Plaster overskimming: Instead of using plasterboard it may be possible to simply seal with PVA and plaster over the old Artex. Regular DIY Doctor reader, Steve, made a great point. Having been a fully qualified asbestos surveyor and been responsible for the asbestos management at one of the largest housing associations in the UK we feel he was offering excellent advice with real hands on experience.

Around 30 per cent of Brits said they hated the feature, which could be partly due to the fact it is extremely difficult to remove. Repeat this process for the remaining artex, carefully working your way across any surfaces until it’s all removed. As with using a steamer, stripping artex using X-Tex or another product is a messy job so remove anything in the room that’s not bolted down and anything else, including carpets and floors need to be covered with plastic dust sheets. It’s suggested that you sand down the Artex decoration first, and then plaster it. But really, whichever you choose, it’s not going to be something that you get finished in a day or two.Most artex® will have been painted over the years with various coats of emulsions and this does need to be removed before you start removing the artex®. The most difficult of these coatings is vinyl silk which contains plastic polymers which when softened by any type of paint remover it can turn it into a gooey mess! Vinyl silk is hard to penetrate with any type of paint remover, so the first recommendation is to lightly score the surface with a blade to let the Eco Solutions X-Tex penetrate the paint and lift it from underneath. You do not want to score too deeply as you do not want to disturb the Artex ® underneath. You can also apply X-Tex prior to scoring the surface which will prevent any dust from becoming airborne if you score below the surface. As we’re working on the ceiling, a ladder is needed to access the artex comfortably and safely. It’s up to you where you start to but generally it’s best to start in a corner and work your way across the room. The danger of removing Artex by yourself is that you do not know whether or not the Artex in your home contains asbestos. Any dust created by the removal process would allow asbestos particles to break free of the structure. Using a Wallpaper Steamer: This is a fairly cheap and effective way of removing artex from a ceiling, but it’s extremely messy and if you leave the steamer in one place for too long it can damage the surface beneath the artex. Do not use if asbestos is present

Whether working on a wall or ceiling, it’s up to you where you start, but to work methodically, it’s best to start in a corner and work out from there, so position your ladder as such. Plastering: This is a very effective way of dealing with artex and a route that is taken by many. Rather than remove the artex it’s simply plastered over and covered up. A good solution if asbestos is found in your artex. However, it can be rather expensive and involve quite a lot of disruption as you need to get plasterers in to do it Artex can also be plastered over. Before plastering, any loose artex should be scraped off and any high spots or stipples sanded down. Before doing this it is important to ensure that the artex does NOT contain asbestos. Hire a plasterer to cover over the artex instead of removing it – they’ll most likely need to apply a coat of bonding or hardwall and then give the wall or ceiling a skim coat Use a Stud Detector: Buy or borrow a stud detector and run it over the surface of the wall or ceiling in several places and mark both edges of each joist. Once marked join all the lines up so that you can clearly see where each joist is across the width of the room. This is probably the easiest methodBoarding over: In this procedure, the original Artex ceiling is covered with plasterboard. The surface is subsequently plastered with a number of layers to make it level.

It is impossible to get plaster smooth on its first application to the ceiling. Do not attempt to do this. Get an area covered uniformly and wait until it starts to get firm. Then it can be smoothedOnce confirmed that the artex® does not contain asbestos fibres and it can be removed safely with no risk there are a number of different ways that artex ceiling removal can be done. Firstly it can be “steamed” off using a wallpaper steamer. This can be very messy and is also a very slow process. It cannot be done at speed or with the steam plate left in one area for too long…if it is, there is a possibility of damaging the ceiling or wall behind it and also the risk that the artex® will liquefy and run everywhere.

But home sustainability doesn’t mean solar panels, wind farms and going off-grid, it can be as simple as ensuring your home is energy efficient.If you mean just plasterboard without plaster on it then yes it has been used many times in this instance. Care does have to be taken though when you get down to that surface not to be over-aggressive as you can damage the paper surface. Customer Question: Durostrip has been designed for removing textured coatings which were popular through the 80’s. Since it forms a gel with the artex, it is safe to use as it doesn’t create harmful dust from asbestos. Plastering White asbestos is the most common form of asbestos around. It’s also called “Chrysotile”. This soft, fibrous silicate mineral is typically white to grey-green in colour and has been classified as a human carcinogen. That means that it is a material that can promote the growth of cancer. Textured wall and ceiling coverings are no longer an interior design trend and will make a home look dated even if it is freshly painted. Most people now like smooth plastered walls and ceilings or wallpaper. If you are selling your house and you have textured coatings then you should seriously think about removing them and giving it a fresh coat of paint before you put it on the market. Removal is made easier with a long-handled blade scraper which helps to lift it from the surface rather than spreading it around the wall, which usually happens when using a standard steel scraper.