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Plastering & Rendering

Artex ceilings with asbestos (1960's house on housing estate)

Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 3.18 PM

For the most part our house has flat ceilings. We presume most were boarded over and skimmed before my husband bought it. We are left with two bedrooms and a bathroom that still have artex (the spikey looking stuff!). We trust our plasterer and he has done a great job with walls and ceilings, especially when we had a leak in one of the bedrooms. He said we should be aware that we definitely have asbestos in the ceilings (I think he meant above the ceiling in the loft) as he saw it when he replaced boarding. He said it is not an issue as long as it is not disturbed. He has given a quote to skim over the other two bedroom ceilings. He said he would take off any really long spikes and then do the skimming. I asked about boarding over too. He said this was possible but the coving would need to come off. This bedroom has suffered from a few leaks when water came in through the roof. There are a few areas at the sides where the paint is starting to peel off. Only a very small bit (size of 10p piece) has fallen off. We asked a builder friend about the ceiling and he was more wary and said we should just seal it with PVA/Water and then paint over because of asbetos. We are getting different opinions and so we are now not sure what to do. I would like to board over the ceiling in the larger room but are we at risk if the plasterer is taking off the long spikes? Or is there only risk if he is not cleaning up properly as he goes and afterwards? We think we may leave the smaller room and paint over or just get it skimmed but it is the bigger room I am worried about due to the peeling.

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3 Answers

Timothy David Interiors

Rating: 5 out of 5
Tonypandy
Hi im not asbestos expert but your scenario is a case of a rock and a hard place. I know and have employed excellent plasterers who have done exactly that. Knocked off the high spots. 2 coats of pva and overskim.....but knocking off those spots could potentially release asbestos into the atmosphere. I guess the safer solution is to always overboard....or engage an asbestos removal company to remove the ceilings and dispose. It really isnt a great situation and given artex's white asbestos content right thru to mid 80's an ongoing one for many homes. Whats immportant is that you are aware of the risks. A few points in terms of decorating. Advice to pva then paint is very bad advice. Pva and paint should be kept very seperate. If you do paint try to remove any flaking by wet methods. The surfaces can be sealed with the correct product zinsser gardz (not pva) Then painted with a 100%acrylic emulsion such as the excellent zinsser permawhite
Answered7 August 2018
0

a.rodi

Rating: 5 out of 5
Leeds
hi,ask an asbestos company for advice.when disturbed asbestos is lethal stuff.tell them what you are planning to do and they should advise.dont bodge,you will have your family and there kids at risk,just not worth it.give yourself peace off mind,anthony.
Answered1 April 2019
0

Anonymous user

I'd recommend to overboard and skim as scraping high spots will release the asbestos plus there will be less risk off the paint peeling due to the damp on the ceiling when it comes to finishing
Answered2 August 2022
0