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If your artex ceiling is looking tired or you just fancy a change, you can try plastering over your artex. You have two options when it comes to plastering over your artex: plasterboard or skimming.

Covering your ceiling with plasterboard is a good option if you suspect the artex may contain asbestos. If done carefully, it doesn’t involve disturbing the artex, reducing the risk of asbestos exposure.

You also have the option to skim over your ceiling. The first steps to this involve removing loose and flaking parts, cutting off stipples and sanding your ceiling down. So, if there’s a chance your artex ceiling may contain asbestos, this isn’t the right solution for you. However, if you’re sure there’s no asbestos in your ceiling, then sanding down and skimming over your ceiling can be a great way to create an attractive result.

It’s worth noting that both putting up plasterboard and skimming plaster can be difficult jobs. Although possible to DIY, you’re likely to get much better results if you hire a professional.

How Much Does Plastering Cost?

If your existing interior or exterior plaster is starting to show signs of needing to be refreshed or the painting never seems to last, then it’s probably time to have your plaster renewed to breathe in a new lease of life to your decorating efforts.

So if you’re giving wall plastering a thought, there’s a need to have a rough estimate of the cost a professional is likely to charge so you can set a budget and start planning. However a direct answer can not be provided for this question as there are so many factors that a professional will put into considering before coming up with a quote that’s unique to your specific requirements.

A lot of plasterers will come up with a quote for the job using the number of square metres of wall space that’s going to be covered. This is due to the number of plasterboards as well as the other materials that the plasterer will need to purchase, how long the work will take and also the labour that’ll be involved in completing the project.

Another popular influencing factor that several plasterers use is the size of the room to be plastered. This is the main reason why you’re more likely to find the prices in small, medium as well as large rooms. Therefore, in order to have a more accurate estimate of the cost of your plastering project, you’d have to call in a qualified professional to have a look at the job at hand. Generally, to re-plaster a small room will cost within the range of £350 to £550, a medium room will cost within the range of £400 to £600 and a large room, between £550 to £700.

There are several different kinds of plastering. ‘Dot and dab’ refers to a base layer of plasterboard which is attached to a wall using ‘dabs’ of adhesive. ‘Floating’ is a technique where a backing or undercoat plaster is applied to walls. ‘Skimming’ or ‘reskimming’ refers to the very thin final decorative layer of plaster.

Artex was originally made using white asbestos to make it stronger. However, this stopped in the mid-1980s, and the use of asbestos was banned in the UK in 1999, due to its extreme health risks. So, any artex you buy today won’t contain asbestos.

If you have an artex ceiling or wall that was created before 1999, it may have asbestos in it. This won’t be a health hazard if you leave it undisturbed, so it’s not necessary to remove it. However, if you want to get rid of or alter your artex ceiling or wall, you must get it tested to check if it has asbestos in or not first. If it does, you’ll need to hire a qualified professional to work on it.

How Much Do Plasterer’s Charge?

If you’re look to plaster your walls, one of the first things that’ll come to mind is the cost to complete the project so you can set a budget and start planning as soon as possible. However, the amount charged by plasterer, just like other tradesmen, is based on a number of factors. These factors include how urgent the project is, how long it’ll take as well as what materials are needed. Some of the other influencing factors of plastering jobs include the accessibility of the location, the size of the wall to be plastered and also the current condition of the old plaster. Therefore, you can expect a plaster work of multiple rooms with deteriorating old plaster to be more expensive than a simple refresh of a single wall in a relatively good condition.

It’s likely you’d also get the average cost per room reduce when you require the plastering of several rooms. As a result, to get a final price for your plastering work, you’ll have to call in a qualified and experienced tradesman who’ll consider all the unique requirements of your project and provide a suitable quote.

✓ Medium sized room plastering. A medium sized room would be a room that’s roughly between 3.5m by 5m or one that can comfortable accommodate up to 8 individuals. This will cost within the range of £520 to £870.

✓ Small sized room plastering. Small room such as small kitchens, box bedrooms, utility rooms and the likes will require less plaster but more intricacy with the plasterer having to work in tight spaces. This will cost within the range of £215 to £370.

Artex is a type of interior surface coating, similar to plaster. It’s used to create decorative textured finishes on ceilings and walls, so it takes longer to dry than plaster.

Artex is actually a brand name, but it’s used to refer to similar products made by other manufacturers too. It was particularly popular in the 1970s, but is still used to create attractive wall and ceiling finishes today.

Artexing a ceiling can be a tricky job, but whether you’re considering hiring a professional or DIY, it’s helpful to know how it’s done.

Artex is available either in a paste or powder form. The paste is ideal if you’re making small repairs or additions to an existing ceiling. But, if you have a whole ceiling to cover, the powder is more cost effective. When you’re ready to get started, you’ll need to mix the powder up with cold water according to the instructions.

It’s possible to artex over plaster, plasterboard or paint. If you have a plasterboard surface, you should tape and fill any joints or cracks before you begin. Plaster and plasterboard both require a coat of sealant or primer first. You can usually artex straight over paint, but any gloss paint should be sanded down, and any dark paints covered with a layer of white.

Artexing can get quite messy, so make sure you empty the room you’re working in as much as possible, lay down sheets and wear protective clothing and glasses. You might want to practice on a piece of board before you start on the ceiling.

Start by using a brush or roller to cover a 500 square cm area with a generous layer of artex. Then use a brush, comb or roller to create your chosen texture. Every time you do a new section of ceiling, try to blend it with the other sections you’ve done. Don’t be tempted to cover the whole ceiling before you start adding texture – the artex will dry too quickly for you to do it all in time.

Artex usually needs 12-24 hours in a well-ventilated space to dry completely.

Artex is a water based decorative surface coating is typically incorporated on both walls and ceilings so as to apply a pattern. During the peak of its popularity in the 1970’s, it was considered the height of fashion when it comes to interior wall designs however its major drawback remains the fact that it usually contains asbestos especially if it was manufactured before the laws governing the use of asbestos was changed in the year 2000. And asbestos, as we know it, can be deadly when disturbed and its fibres are inhaled.

If you have artex installed in your purchased property and you do not know when the artex walls were done, or perhaps you just want to change the aesthetic design of your home into something more modern and to your personal taste, then you may want to remove the existing artex from your property for good. If this is your wish then you’ve come to the right place.

To remove artex from your walls you can choose to do so using the steaming method or through the use of an external product.

Using the steaming method, you should know that it’ll be more labour intensive and time consuming. You need a lot of patience moving your steamer slow and steady because if left on a spot for too long can damage the wall behind the coating. Once the artex has been dampened with the steamer, you can then scrape them off with a handheld scraper.

A faster solution would be to use an external product to remove your artex.  For example, you can use X-Tex which is a water-based coating remover. All you need to do is paint the substance over your artex wall and leave to dry for about 30 to 60 minutes before peeling away the artex.