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5. Textured Walls or Ceilings

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5. Textured Walls or Ceilings (Image 5 of 9)

Textured walls or ceilings

What is it?
Commonly known by the trade name Artex, this is any kind of textured plasterwork that resembles either cottage cheese dripping off your ceiling or nausea inducing swirls. In worse case scenarios this effect will also have been used on walls creating rough patches that will routinely snag your clothes and steal vital millimetres from your room size. Originally it was a way of disguising ceiling cracks and until very recently was still cropping up in brand new homes in more rural areas.

Is it a Deal Breaker?
No, but it will difficult to find anyone under the age of forty-five that isn't a plasterer, who regards it as a selling point. Traditionally removing textured finishes has been messy, time consuming or expensive.

What can you do about it?
You can either remove it or cover it up. Removing the textured material would once have been limited to sanding and then re-plastering. Occupants of older houses should seek professional advice before sanding back a textured ceiling as it may contain asbestos.

The material can also be steamed off using a professional wallpaper steamer to first soften the material and then gently scraping it off. This is effective but slow and working with a professional steamer at ceiling height is an uncomfortable and potentially hazardous job. It is now also possible to buy textured coatings removers through your DIY centre, which soften the material so you can then scrape it off. How much this will cost will depend on how large your ceiling is.

OR: Probably the easiest way of doing away with a textured wall or ceiling is to simply plaster over it. A plasterer will be all too happy to take your money to do this. Otherwise you can use one of the new 'cover-all' ready-made mixes available at your local DIY store. Though be warned, it takes longer than 'two ticks' and ceilings especially are hell on the arm muscles.

Average cost of plasterer to re-skim a living room ceiling £350
Average price of a smoothing over product = £24.95 for 5 litres

Need Expert Help?
Find a trusted plasterer in your area using MyBuilder.

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Comments

In my 25 years of experience and in my own opinion, dont bother trying to paint pebbledash, the only option (if the wall is sound) would be to get an exterior wall specialist like a Wall coatings company, to apply a spray-on textured wall coating onto the wall. If you try and remove the pebbledash, and it is firmly adhered to the wall, you will end up ripping out the mortar joints behind the wall surface, and also the face of the blocks or bricks beneath. Beware!!

Posted by G Bell on 23/10/2009 14:00:16

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Pebble dash: I have inherited a house in a street where 90% of the houses are pebble dashed (LL28) and are still being pebble dashed. I am in a quandry whether to re-do the pebble dash or have my house stand out by being "mere" brick, when I completely renovate over the next 18 months. Like the comment posted by Wolverhampton Rick (coincidentally W'ton is where I usually live too!!) the pebble dash on my house has been there since around 1930, when I think the house was built. There don't appear to be "problems" and I agree with Rick that new pebble dash looks quite good, although I'd probably paint my house straight away. I'd love to read some feedback

Posted by Charlie on 17/08/2009 03:29:30

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I disagree with this advice. I have a 4 bedroom detached house that was built in the 1920's and contrary to the advice given it was not put on to hide shoddy brickwork it was actually put on for the look of the property and it looks excellent giving it a real cottage feel. We have no problem with damp or water ingress. It is still the original pebbledash and so has lasted nearly 90 years. I give it a good dose of masonary paint every 4-5 years and I have no problems with it at all. On the flip side i have an extension that was built in the early 80's that was covered with Tyrelene. It looks a mess and is failing in several places and will have to be replaced in the next couple of years. So much for modern replacements. I am now looking for somebody to pebbledash the extension to match the original.

Posted by Wolverhampton Rich on 06/07/2009 17:02:54

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I am disabled and have been offered to have a walk in shower put in and my bath ripped out but I am very worried that this will devalue my property which I am hoping to sell in a year or two. I am hoping to convince the people concerned to just move my bath instead of removing it but this would involve moving the bath, basin and the toliet as well as having a smaller shower room built in.

Posted by pb on 21/06/2009 02:09:03

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This is my home and its not pebbledash or concrete or fake stone!!!! It is natural stone that was reclaimed and salvaged from the cottage and used in its renovation.

Posted by carina phillips on 25/03/2009 17:28:51

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DIY & Building Basics 10 Home Improvement Nightmares

5. Textured Walls or Ceilings

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