artex

[gremlin1]

Slightly unusual query but would be grateful of any help.

My mother had a small water leak from the bathroom in her flat which did some minor damage to the bathroom ceiling of the flat below.
The owner had an estimate for £220 to put the damage right. I told the owner to claim on the insusrance (all flats covered by the same block insurance).
Now the owner has come back saying that there is a £250 excess on the policy and that she has had the work done (on the 1 estimate) and wants my mother to pay the £220 invoice.
The question is does £220 sound about right to re- artex a area of ceiling about 1mtr x 1mtr and then paint the whole ceiling ( normal bathroom size about 6'x6')?

 

[roughcaster]

Artex or any rough/textured surface is almost impossible to patch without being noticed. If I quoted to carry out that kind of job, it would be to repair, re-artex the whole ceiling, and paint if req'd.The owner of the flat below would not want to be left with a patch in the bathroom ceiling. Although to you it might look small,but there will be more to the job than you think. Sounds a reasonable cost to me.

Roughcaster.

 

[gremlin1]

Roughcaster, thanks for the reply, points taken.
Just as a matter of interest how do you artex a ceiling, can a DIYer takle it? Do you use ordinary paint or some kind of special coating?

 

[roughcaster]

Hi Gremlin,
There are people who specialise in texturing ceilings and walls, although it is not so popular now as it was in the 80's. Artex is a brand name,but people refer to it as an artexed ceiling/wall.I used to artex/texture ceilings and walls with a similar product "Nu-Tex". It was a hot or cold water powder mix. I regularly"artexed" mostly ceilings with various patterns stipple,swirl,,fan and half circle,both done with a comb, I would fix masking tape around the ceiling say 7 or 8 inches out from the wall to create borders. Anyway, back to you. To artex a ceiling. All of the ceilings that I artexed had been painted with emulsion, but you could buy a sealer that you applied first to cut down the suction. The artex was mixed up to a creamy thickness that could be applied to the ceiling with a brush,although I put it on with a trowel so I made it up slightly thicker. I used to turn the heating off in the room as well just to stop it drying in too quick. I started at one end of the room putting on so much at a time and swirling it, because you always have to keep an eye on the wet edge,otherwise you will get joins showing. The best way was to cover the whole ceiling with artex first if possible,and then go back and texture it. I suppose a DIYer could artex a ceiling, but maybe start with a very small one. You can buy bags of "Artex" in B/Q. I wouldn't recommend it nowadays. it's totally dated, if you get fed up with it you can't just peel it off, and if, say a ceiling cracks or gets damaged, you cant just repair the damaged bit. I get more jobs nowadays plastering over artex than putting it on. I can't remember the last time that I did artex. People out there still make a living from it, but it's not for me anymore.

Roughcaster.