Our surveyor suggests fix 12.5mm plasterboard over existing lath and plaster which has an Artex coat over it. Should the plaster ceiling be removed before plasterboard is fixed.

no, you can plasterboard directly to the existing ceiling.

You can overboard the ceiling as your surveyor suggests, however the ceiling will always follow the contours of the old one. To be done properly the lath and plaster ceiling really needs to be pulled down and re-boarded directly on to the ceiling joists with 12.5mm plasterboards. You must however make sure the artex on the ceiling does not have any asbestos in it as pre 1980 may very well be artex that used asbestos.

Over boarding is a cheap and relatively fast way of installing new boarding to an existing ceiling. However be careful of existing pipework and/or electrical cabling within the existing ceiling voids. Accidents can and do happen when fixing blind. For a few extra pounds, I personally would remove existing ceiling and re-tack direct to joists, ensuring all or any pipework and cabling is safe from harms way ( the correct way ). Hope it goes well which ever decision you land on.

usually an old lath and plaster ceiling will be uneaven or bowed , if you fit the new plaster board over this it will only follow the same profile, if your existing ceiling is flat it should be ok but make sure you get a good fix into the existing timber joist, hope this helps

I would say that this is ok and there is no need to remove the artex, however I would take care to remove any large spikes of artex with a scraper. You will also need to take into consideration the thickness of your existing ceiling plus 12.5mm plasterboard when selecting your plasterboard screws and locate and mark the ceiling joists with a chalk line for ease of fixing. Kind regards Callum Murray Rockingham C&GB

you have two problems here. 1. does the ceiling contain asbestos this will need checking by yourselves or the trade person doing the work. 2. Also if the property is 20/30 an even 40's build the lath and plaster can contain horse hair which was soaked in Ammonia which in turn can also cause lung and respiratory problems for your household and workers. boarding over is an easy solution and causes less mess but would still need check as would be fixing into it and need to find joists ..

Dave Webley and son gives the perfect Anwser to your question artex ceiling should be checked for asbestos not all artex have asbestos maybe that’s the reason for the surveyor's suggestion.