Plastering artex ceiling in kitchen

[Sunflowers8]

Hi, I'm looking to just spruce up my kitchen in readiness to sell. I've got an artex ceiling with a slight stipple in the kitchen, which previously suffered from a very minor leak and has left a mark. A plasterer has advised that he can't skim over artex in the kitchen as there is a risk that it will blow due to the amount of steam. Is that right? He has suggested overboarding it then skimming with plaster. Is this correct? He quoted £280. Is this reasonable? I've not seen any evidence of his work.

Didn't really want to go down this route because we are spending money painting the walls etc also.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Tigercubrider]

How old is the artex.
Is it artex?

 

[Sunflowers8]

It is artex. Not sure how old it is but the house was built in approx 1980 so potentially from then.

 

[vinn]

Why not, if you are concerned with saving £280, post a photo of the area?

 

[chappers]

plastering over artex can be problematic and does sometimes fail and you wont know until you try. Your plasterer has probably suggested the best solution.
How big is the ceiling.

 

[Sunflowers8]

Thanks for your replies. Ceiling is 4.6m x 2.6m.

 

[chappers]

price isn't too far off and you were going to get it plastered anyway. You could always board it yourself.

 

[stevethespreader]

if the artex has not got a proper bond it will fail i know someone where it failed a few months ago when he attempted to skim it but if its sound theres no reason not to skim it

 

[Tigercubrider]

I'd be tempted to have a sample tested as it may not contain asbestos
If not, a £20 steamer would get it off.

Then you could just get the ceiling skimmed

 

[Sunflowers8]

Thanks for your replies. I've had three different people to look at it and all three have suggested something different!

1. Wallpaper it!
2. Plasterboard and skim (£250-280)
3. Scrape the artex off and skim (£180)

Tempted to go with option 3 because he seemed so confident that this was the right choice.

 

[chappers]

So long as he gets it all off. The most guaranteed to work and give you a good finish is to board and skim

 

[Sunflowers8]

Thanks Chappers. I did mention how concerned I was that it could fail and he seemed surprised that I expressed that concern. He said it was easy to scrape off (plus it's only a slight stipple) as it's quite soft and he would ensure there would be a 3mm covering.

Appreciate your help.

 

[JohnD]

The £280 price is very fair IMO, and will give you the best job. It will also improve sound insulation, although you won't realise what a difference it makes until afterwards. The extra cost over the scraping is not a lot, and will be less messy, though of course I don't know how you are placed just now.

If the plasterer is a local (I hope so) ask to see a house he has recently done, and ask the householder how pleased he was with mess, time, appointmentkeeping.

Householders are generally quite pleased to show off their home improvements. If the plasterer has no satisfied customers to show you, that is not a good sign.

Hide your domestic hoover and protect your TV, computer, DVD player etc from the dust, which is very fine and damaging.

 

[Sunflowers8]

Thanks JohnD. We are doing up the kitchen to sell within the next 12 months. There is plasterboard there already, does that make a difference? We found the one we want from mybuilder.com and he has a lot of positive feedback.

 

[JohnD]

speaking to somebody personally, and looking at a previous job, is a million times better than reading a review on an advertising website.