Skimmed over artex

Discussion in 'Other Trades Talk' started by S229, Jan 4, 2018.

  1. S229

    S229 New Member

    We have had some of our ceilings skimmed to cover prickly effect artex and after painting in one room it’s shown up every tiny imperfection in the plaster! We have all sorts of dimples and indentations, is this a bad job or is it due to the artex underneath? Can’t remove the artex as it contains asbestos. I’ve included a couple of pictures.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    The idea of having your ceiling skimmed was to cover the artex leaving a smooth finish.....so it's a bad job not achieving what you wanted, easy to rectify but annoying!
     
  3. S229

    S229 New Member

    Is there anything we can do about it without getting it skimmed again? We just had a new kitchen fitted and don’t really want to have more messy plastering done!
     
  4. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Creamy mix of artex applied with a broad caulking tool would soon smooth that out, get the person back who did the job and tell them you are not prepared to accept that terrible finish. What area are you living.
     
  5. S229

    S229 New Member

    I’m in the Coventry area. Thanks for the advice, I will give the guy a call and hopefully get it sorted.
     
  6. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Sorry way too far from my location but hope you get it sorted.
     
  7. Longy75

    Longy75 Member

    I would definitely get him back, he should of overboarded if the pattern was that heavy or at least put a tight bonding coat on first before skimming to get rid of some of the depth in artex
     
    CGN likes this.
  8. KIAB

    KIAB Super Member

    Should have overboarded & skimmed.
     
    CGN likes this.
  9. S229

    S229 New Member

    He’s coming out tomorrow to take a look and says it’s an easy fix... apparently it’s called blebbing.
     
  10. KIAB

    KIAB Super Member

    Blebbing!:confused::eek:

    Never heard blebbing used in building terms, only know it as a biology term.
     
  11. CGN

    CGN Screwfix Select

    Is blebbing something done by a pleb?!

    Reckon that he thinks he can just dry scrape the 'blebs' off with his trowel!

    Over boarding is most fail safe way, as its difficult to guarantee a reskim over artex, but the finish you have is simply down to poor application.
     
    Jord86 and KIAB like this.
  12. KIAB

    KIAB Super Member

    Watch it all drop off weeks/months later.:)
     
  13. I'm sure the plasterer will come back and sort it to an acceptable level with little or no mess.


    fairly sure, at least
     
  14. KIAB

    KIAB Super Member

    Shouldn't have to return, IF it was done correctly first time.:rolleyes:
     
  15. That's true, of course.

    But there's also no need to over-board first to get a good finish (the 'ultimate' job, yes, but a lot more costly), and neither should there be any risk of it all dropping off in a few months time.

    The chances are that the plasterer - who seems to be responding as he should - will sort it, so the other stuff was probably not what the laypeep OP wanted or needed to hear - just an extra worry.
     
  16. Longy75

    Longy75 Member

    Glad he is coming back, but the spread should of picked up on it whilst he was there, looks like he's whacked on a couple of heavy coats and troweled it up when wet creating little air bubbles (blebbing) in the finish, can get it when using bonding if you skim it whilst its still wet, could have been easily sorted by letting the first coat pull in or giving it a hard trowel at the end of the set.
    Overboarding doesn't have to cost loads more, depending on the size of the room and amount of boards etc, can easily get an average size room tacked and skimmed in a day and by the time you've messed about with pva, bonding coat if needed then waiting for the coats to pull in over artex there isn't a lot in it time wise so it's just the materials cost, trouble is a lot of people charge it as 2 separate jobs to whack the price up, whereas I view it as one job that you can guarantee, and give a better finish without the risk of call backs, if I honestly believed it should be overboarded and the customer doesn't want to pay for the boards then I wouldn't do the job, my reputation is more important to me than going against what I believe should be done. Every job is different and I have skimmed artex ceilings, it all depends on the depth of pattern, ceiling condition etc, knowing when to trowel it up and when to let it pull in is the key to a good finish which in this occasion it doesn't look like this plasterer did.
     
    Jord86, Deleted member 33931 and KIAB like this.
  17. S229

    S229 New Member

    It is my first house and therefore don’t really know anything about trades, DIY etc. If I’d known that boarding over was an option I would have gone for that. But never mind hopefully he can sort it and if I ever buy another house with artex I’ll know the way to go! You live and learn.
     
  18. Longy75

    Longy75 Member

    S229- it's not your fault, from time to time we all have to put ourselves at the mercy of people with more knowledge/experience than we have, whether its house repairs or getting your car mot'd, I've not been on this forum long but any negatives are generally aimed at the "professional" who carried out the work and not the homeowner, the spread should of gone through the options with you and the fors and against for them so you are in a position to make a balanced informed decision, but from the sounds of it he didn't do that. He's coming back that's the main thing and I hope he rectifies it to a finish that you are happy with.
     
    DIYDave. and KIAB like this.
  19. DIYDave.

    DIYDave. Screwfix Select

    I bet you were fairly happy with the plastering once the ceiling was skimmed ;), amazing how nice a coat of wet plaster can look, especially covering over that nasty Artex !

    The imperfections start to show more as the plaster dries out and, even more once you mist coat and paint (you did mist coat the plaster first didn't you before painting) ?

    AS you've had a new kitchen fitted and obviously want to minimise any mess, would be a good idea to pick up some poly dust sheets and use these with masking tape to cover over kitchen units and worktops. Not sure what route the plasterer will take but likely to create some dust. The plasterer can go over the poly sheets with his own dust sheets but these by nature tend to be dusty - so no direct contact with your nice new kitchen

    Recon the whole lot needs either a full skim or a wide tapping knife and a feathering compound. Either way, make it clear to the plasterer that your looking for a brand new plastered surface to paint, near to dam perfect, that requires minimum prep from you - that's why your paying him to skim the ceiling :) Remember that any further imperfections in the plaster wont be hidden by painting, regardless of how many coats. Totally 'flat' or matt paints will help to disguise imperfections but painting often highlights these areas (along with poor rollering technique, cheap nasty paint, cheap rollers, etc) A small amount of prep needed after plastering is acceptable, but not much I would say. The odd lick of filler and a quick rub over with P180 that's ok, but not the whole ceiling

    Keep it friendly, at least he's coming back and has entered into discussion - so at this stage, not a lost cause, annoying yes, shouldn't have resulted in this poor finish but, looking positive so far. Explain you have the poly sheets and even help to wrap the kitchen before he places his manky, dusty sheets

    So, all good so far...........unless his plastering is big time c rap :eek:.......Where did you get him from ?

    https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-polythene-dust-sheets-12-x-9-2-pack/52699
     
  20. Astramax

    Astramax Super Member

    Show me a man who has never made a mistake!:cool:;)
     

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