Is this Artex?

[G Colombo]

Hi all,

Apologies if this is a dumb question, not being from the UK I'm not familiar with terminology/building methods used in this country.

Recently I've bought a house (built in the late 70's) where pretty much all walls are covered with this monstrosity:

Now, the idea is to remove this hideousness...thing, sand it, skim it and paint it.

Doing a bit of research I've fount out that Artex carries the risk of containing asbestos whereas anaglypta wallpaper does not.

Can anyone help me identify what is this before I go around ripping this hideousness apart and sanding the wall?

Thanks for your help.

 

[HERTS P&D]

I love your surname!

Andy

 

[JohnD]

Are you sure it's artex? It looks to me like textured wallpaper (used to conceal cracked and damaged plaster)

spray it, lighty but repeatedly, with a garden sprayer with half a drop of washing up liquid, and I think you'll find it peels off easily as the paste dissolves. It may even fall off.

Disconnect the electricity first, especially the lighting circuit. Turning off at the light switch will not do.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Yes, its wallpaper.

Andy

 

[KenGMac]

Agree with last post by John D.

If you look closely at the base paper can be seen as a darker colour than the top coat of the wall paper, and the darker coloured paper has wrinkled just a bit.

Ken.

 

[Alastairreid]

Wallpaper, steam stripper is what you need.

 

[G Colombo]

Thanks for the answers, I'll strip myself I've tried a bit of warm soapy water and a metal spatula and the thing came out quite easily.

Following that I'll hire someone to skim it over.

Hopefully that will work.

 

[lostinthelight]

Make sure you get rid if the paste residue, to test damp the and wipe your hand over and if it feels slimy it needs more work