THE RENOVATION FILES HOW TO DEAL WITH ARTEX

 It may have become the butt of many jokes since its Sixties heyday, but discovering you’ve got Artex ceilings is no laughing matter. Ian Rock explains how best to remove this perilous plasterwork

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If you’re renovating a property there’s a good chance that some of the ceilings will have textured finishes. Patterned ceilings were a popular decorative feature from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The appeal was both aesthetic and practical – being a flexible finish meant it could accommodate a certain amount of movement without cracks appearing at plasterboard joints. However, the chief appeal was financial: developers could get ceilings finished without the need to employ expensive plasterers.

WHAT IS AN ARTEX CEILING?

The word ‘Artex’ is actually a brand name but has become widely used as a generic term for all types of textured coatings. So an 'Artex ceiling' simply means one with a textured finish. Styles ranged from neatly combed swirl patterns, or discreet 'bubble wrap' ceiling scapes comprising hundreds of small blobs, through to full-on forests of spiky shards.

WHY CAN THEY BE PROBLEMATIC?