Written price after a look at the job
Artex Removal
Artex Removal in London
Swirled and stippled ceilings made flat again, without filling the house with dust.
Dust sheeted, swept and cleared down daily
One person on site, start to finish
Work planned around parking and access
Artex went on to almost every ceiling in the country between the 1960s and the 1980s, and most of what is left is now under several coats of emulsion. It can be made flat again, and there are two ways of doing it depending on how deep the texture is.
Nothing is ever scraped dry. Artex of that age can contain asbestos in the mix, and the dry dust is the problem rather than the material sitting on the ceiling. Where there is any doubt about age, it gets tested before anything is disturbed.
Sealing and skimming, where it will take it
A flat or lightly textured artex can be sealed with a bonding coat and skimmed straight over in two passes. It is the quicker route, it keeps the ceiling height, and it works on the majority of 1970s stipple.
The limit is the depth of the texture. A thin finish coat laid over a deep swirl follows the swirl rather than hiding it, so the peaks get knocked back first or the ceiling gets boarded instead.
Overboarding, where the texture is too deep
Where the pattern has real peaks, new board goes up through to the joists and the skim goes on that. It gives a genuinely flat ceiling and it leaves whatever is above it completely undisturbed, which matters if the age is uncertain.
The board is screwed to the joists rather than to the old ceiling, because fixing new board to a surface that is already failing gets you two failing ceilings.
Cornice, roses and what gets kept
Where a room has cornice or a ceiling rose worth keeping, overboarding runs up to it rather than through it, so the original detail stays proud and the new surface dies into it.
It costs a little more time in the setting out and it is the difference between a period room that still reads as one and a flat ceiling with a strip of cornice stranded behind it.
When to get it looked at
- Swirled or stippled ceilings you want flat
- Texture that shows through no matter how much you paint it
- A ceiling that has been artexed over an older crack
- Rooms where the cornice is worth keeping
- Ceilings of uncertain age that should not be disturbed dry
Artex Removal on site
Photographs of finished work go here. Until they do, each frame is labelled with what belongs in it rather than filled with a picture of somebody else's job.
Artex Removal across London
Central and South West London
ChelseaKensingtonFulhamBatterseaClaphamWandsworthHammersmithPutneyPimlicoWestminsterBalhamTootingEarlsfieldSouthfieldsBarnesRichmondTwickenhamChiswickActonEalingShepherd's BushNotting HillHolland ParkBayswaterPaddingtonMaryleboneBelgraviaKnightsbridgeBrixtonStreathamDulwichCamberwellKenningtonVauxhallNine ElmsStockwell
Artex Removal: frequently asked questions
Can you skim straight over artex?
Often, yes. A flat or lightly textured artex is sealed and skimmed in two passes. A deep swirl needs knocking back or overboarding first, because a thin finish coat laid over a deep texture follows it rather than covering it.
Is artex dangerous?
Artex made before the mid 1980s can contain a small amount of asbestos in the mix. Left alone or covered it is not a risk. Sanding or scraping it dry is, which is why that is never done. Where the age is uncertain it gets tested first.
Will I lose ceiling height?
Sealing and skimming costs you about three millimetres, which nobody notices. Overboarding costs the thickness of the board plus the skim, usually around fifteen millimetres. In a room with low ceilings that is worth weighing up.
How long does a ceiling take?
A single room sealed and skimmed is usually a day. Overboarding the same room takes longer because the boarding and the skimming are separate stages and the board has to go up before any finish can.
Can you keep the cornice?
Yes. Overboarding runs up to the cornice rather than through it, so the original stays proud and the new ceiling dies into it. Say before the start if a ceiling rose is staying too.
How much mess is there?
Less than people expect, because nothing is scraped dry. Floors are sheeted before anything starts and the room is swept and cleared at the end of each day.
Do I need to empty the room?
A clear room is faster and cheaper. Anything staying gets moved to the middle and sheeted, but a room emptied first is one nobody is working around.
How long before I can paint it?
Four to seven days in normal conditions. Wait for the colour to go an even pale shade across the whole ceiling, then mist coat first.
Other work
Plastering
Backing coat and finish on walls taken back to brick, or fresh board skimmed flat and ready for paint.
Read moreSkimming
A finish coat over walls and ceilings that are sound, flattening out years of patching and filler.
Read moreRendering
Rear elevations, side returns and extensions rendered in a reinforced system, with the top coat chosen to suit the wall.
Read moreArtex Removal in London
Call Frank or send the job details and he will come and look.
Get in touch
Tell Frank what the walls are doing and he will come and look at them. The visit is free and the price comes after it, in writing.
- Phone07788 866598
- WhatsAppMessage 07788 866598
- CoveringCentral and South West London