Can I plaster over artex in a bathroom?

[Disposablearts]

First post here, looking for some advice since my ceiling looks a shambles right now.

I'm redoing my bathroom, new everything and we've had artex in our bathroom for over ten years, but it has started to peel off in some areas and if you peeled it all away it would as smooth as you can get without sanding it.

My question is can I just tear off any loose pieces and just plaster straight over it? It would save me time since I'd have to scrape all of it off, even with a steamer it has been tough and now looks a mess.

Advice appreciated.

 

[ladylola]

Probably would be quicker to overboard and would be a better job too as it's unlikely all the artex will come off so easy. Also consider that some artex was made with asbestos fibres in it so another reason not to disturb it.

 

[Stoday]

In 5 years time a bit of the artex that looks OK now might start to peel off under your new plaster.

Overboard it.

 

[Richard C]

I used to remove Artex prior to re-skimming but now plaster over; this can be successfully done with the correct preparation & providing you know what your doing but it must be in sound condition & well adhered to the original ceiling or it will fail. Older Artex may contain asbestos but it’s a very small amount, is not classed as high risk & can be removed without a license. You can remove it with a steamer providing you take precautions like wearing a mask & bagging it up for disposal but over zealous use of a steamer can overheat any existing skim under the Artex causing it pop so don’t leave it in one place too long; do not under any circumstances use a sander.

You could completely remove/replace the ceiling or over boarding is also an option; use 12mm square edge & stagger the boards, tape & skim.

 

[YorkshireMidge]

Agree with the skimming. Had the stuff all over our house and now down to just a couple of rooms with it.

I only tried to remove it on one small ceiling (the en-suite) and it turned out to be really time consuming and messy. I used a removing gel (X-Tex) which kinda did what it said and softened it, but it was a horrible job scraping the goo off - and I ended up having to paper it with lining paper to get a good finish afterwards.

 

[RigidRaider]

Pull the ceiling down, re-board and skim and take the opportunity to put in some nice bright halogens, which will make the chrome sparkle and the water shimmer.

.....or will make you so ashamed of your bathroom that you decide to refit completely!

 

[peterperfection]

Pull the ceiling down, re-board and skim and take the opportunity to put in some nice bright halogens, which will make the chrome sparkle and the water shimmer.

.....or will make you so ashamed of your bathroom that you decide to refit completely!

I scraped off the drippy big bits of artex (in bathroom) --pva to ceiling and skimmed . That was 4 years ago . All ok.

Regarding asbestos in artex- you must be careful. Few months ago I went to funeral of a artexer who used the asbestos based artex .
At the crematoruium- they had to pop him in the oven 3 times before he was despatched !!

 

[maltaron]

Removing Artex is simple. Coat the wall thickly with wallpaper paste. stick thin polythene on (dustbin bags opened up),use a wallpaper brush to clear any air bubbles and leave overnight. Next day remove the polythene and scrape the Artex off like wallpaper. (With apologies to the person who posted this method about a year ago)

 

[peterperfection]

Removing Artex is simple. Coat the wall thickly with wallpaper paste. stick thin polythene on (dustbin bags opened up),use a wallpaper brush to clear any air bubbles and leave overnight. Next day remove the polythene and scrape the Artex off like wallpaper. (With apologies to the person who posted this method about a year ago)

Thats such a lot of hard work and time- and absolutely no need for it . -
PVA IT- AND SKIM.

 

[bradleigh1977]

Removing Artex is simple. Coat the wall thickly with wallpaper paste. stick thin polythene on (dustbin bags opened up),use a wallpaper brush to clear any air bubbles and leave overnight. Next day remove the polythene and scrape the Artex off like wallpaper. (With apologies to the person who posted this method about a year ago)

Thats such a lot of hard work and time- and absolutely no need for it . -
PVA IT- AND SKIM.

Too right.

Give it a quick scrape with a proper scraper, just to get the big pointy bits off, pva, then skim it.

When i first started plastering 75% was artexing. now 75% is covering up old artex.

 

[maltaron]

Its OK to skim over to save time - but who is going to remove architraves and skirting, fix packing pieces to the door frames, and refix said architraves and skirting and possibly rehang doors to suit the thickened walls.

 

[Richard C]

who is going to remove architraves and skirting, fix packing pieces to the door frames, and refix said architraves and skirting and possibly rehang doors to suit the thickened walls.

looking for some advice since my ceiling looks a shambles right now.

 

[newbDIYDude]

My place is covered in artex,looks horrid and is in dire need of scraping off,after reading the advice here though i think i will overboard it and make it look prettier