DIY.......

[andytk]

Me and my other half are in the process of buying a house.

The house we're hoping to get is a complete disaster inside, it could easily feature on how clean is your house.

Other than the multitude of jobs needing doing, the one that I'm not looking forward to is the removal of the artex ceiling needed to allow us to build a stud wall between the (now) open plan kitchen and the living room.

Does anyone know how you remove artex?? has anyone here done it. The internet reckons you can steam strip it off assuming it hasn't been painted.

Oh, and the house also needs a new bathroom, kitchen and carpets throughout.

And I'm a DIY virgin.

I'm so screwed.

Andy

[anonymous-user]

Be careful if the ceiling is an old one.....some artex ceiling of a certain age may contain asbestos.

I would seek advice firts.

[paulie-mafia]

Is it artex (where the plaster has been skimmed to produce a pattern while wet), or the wallpaper equivalent? If it's the former you're better off getting it re-plastered.

[UncleDave]

paulie-mafia said:

better off getting it re-plastered.

[tvrbob]

The dust could contain asbestos and even if it's asbestos free you still need respiratory protection. If you cut through the surface with a sander and course paper, knocking off the peaks, you will then be able to get it off with steam. If the artex was applied directly to plasterboard without a skim of plaster then you will have a problem getting a clean finish; this was a popular method for new build in the 70's.

[staceyb]

Like everyone has said it depends on the type of artex it is. In the long run I would say your best bet would be to get the ceiling boarded and skimmed over (depending on the height of the ceiling) or just knocking the points off with a wall-paper scraper and then getting it skimmed.

[andytk]

Thanks for all the replies.

We're pretty sure the house is 80s built so we shouldn't have to worry about asbestos.

The artex is very deeply formed so I'm assuming its the plaster type variety and not just fancy wallpaper type.

I should have mentioned that the reason we want shot of the artex is so that a stud wall can be mounted flush with the ceiling. Due to the depth of the ridges the current artex makes this rather difficult.
Plus if remove a little bit of artex just to build the wall then it'll look crap where its been removed.

It looks like popular opinion would be to have the whole lot replastered (over the top of the existing artex?) to make it smooth.

Am I right. Looks like I'll have to get some quotes

Cheers

Andy

[mybrainhurts]

Once tried a spray mould remover on a bit of artex.

When I rubbed it with a cloth (or was it a brush?), the artex came off....!

Try that in a corner and see if it's easily removed.

[staceyb]

andytk said:

Thanks for all the replies. We're pretty sure the house is 80s built so we shouldn't have to worry about asbestos. The artex is very deeply formed so I'm assuming its the plaster type variety and not just fancy wallpaper type. I should have mentioned that the reason we want shot of the artex is so that a stud wall can be mounted flush with the ceiling. Due to the depth of the ridges the current artex makes this rather difficult. Plus if remove a little bit of artex just to build the wall then it'll look crap where its been removed. It looks like popular opinion would be to have the whole lot replastered (over the top of the existing artex?) to make it smooth. Am I right. Looks like I'll have to get some quotes Cheers Andy

Will you be building the studwork yourself? If not get the plasterer to board the ceiling at the same time he build the stud work and then skim over the whole lot, that way you will get a better finish on the ceiling.

[JoolzB]

Pull it down and re plasterboard it, get some featheredge stuff, fill and tape and bobs yer auntie, you can just paint over it. Do it whilst the house is a mess though coz it certainly will be after you start yanking the ceiling down. Well that's what I'd do.

[Parrot of Doom]

Personally I'd seal the room off with plastic sheets and wooden batons. I'd then whack out of the artex ceiling with a hammer and bolster chisel (preferably from the room above if you can get the boards up), bring it all down. Let the dust settle, bag it all up, chuck it on the tip.

A day's work to do that and tidy up.

Then just board the ceiling, get a plasterer to skim it, and jobs a good'un.

[mrmaggit]

Plastering over Artex can be a nightmare. We had a plasterer in to put a skim over the walls in our lounge, waited a couple of weeks, then wallpapered. The entire skin on the longest wall came off in one big sheet. Yes, we did prime the wall with PVA first. In 28 years in the merchanting business I've never seen a failure like it. Ended up priming the wall with Gypbond (not cheap, but bloody good), then re-plastering, then papered three weeks later, no problems.

If you're going to re-board over the existing ceiling, and put a stud wall in, I'd suggest you removed the existing ceiling boarding totally. This will remove the Artex problem, you'll see exactly where the joists are (you'll need to know to attach the stud wall); you'll not lose any height in the room, and it'll be easier too. You're going to have to get a plasterer in to skim the ceiling anyway, but you'll be able to do the boarding and studwork yourself, so that'll save you some money.

Get yourself a couple of board lifters to hold the boards in place while you fix them. This will save a lot on the swearwords, especially if your using 8x4's.

[whirly]

andytk said:

We're pretty sure the house is 80s built so we shouldn't have to worry about asbestos.

Chap at work looked into this, apparently it was in use until the early 90's. If you are concerned, he had some tested by knocking a small piece off, and sending it away for £20. Answer came back by e-mail in two days.