Getting rid of Artex

[nietzsche]

What is the best way to get rid of Artex. We have quite thick stuff to get rid of - its all over the walls as well as the ceiling. Has anyone encountered any asbestos problems?

[blue toon]

work for local council and for past 2years they have used an asbestos registerd company to remove artex.we have a health and safety officer who goes and takes a sample to be anaylised if neg we do it , if pos asbestos contractor does it we,normally pull whole ceiling down and reboard as for the walls we knock of any lumps seal and skim walls

[hammerman]

Use a steamer....like the ones for wallpaper stripping. Score the artex first with a scraper which will allow the steam to get in and then it should come off easily

[steve2010]

using a steamer,makes a hell of a mess,best way is to re skim with plaster.

[bookermel]

Probably best to nuke the whole site from orbit!!

As blue toon says some of the early artex contained a small amount of asbestos so best not to dry sand and be aware when drilling through! Might be a good thing to get it tested if ceiling is pre 90's. I have had success with some ceilings using the hammerman method worked a bit like stripping wallpaper. However some artex is stuck so fast it is both time consuming and very hard work. Test an area and if it is on tight get it skimmed as steve says it really is the best way.

[pompei595]

Agreed! Earlier applications of this stuff used small amounts of asbestos as a bonding agent, so do not disturb it! Definitely no sanding! SKim over it.