Artex ceiling & wall tiling queries

[TULETT]

Just stripped the bathroom and am currently preparing walls/ceilings etc, and have two queries.

Firstly the current ceiling is of Artex type and am wanting to get the flat. Whats the best/easiest way to do it? The house is 1999 built so no worries regarding asbestos.

Secondly the walls were part tiled part painted. I've removed the old tiles and now have a smooth surface where they were. However i'm unsure as to whether I can tile directly over the painted area or whether the paint has to be removed first. The paint is direct onto plaster onto plasterboard.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[awibble]

For the celing, theres a fantastic product called polycell smoothover, ive used it on walls, but not ceelings yet, check the label, but it should do the job perfectly for you.

Personally i would sand and wash the walls before tiling them, just to knock any shine off the paint.