Artex ceilings

[dany174]

We are in the proces of buying a flat (70's build) and the survey has come back with that some of the ceilings have Artex with might contain asbestos.

The flat also needs to be rewired and some of the ceiling lights are in weird places. We knew this when we made the offer and took the cost of doing this work into account.

Now that some of the ceilings might have asbestos I'm worried that we might need to replace the ceilings. With the rewiring and moving ceiling lights I don't think we can just skim over the Artex.

If I have the ceilings tested and it turns out to have asbestos should I ask the seller for a reduction in the price? It's not something we calculated when we made our offer but they already went down quite a bit on their asking price.

You could but would the sellers allow testing?

If I were the seller I would not give you a reduction - you could see the artex when you viewed and should've known it might contain asbestos and if this concerned you then you should have reflected that in your offer.

You can skim artex even if you are re-wiring.

We have the same, we’ve just boarded and reskimmed over the whole lot - cost about £20 per sq m

We have loads! Our house is 1950s and the artex in the lounge was on the walls and cracking! There are safe but time consuming ways to remove it if it contains asbestos and my OH although hes a nightmare and wanted to bash it off whatever!! Respected my concerns as we have a 2yo and 10mo so we got ours tested via an online kit cost around £30 we we delighted when it came back as the non asbestos type!! I imagine as the previous owner was an old cut corner type diyer her probably used a cheaper brand of artex that didn't have it in as I was convinced it would!
We also need a full rewire and our whole hall and landing has artex on it that will be skimmed and the ceiling is coming down!! My OH is chasing fir the rewire as my best friends dh is doing it so for this me and the kids are getting out hes wearing a protective suit and mask just incase and then the carpets are all being disposed of after anyway so I'm comfortable with that risk as generally if it's in artex it's about 1%...
You also have to think how many people have unknowingly drilled into it when its been skimmed over as it's so common.

Oh and the product that safely removes it is called xtex...we tried it as ours was been a bigger to remove in places but it didn't work as it had also been painted upon reading reviews if it's been painted then it's best to put polythene sheets over the product and it may need 2 goes!

Tbh I would never buy a house with it on the walls again and would check how thick the ceilings are as I now know there is a limit to what can be skimmed! Xx

Skim it all. Nice and sealed. Take a look at asbestos essentials on hse website.. Their is guidance for drilling holes into ACMs etc... Basically you just need to keep any dust down and clean up properly...
It wouldn't put me off a house.
As we live in a soft water area we replace our old drinking water lead pipesbut many don't.