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Artex simply refers to a surface coating that’s commonly incorporated for interior decorating. Although it’s usually found on ceilings but it can also be used on the walls as well. The surface coating enables the professional plasterer or decorator add both texture as well as patterns to it. Originally, the name “Artex is the trademark of a UK based company known as Artex Ltd. Over time, the Artex name has been used to refer to all textured coatings, although there are other businesses that manufacture and sell identical products.

You can find Artex on ceilings as well as walls of mainly residential properties. In the 70’s and 80’s, it was pretty much a trend to have either your wall or ceiling ( can be both ) covered with Artex. The surface coating can be incorporated to create raised, textured swirls as well as patterns on ceiling and walls. There are a number of different patterns that can be made using Artex and some of these includes the following: Broken leather, swirl, stipple, fan or shell as well as knifed plaster. It can also provide just a bobbly raised uneven patter appearance from top to bottom.

Artex is main put to use by mainly decorators ( mostly plasterers). This is a skilled job as it’s tedious to create uninformed patterns especially if you don’t know how or where to start. Although the skill of Artex is very much a trade that’s dying rapidly now, but it was pretty much in high demand especially in the 70’s and 80’s. Nowadays, homeowners now prefer smooth plastered finishes over Artex, as they can be easily painted or wallpapered.

Artex was originally made using white asbestos to make it stronger.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.

Can You Plaster Over Tiles?

Yes, it’s absolutely possible to plaster over tiles but just because is possible doesn’t mean you should. Plastering over tiles is an option but it’s not recommended by experts due to several reasons. A good example is the fact that a tiled environment is in no way a suitable environment that can serve as a good bonding surface for a plaster. For the success of a plastering project, there’s the need for the surface to be able to bond to the PVA base coat. Due to fact that most tiles are slippery in nature and also lack of the ability to be able to absorb moisture, the PVA base coat layer will not be able to bond to the tiled surface, which will ultimately make for a weak surface upon the application of the plaster. Consequently, the plaster will easily flake and fall from the wall.

The inability to drill into the tiled wall surface after plastering is one of the major disadvantages that also arises when you decide to plaster over tiled surfaces. Most tiled surfaces are found in kitchens and bathrooms which are going to need appliances such as sinks, lavatories, kitchen counters and lots more. These appliances are designed to be installed on solid surfaces which would not be an easy task to carry out on tiles knowing there would definitely be great cracks or damages.

The best tip you’ll get if you’re considering to plaster on a tiled surface, is that detaching tiles from a surface can easily be done with a hammer and chisel, and that would save you a host of problems later in the future. However, if you still wish to plaster on your tiled walls, then you best bet would be to get a Blue Grit bonding agent. It works better than PVA and only needs one coat.

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.

The fact is several buildings contain artex as well as other textured coating on walls and ceilings which are all likely to contain asbestos. However, artex itself is not the main threat here but the potentially deadly harmful fibres that’s contained in it. In this post, we’re going to look at whether or not artex truly contains the deadly abestos.

The short and simply answer to this question is yes, artex can definitely contain asbestos, however not all artex will contain asbestos. The main reason asbestos was a popular construction material is because it was not only cheap and strong but also because it was very durable and long lasting. It was used in numerous construction materials ( which includes artex ) before it was finally banned in the year 1999. unfortunately during the time when artex was very popular in the 60’s, 70’s as well as 80’s, asbestos was still very much in use during the period. And as a result, a lot of the artex incorporated during that period will contain the deadly asbestos fibres. However, this does not only apply to artex, but also other textured coatings containing asbestos were incorporated in construction until 1999 when asbestos was formerly banned in the UK. These asbestos containing materials are often used on walls as well as ceilings of residential properties.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to know an asbestos containing artex just by looking at it. In order to determine whether or not an artex contains the deadly asbestos fibres, it’ll have to be sampled and tested in a laboratory. What’s more? While several artex contains asbestos, asbestos free artex was available from the 1970s. However, since it’s impossible to determine using the naked eye, all artex installed before the ban will be assumed to contain asbestos.

If you’re looking to plaster your ceiling, one of the most essential parts of the process is cutting the plasterboard. Once you’re able to master this skill, the rest of the plastering is quite easy. This is a task that can be done by any competent DIYer but with a little bit of patience and confidence. If you lack any of these attributes, we’d strongly recommend you call in a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’re going to take you through the plasterboard ceiling cutting process. Let’s take a look!

To cut plasterboard ceiling, you don’t need any expensive tool which is usually not the case when it comes to carpentry. If you won’t be cutting a lot of plasterboard, all you really need would be just an old handsaw or plasterboard one, a Stanley knife as well as a straight edge. However, if you’ll be cutting lots of plasterboards, you’ll require the following to make your task a lot easier:

✓ An old handsaw

✓ A Stanley knife and many spare blades

✓ A straight edge like a long spirit level

✓ A surform

✓ A battery drill and oh2 screwdriver bits, with specific plasterboard screws.

To cut plasterboard to length, you’ll have to first score a line on the face side of the board with a straight edge and Stanley knife. Once done, simply lift the sheet off the ground and snap it along the score line. Then, you can run your knife down the other side of the board , cutting the back of the plasterboard backing sheet. Upon completion, your plasterboard is now ready to be fitted on your ceiling.

How To Plaster A Ceiling

Generally, plastering is a very tricky and time consuming job which usually require lots of efforts and practice to get right - with that in mind it gets even a lot trickier when it comes to ceiling plastering.

However, when you’re able to acquire the right know-how as well as tools, ceiling plastering can be completed by any confident DIYer enthusiast without the need to call in a professional. However, if you lack the needed confidence to pull off this task, then we’d recommend you get in touch with a trustworthy professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll take you through the ceiling plastering process.

You’ll need the following materials to get started: plaster, mixing bucket and paddle, plasterer’s float, plasterer’s towel, bucket trowel, protective gear, bucket of clean water and wide brush.

✓ Prepare the area. When it comes to plastering a ceiling it’s almost unavoidable to leave a mess around and no matter how you do it, your plaster will drop on the floor. Therefore you have put drop sheets on the floor, cover the furniture and put thing you don’t want to get dirty out of the way.

✓ Prepare the ceiling to be plastered. Sand down the uneven patches on the ceiling. Once done, wash the ceiling with a sponge and warm soapy water while also removing all cobwebs as well. Leave the surface to dry once completed.

✓ Mix the plaster or buy a premix plaster. To mix the plaster, simply use equal parts of plaster and water for mixing the plaster,

✓ Plaster the ceiling. Apply a little quantity of plaster to the edge of your trowel and try to spread it in rows to do the job without much hassle. Ensure that the thickness of the coat is thin and even throughout the application. The rough edge of the trowel should be used for the spreading as it’ll help you create scrapes or scratches in the plaster.

✓ Sand the surface

Can You Plaster Over Artex?

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, you can plaster over Artex. However, you must also note that plastering over Artex may not be the best choice as Artex is porous and as such, you’d have to detach the stripping so as to get a smooth and even coating. In the event whereby your ceilings or walls have Artex on them, you’ll have to smooth the Artex in order to obtain a plaster of solid coat.

✓ Preparing Artex for plastering. First and foremost, you’ll have to detach any bumps before you can plaster over the Artex. Do note that you don’t have to completely remove the Artex, all that’s needed is just enough to get a coat of plaster. Make use of a scraper to get rid of the bumps on various Artex designs like swirl and bark. Once you’re through getting rid of as much bumps as possible, there’s the need to seal the Artex due to the fact that it can absorb the moisture out of the plaster which will cut the time to get a good finish to little or nothing. You can use a PVA and water mix to do the job!

✓ The PVA mix. This is done to seal off the porous Artex in order to stop it from absorbing moisture from your plaster which can make it start to crack and crumble. To do this, simply mix half PVA and half water, then use a brush to paint the mixture over the plastering area. Once done, you can give the plastering surface about two to three coats and wait for the solution to dry off within a hour or two.

Plastering over Artex is not as hard as it seems, but if you lack the confidence to complete the task, simply contact a professional for help.