Artex on the Walls

[Cocoa]

Hello everyone!

This is my very first PPUK post which is exciting... I have been reading all the topics for a couple of months as the purchase of my new (old) house goes through and I feel a lot more educated about old buildings!

It's a 1800's stone house with Artex plastered all over the walls downstairs, and I am trying to establish how much of a problem this is. All I can find on the net seems to be from the perspective of newer houses with DPM &etc, and the advice there is to leave it in site and just skim over it. I know that lime plaster would be ideal, but removal could be expensive / require specialist contractors because of the risk of (low) asbestos content. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is Artex impermeable & therefore damp causing?

Thank you!

 

[LadyArowana]

I shall follow the time honoured tradition of PPUK, which is to bid you welcome, tell you I have no idea what the answer is but give assurance that someone knowledgeable will be along shortly and politely request some pictures ( of the house ) :lol:

 

[Penners]

Welcome Cocoa.

There's no doubt that removing your acres of Artex is likely to be a messy and/or expensive job. You can get the stuff off yourself, either with a proprietory remover (I think there's one called X-tex) or with a steamer, and a lot of mucky work. But, as you have sensibly observed, there is a risk of asbestos in some Artex. As I understand it, earlier Artex finishes did have an asbestos content, but this was later removed (but that's just what I've heard).

I suppose the fundamental decision you have to make is - how important is it to remove the stuff? Is it causing the building any problems? If not, then you may ultimately find that the most practical solution is to knock off the ridges/high points with a scraper and skim over the bloody stuff.

I appreciate that this is a somewhat pragmatic solution, and not ideal, but in the end it comes down to your budget and your preparedness to deal with a lot of mess.

 

[Flyfisher]

Just a point about the asbestos risk. There are many labs that will test for asbestos content ( a quick search suggests around £50). Might be useful if you're planning to use contractors and they quote an inflated price because of the possible risk (though I'd expect an reputable contractor to test it for themselves anyway).

None of which will help reduce the messiness of removing the artex, but it might help to ensure you don't pay for licenced asbestos removal/disposal if it's not actually necessary.

 

[MatthewC]

Hi Cocoa

Welcome again. You'll love it here, but please excuse the thread diversions, the puns and the frequent mention of Kit Kats...

the advice there is to leave it in site and just skim over it. I know that lime plaster would be ideal

Lime would indeed be an ideal finish, but there's no point in skimming Artex with lime as the Artex itself can't be classed as breathable. As I recall from bitter experience, if it is subject to prolonged dampness (like a leaking pipe in the loft!), it can just fall off.

Can we have some pictures please? (I'd forgotten but the Lady mentioned it!)

Matthew

 

[Carol]

We had a wall slathered in the stuff and it was one of my first target jobs when we moved in 15 years ago, in my ignorance I chose to steam it off with a stripper and did. Not sure if that would be a recommended option with current asbestos knowledge but it was a quick and relatively easy job and less messy than anticipated. Wall beneath was lovely old lime with hairline cracks which I then filled and redecorated.

Welcome to the forum, we would love to see some pictures ......not sure if anyone else has mentioned that!

 

[Cocoa]

Matthew, frequent diversions (and mentions of KitKats) eagerly anticipated! :lol:

Thank you all for the advice - no pictures available as yet as I have not yet completed! My main concern was around whether Artex was breathable or not. All the advice on the net seems to be around skim/overplaster/forget it about it (in which case, no problem) , but the survey did pick up a bit of damp, and I felt that this was probably a contributor. So... I may have to take Flyfisher's advice and get the asbestos test done!

Carol, what a find! Fingers crossed I'm that lucky... I'll keep you all posted (with pictures!)

 

[Keith Bowman]

We had a wall slathered in the stuff and it was one of my first target jobs when we moved in 15 years ago, in my ignorance I chose to steam it off with a stripper and did. Not sure if that would be a recommended option with current asbestos knowledge but it was a quick and relatively easy job and less messy than anticipated. Wall beneath was lovely old lime with hairline cracks which I then filled and redecorated.

Welcome to the forum, we would love to see some pictures ......not sure if anyone else has mentioned that!

My understanding is that the important thing when dealing with asbestos is to keep it wet. Using a steamer to strip it off should have kept it quite wet enough!

 

[Penners]

please excuse the thread diversions, the puns and the frequent mention of Kit Kats...

Ooh - talking of Kit-Kats, just look at the time! It's definitely time to give the back a rest and take my daily medicinal Kit-Kat.

 

[dalivar]

Hello and welcome to Cocoa!
this is very interesting post! I have the very same problem on my stairwell. Carol, what happens to steamed artex? Does it turn soggy or spongy and does it need much steaming to get it moving? We also have many layers of gloss paint on the wall in the same area, this is lifting away and I'm trying so hard not to pick at it 'til we're ready to start another task on the list!

 

[Carol]

Carol, what happens to steamed artex? Does it turn soggy or spongy and does it need much steaming to get it moving?

Our steamed Artex became the consistency of royal icing and was simple to scrape off after a good steaming. I don't think it had been painted with too many layers of paint but applied to cover up the cracks before a house sale!

I have another few square metres elsewhere which have been gypsum plastered over (I know!!) and that won't come off with steaming, I've tried.

 

[dalivar]

Hi Carol, thats hopeful then. Except ours has probably been there for 20? years, maybe its tougher for being there longer? I don't think the artex itself has been painted which is good but I want it gone because otherwise it will get plastered over, which is not helpful in the long term. What I'm coming to realise, is that on the whole, walls in an old house that are covered in artex, gypsum or textured paper need hiding for some reason!

 

[angrybird]

One of my bedroom walls was artex over gypsum plasterboard,it had obvious signs of damp, so rather than remove the artex I just removed the plasterboard.Maybe a little more expensive than just stripping the artex but i'm glad I did it .
Vile stuff ! :evil:

 

[robgil]

Just a note guys ,speaking from experience of working for quite a few contractors, no matter how reputable a contractor might be quite a few are still ignorant to the dangers of asbestos, a lot of those that are not quite simply dont care and usually get a labourer to do this type of job anyway.
I have been working on quite a few jobs where contractors simply dont care, my last boss on one occasion decided to drill through asbestos roofing sheeting with no warning while muggings here stood underneath in the room below, I scarpered and had words but it simply bounced off him like water off a ducks back.

The same employer told me the barn we were working on had a lot of cement sheeting and guttering however none of it was asbestos, he said that he had people looking at it and it was quite safe.
Half way through the job I found a sticker on the guttering we were removing that clearly stated to be cautious as it contained asbestos!