The Artex Challenge: Plastering Ceilings in North London Homes

If you own a property in North or East London built between the 1960s and 1990s, chances are you have encountered Artex—that distinctive, textured coating on ceilings and sometimes walls.

While homeowners want a smooth, modern finish, Artex presents unique challenges that must be addressed before any plastering can begin.

 

1. The Critical Safety Concern: Asbestos

This is the biggest hurdle when dealing with any textured coating from a certain era.

  • The Risk: Artex manufactured and applied up until 1999 often contained a small percentage (typically 1–4%) of white asbestos (Chrysotile) to enhance its strength and fire resistance.

     

  • The Rule: If the Artex remains undisturbed and sealed, the risk is negligible. However, any disturbance—such as scraping, sanding, or drilling—can release dangerous fibres into the air.

     

  • Our Protocol: We must assume any older Artex ceiling contains asbestos until proven otherwise. We strongly advise professional asbestos testing if the surface needs to be aggressively scraped or removed. The safest, most common method is encapsulation (covering it), which is why professional skimming is so popular.

2. Adhesion and Structural Concerns

The plastering challenge isn’t just about covering the texture; it’s about ensuring the new surface stays put for decades.

  • Heavy Weight: Applying new plaster adds significant weight to the existing ceiling. If the Artex itself is not firmly bonded to the original plasterboard, the added weight can cause the whole thing to delaminate, crack, or even sagover time.

     

  • Surface Preparation: Unlike a clean plasterboard surface, Artex is textured and often painted. We must first reduce the texture by gently scraping off the high peaks (only after the asbestos risk is confirmed low or contained) and then apply a specialist bonding agent. We often use a ‘Blue Grit’ primer, which creates a highly textured, high-adhesion key for the new plaster to bond to, ensuring a long-lasting fix.

     

3. Achieving a Perfectly Flat Finish

Artex patterns—whether stippled, swirled, or ‘fan’ designs—can have substantial depth.

 

  • Multiple Skim Coats: To effectively hide the deep texture and create a smooth, contemporary finish, it is common to require two full skim coats of finishing plaster, rather than the standard single coat. This ensures the plaster is thick enough to completely level the surface without the old pattern bleeding through.

     

Our Solution: Encapsulation and Expertise

For most North London homes, the best solution to safely and permanently update an Artex ceiling is professional encapsulation via skimming or over-boarding:

  1. Inspection and Testing: Determine the risk and assess the condition of the existing Artex bond.

  2. Specialist Prep: Scrape off only the highest points (if deemed safe) and apply a specialised bonding agent like Blue Grit.

     

  3. Skimming: Apply two careful coats of quality MultiFinish plaster, mechanically sealing the old Artex underneath and delivering a perfect, modern finish.

This process gives you the smooth, flat ceilings that instantly modernise a home, all while safely dealing with the challenges of older UK properties.