When did Artex first become popular

A. Artex had its hey-days in the 1970's when the spiky or swirling effects you can get with it where actually high fashion. Nowadays the sight of an artexed ceiling is enough to make our more sensitive makeover gurus put their head in their hands.

A. Artex isn't just an outmoded form of decorative plaster, it is actually rather practical even if ugly to the contemporary eye. Artex is very tough and is often used to disguise cracked or uneven surfaces, explaining how often it is found in unmodernised older properties. It is also still frequently found in newly built properties, as it doesn't have a tendency to crack like standard plaster as the building settles.

A. No, the existence of the www.artexing.co.uk website, which can help you find an artexing specialist (also known as a texturer or artexer) in every part of the country, seems to suggest there is still demand out there.

There are even moves afoot, inevitably perhaps given the current craze for all thing interior, to give the much maligned Artex a popularity makeover of its own. There are designers who have ditched the traditional mini-stalactites and circular whirls and are using the texture to suggest leaves and foliage or superimpose chic geometrical shapes in contemporary apartment-style settings.

There is even a product now on the market called Creative Removable Texture, that comes with a range of design ideas included. Its major selling point is that if you don't like what you've done you can simply wet the area and in ten minutes it claims you can simply scrape it off like wallpaper, a far cry from the legacy of the '70s.

A. Generally speaking yes. Some people try sanding it down but it is incredibly time consuming because the stuff is so tough, is virtually impossible to get down to a smooth finish and will soon cover the whole house in a film of dust if you don't take precautions. There are sanders that you can hire which suck all the dust straight into the bag for you, but generally speaking sanding is not the answer.

If you are lucky and nobody has painted over the original surface it is often possible to loosen it with a wallpaper steamer and scrape it off, but if it has been painted you will need to scour it first to let the moisture in.

A. The simplest thing to do is pay a plasterer to come in and skim over the artex to leave a smooth surface, a process known as caulking.

However, if you are intent on doing it yourself or money is tight there are now a number of products around which you apply with a trowel or a roller which are meant to do the same job. Remember you are unlikely to get a perfect finish and will probably need to sand down to get the surface smooth.

If you've got a question about your home or garden, click here.