth
Or if it's spikey
Usually a steamer to remove it
Messy unpleasant job
Edit
Though he may be worried it will soak all the water out the plaster and blow or crack

unwashed potato! · 28 Mar 2020 at 00:33

In the hallway it's very shallow bumps almost like water droplets that got stuck and went hard. The bedroom and bathroom is the same style but deeper. I will try with a steamer

Cosmic182 · 28 Mar 2020 at 01:21

Best bet is to knock all high spots off then pva it, tape any cracks etc then skim. Or re board then skim.

Matthew.M · 28 Mar 2020 at 04:56

Apex said:
In the hallway it's very shallow bumps almost like water droplets that got stuck and went hard. The bedroom and bathroom is the same style but deeper. I will try with a steamer

Be careful. Depending on when it was done it could be very likely to contain asbestos.

200sols · 28 Mar 2020 at 07:10

Its easier to just reboard the ceiling rather than removing the artex.

roadie · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:05

I have artex ceilings that contain asbestos in my flat. To allow for flat ceilings the ceilings were re-boarded and plastered.

Minibiker · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:14

Artex can be hit or miss with Asbestos, you could get multiple samples in the same room and both have different readings... Its minimal % of asbestos in Artex.

jpaul · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:16

... if neighbours haved similar houses ask them about the artex type ... but presumably, that concern was part of the reason why the plasterer is not engaged on more prep himself .

233 · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:25

Matthew.M said:
Be careful. Depending on when it was done it could be very likely to contain asbestos.

this, high chance it may be riddled with asbestos, get a professional into sample and test

robj20 · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:27

I either removed the while ceiling and reboard jointed. Or used a sander to flatten it, then used plaster bonding agent, it's like waterproof pva with sand in helps the plaster grip. Then skimmed the ceiling. Easy job to do yourself with a little practice.

hughtrimble · 28 Mar 2020 at 10:34

I got a plasterer in precisely because I was advised against trying to remove the popcorn ceiling. His team applied two coats of P.V.A. sealant, then undercoat plaster and then two coats of plaster finish.

It's been over a year and zero issues.

Maybe get some quotes from other plasterers to see what they suggest? Maybe you do have extra challenging Artex but maybe also you have a plasterer with limited skills?

Nathan · 28 Mar 2020 at 11:38

I have had lots of artex plastered over. No issues. Find a good plasterer is my advice

pingwing · 28 Mar 2020 at 20:30

Knock a few holes in the ceiling and cover it with plaster board, especially if the room is big.

Did that in my living room as its 4x7m and the plasterers really didn't fancy the ova route.

FlamBango · 29 Mar 2020 at 21:23

i had all my bedroom ceilings and hallway / landing plastered over with no problem. They had the stipply type artex, the plasterer just scraped them over to remove the pointy bits then just skimmed it with plaster. worked fine. no need to board it over surely.

Jimbeam3678 · 29 Mar 2020 at 22:37

FlamBango said:
i had all my bedroom ceilings and hallway / landing plastered over with no problem. They had the stipply type artex, the plasterer just scraped them over to remove the pointy bits then just skimmed it with plaster. worked fine. no need to board it over surely.

‘That fine if you know it doesn’t contain asbestos or you fancy taking your chances

plaster I spoke to about it just said he’d pvc it then plaster over it.

Fluke? · 30 Mar 2020 at 19:20

We had ours skimmed over a few months ago. Not 100% happy as there were a couple of tiny gaps but once it was painted I really don't notice. Does look so much better than before and a lot more modern.
Would love to have had the whole place re-skimmed really but just to much dollar. 3 months of sanding, filling, sanding filling later I'm almost done and again, although it's not perfect really does look a lot better.

SpeedFreak · 31 Mar 2020 at 17:49

Nathan said:
I have had lots of artex plastered over. No issues. Find a good plasterer is my advice

Mine too, he "knocked the snots off", PVA coated and did a great job. Sounds like another plasterer is needed.

bigfoot4616 · 1 Apr 2020 at 00:29

i have skimmed over it before but it can be a struggle to cover sometimes even after knocking high spots off, would always recomend overboarding.

JRJ · 1 Apr 2020 at 16:07

Previous house we had all but two ceilings skimmed over the old artex, scraped it as smooth as we could with a floor scraper then PVA'd but blue grit is probably a better option now, looked good but due to water damage two ceilings needed re boarding which were then skimmed and the finish was much much better on the fresh board.