Artex Removal

Have an outdated artex ceiling you would like removed?

If your artex was applied before the year 2000, there is the potential for it to contain asbestos. There is no way of being able to visually tell whether or not your artex ceiling contains asbestos therefore prior to any plastering works that involve drilling or disturbing the artex ceiling in any way, we would ask that it is tested. This can be easily done through asbestos self testing kits that can be purchased through Amazon.

Now on to the options for getting your dated artex ceiling back to a smooth ceiling ready to paint.

1) If the surface of the artex is sound and intact without major cracks, it can typically be skimmed over. Skimming over artex is something we are called to do on a regular basis across Moray and Aberdeenshire. This is the quickest way of getting your artex ceiling flat and ready to paint and will typically take just one working day to do. While this work cannot be guaranteed due to the substrate of the artex ceiling being unknown, it is rare for there to be issues.

2) Overboarding of an artex ceiling is the second option. This typically involves either plasterboarding directly over the existing ceiling or battening the ceiling, screwing into the joist centres, followed by screwing up plasterboard and then finished off by plastering the fresh ceiling. Using this approach the work can be guaranteed as the new ceiling is firmly secured to the joists and not just the layer of artex which could potentially have questionable adherence and strength. Due to the increased labour, time and materials involved, this is a more expensive option than skimming over. A marginal amount of ceiling height will be lost, between 2 to 5cm.

See below for some of our examples of artex ceilings that we have skimmed over and also battened and overboarded. If you are looking for an artex ceiling to be skimmed or overboarded in Moray/ Aberdeenshire, get in touch!