Artex or textured paint/plaster?

[Hannah1978]

Hi all. I'm hoping someone can help. We have textured ceiling in our lounge which the builders have boarded over to plaster but we have a beam where the room used to be split into 2 so they just sanded this but down to be able to plaster over. I never knew artex could have asbestos in until i saw a TV programme the other day (about a week after it had been sanded) and now I'm panicking we might have been breathing in asbestos fibres. I know you can't tell if it contains asbestos from looking at it but if it's not artex, it's unlikely as I understand.

Can anyone tell if this is proper artex or textured paint/plaster? It's since been plastered over so too late to get tested or do anything but it is for my peace of mind. This photo doesn't show it very well but there is a light beige/yellow colour beneath the white textured material where it has been sanded and the peaks knocked off. Thanks.

 

[Hannah1978]

Also, this was in my daughter's bedroom and I just realised they drilled holes in the textured ceiling for the lights. No one has been in this room apart from the builders though and it is now all boarded over and plastered.

 

[Mottie]

Looks like woodchip wallpaper or textured paint to me. Nothing like any artex I’ve seen before - artex normally would have more 'pointy' bits on it.

 

[Hannah1978]

Thanks @Mottie . It's not woodchip wallpaper as we have that on the ceiling in the hall and you can see the joins but there are no joins in the ones in the lounge and bedroom. The first photo is from a beam in the lounge which has been sanded down so there were pointy bits, similar to the second photo which is in my daughter's bedroom. Does it still look like textured paint to you? Thanks for your help.

 

[jeds]

Not all asbestos is the same. The type of asbestos found in old Artex is not the same as that found in pipe lagging - which is the really nasty stuff. Asbestos contained in Artex is in such a tiny, tiny amount and because it is bound in the matrix of the plaster material there is no more risk than average building dust. So, to be avoided but not something to worry about.

 

[lostinthelight]

It depends on how thick the Artex is mixed when applied , if sloppier it would be hard to distinguish from textured paint .