To be considering artexing my ceiling?

[KirstyJC]

We moved into this house 3 years ago. It is a lovely old cottage with the usual woodchip-holding-the-walls-up kind of decoration that you might expect. We are slowly sorting this out, but are really skint so having to do it ourselves.

My problem is the ceilings, in particular the hallway and sitting room. They are a pure vision in artex. It is like someone was trying to decide which pattern was the most horrible and couldn't decide, so went for a mix of all of them.

The sitting room has: fan swirls, thick combed lines, wavy fan lines, and wobbly pattern around the light fitting. It is appalling and despite us living with it for 3 years, it still hasn't faded into the background.

So, looking around it seems that my options are to either
a) pay someone to sort it out, which we can't afford for the forseeable future,
b) try and live with it which is failing miserably,or
c) sort it myself.

My recent plastering attempts are, um, well lets just say it's a good job it was inside a walk-in cupboard! So I am now considering buying more artex and going over the top, with a less in-your-face stipple effect instead. That would still be bad, but trust me it would be a whole lot less bad than currently!

I just can't seem to bring myself to buy artex! Would that BU?

Actually the artex hasn't completely hidden the sagging, or the cracking for that matter! That's what 'character property' is all about, right?

Can't really get to the floorboards to lift them up, but did change all the lights when we moved in and they do have thickish plaster on the ceiling, not plasterboard, downstairs at least. Both hallway and sitting room have had replacement lights and I had trouble putting a screw in because a clump of ceiling fell out!

(In case you hadn't realised, 'Bodge' is my middle name)

Definitely not liking the wallpaper I'm afraid, and now I've clicked on that link I am getting adverts for hideous wallpaper all over the screen!!

You lot are far too sensible you know. Where's your sense of adventure?

Where's your sense of adventure?

I artexed over it in 1992....still trying to find it :)

I'd be careful about just going over the ceiling as well - if it's an old property there's a good chance it's lath and plaster, which has a nasty habit of failing as it gets old. Adding extra weight by filling it in with more artex or plaster might not be a good idea.

Betty

"Or get some plasterboard, cut to fit the ceiling in the hallway, use long screws so there is a gap between the artex and the plasterboard so it lies straight." this is what my Dad did with one of the rooms in my house. I also remember him artexing he other rooms and how bloody long it took very interesting to watch for a while as a child though!) He's a builder and just couldn't be arsed with the faff of reartexing. I'm not sure what he did over the plasterboard though, plastered it or re-artexed it or something?

Skimmed the seams with plaster probably to patch it up then painted it.

Right, off to do the school run which co-incidentally goes past Homebase........should I or shouldn't I?

Decisions, decisions.......................

Such a pity you did not put this on Chat, you could have posted before and after pictures; we would all have loved that.

It always bemuses me when estate agents proclaim that a house has Artex ceilings, as if buyers will flock there and fight each other for the privilege of ownership.

We had an artexed ceiling sealed and plastered over by a plasterer, cost us £60 so may be worth getting a quote.

I got the living room ceiling skimmed for £120.

Well I didn't get it - it was chucking it down and I was too cold to leave the car!

I will have a chat with DH later as I suppose I ought to mention it to him before I go ahead and do anything! Not that I ever have before - he got quite used to coming home to different coloured walls and new curtains etc.

Wouldn't dare post after photos and you really wouldn't want to see before ones.....it's the stuff of nightmares!

you can add pics here too y'know.... just sayin.

I gave a nasty bit of artex a few coats of Dulux 'once' paint. It's really thick and it kind of filled in the grooves and flattened it all out a lot. Didn't totally disappear but looked a lot better.

An L&P ceiling

Wouldn't it be cheaper just to replace the whole ceiling with plasterboard? Pull down what's there and start again?

(I have to admit that most of my DIY knowledge comes from Australia where the housing stock is much younger!)

Oh Piglet you're such a pessimist!

I have given the hallway ceiling a couple of thumps and it seems fairly sound. Should hold the weight of it I reckon.....?

OK I will try and upload some pictures. Never done this before so hope it works!

Firstly here is the lovely sitting room. The majority of it is the fan/swirls but there are these random wavy fan bits too, and the swirly bit around the light in the middle.

Then there is the delight that is the hallway....last pic.

ahhh tis not that bad, we have the random swirly fan pattern in our bedroom, I was told it is a proper pattern (wtf) not one that the last occupants made up. I amuse myself by picking out pictures in it like starring at weird clouds. save up and get it done properly, it could end up costing more if you add to it making the job harder in the long run.

There's a product called X tex that you paint onto artex & it takes it off. Literally dissolves after a couple of days. Satisfying but messy.

Interesting IamaLeaf - just read some reviews and it does seem quite good. The hallway would be fine to try but tbh the sitting room is large so the messy aspect of it really doesn't appeal.

Mmm...maybe I should just move house after all?!?!

Goodness, that is truely hideous. What on earth were they thinking??

Lol Kirsty those photos are so hideous it is hilarious..

I don't know how anyone can look at that and think it can be attractive? Fashion is one thing but what happene to taste??

In your situation I would save up, even just 2 pounds a week, till you can afford it, then pay a professional. This is because putting time and money into a bodge job isn't a good idea.

Can you work some overtime to pay for it?