Can anybody tell me if this is Artex on my ceiling?

[zenonithus]

Hi everyone. First post here. I will be stripping the paper off the ceilings on a flat I have just bought. Though to me it looks like some sort of artex? I know this stuff could contain amounts of asbestos which is my main concern. So first off is one of the bedrooms. It's thick wallpaper though has a textured surface as you can see in these pics (seems I have a small spider outbreak too! Yuck!):

The kitchen seems the worst as this looks more like plastered over wallpaper?? Maybe they texture plastered over lining paper to hide how awful the plastering surface underneath looked? Please see below:

So what do you guys think? Am I dealing with artex here? If so I will have to wear disposable overalls and dust mask and wet the whole thing down right? Any advice would be great.

 

[blightymam]

How old is the flat? If it's a newer one, it may not contain asbestos. You can always get it tested if really concerned, I don't think it's that expensive.
Me personally tho, if the walls and finish are in good condition, I would get the artex plastered over. Removing that amount will be a long, horrid job and would more than likely have to get the walls and ceilings plastered once you've finished to give you the smooth finish. You'll have to remove the wallpaper tho of course!

Have you give the spiders names yet?!

 

[stem]

It looks like different things

One looks like a product called Polytex. Made by Polycell. It was a thick paint with tiny bits in (which I believe to be gypsum chips) It was popular in the early 1980's because it covered / hid cracks quite well. It can be difficult to remove, but if sound, it can be plastered over successfully. Unless of course it has been applied over paper, in which case, strip the paper off and it will come with it.

Other brands were available. Wilko's called it Wilkotex I seem to remember.

It turned out not to be very practical, it couldn't be wiped, trapped dirt and if you happened to brush against it before it had been panted over a few times, it would scrape your skin off.

The first photographs, may be woodchip paper, which unsurprisingly is wallpaper with small chips of wood in. Just remove that as you would normal wallpaper.

 

[misterhelpful]

It does tend to look more like Polytex, or a similar textured paint product, than Artex, and I agree that the first two pics could even be woodchip. One way to check this would be to feel the surface - painted woodchip would feel relatively smooth compared to a textured paint. Anyone who's applied Artex over paper needs their heads looked at, but that's not to say people don't do it.

We can't determine, with 100% accuracy, what it actually is for you but, if it's all applied over paper, I would hazard a guess that it is a textured paint, which would be safe enough to strip it all off. If in doubt, and you think it could be Artex, it's worthwhile getting it tested before striping because, as mentioned previously, it could have contained asbestos right up until 1999.
Whatever the case is, stripping all the paper off is the only way to make a good job of it.

 

[zenonithus]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Yes the bedroom one does look like soft-ish bumps, not so spikey. Though the same stuff in the living room has a crack down the middle so not sure if that is a crack in the paint over the paper or if this is some sort of poly/artex? As this is paper it's best to strip it off as some of it is bubbling off at the ends so plastering might not hold up.

The building is 1930's but it looks like this place has been renovated over the years, though renovated very rushed and badly as it has been rented out.

I will take some samples to send for testing. Was thinking of just wetting down some of the plaster and scraping some off into a wetwipe, 3M mask and gloves on. Though should I seal over the scraped area with pva or something?