Asbestos in Artex ceiling

[Molly22]

Hi has anyone had artex ceilings with asbestos removed if so how much did it cost.
Im in the NE.
Thanks

Look for another quote. Think stopped using in Artex about 1983, skim plaster would just hide, if drilling into you can use the HSE A27 guidance using a stabiliser to control dust as you drill , shaving foam does this. It’s everywhere and safe undisturbed

We had a ceiling removed that has asbestos in, but it was a long time ago. There was a lot of artex in my house, and we have had every section tested. That room was the only one where the artex did contain asbestos.
Get it tested, it may well be fine. It isn’t expensive to get a little bit tested.

Thanks everyone, lots of good advice.

Yes need to get the survey done asap, our sellers wont be happy with me as Ive waited so so long to request this and cant say I will blame them. But I need to know.

If you are buying a house in the UK, built before 1999, and it has artex / textured ceilings or wall, there's a very good chance it will have asbestos in it.

Bear it in mind for future house hunting.

Your first quote, I'm sure won't have been for basic artex, but for asbestos insulation boards. Which changes the dynamic significantly.

If I were the seller I wouldn't agree to drop the price if it is positive for asbestos - it's such a commonplace issue in houses of a certain age that you should reasonably expect to have to deal with this.

That's interesting. We had two rooms tested and then decided that all of it would be. So replaced two damaged ones.
To be fair we had lived here years before, knocked walls down, drilled into the ceilings etc. So any damage already done but I know chrysolite isn't as high risk as other types. No use worrying really.

Yes lesson learnt, I should have looked into properly sooner.
I wasnt going to reduce my offer, I just need to know to arrange storage for furniture and pets whilst its done.

If you pull this on the sellers so late on then I’d be prepared for them to tell you to do one. It’s so common that it’s not an issue. You see artex when you look around, you know it might contain asbestos. I’m not sure if you’re taking on board the advice not to remove it or not. Honestly the best and most cost effective option.

One tip, if there are any similar LA properties then it’s worth looking on the council website. In the area I develop, all council houses have an asbestos report with pics of where it is. If it was part of a big build then there might be some LA properties.

I know and I would feel the same the other way around.
Our buyer is still waiting for their searches so Im not delaying exchange if I can get it done quick.
Id hate me too and probably tell me to get lost in their shoes.

At least having the tests will set your mind at rest and maybe you could just do the room where you are having work done and skim the rest if that best.

The stuff we had removed was asbestos insulation board in an outbuilding, we had it done as we use the building a lot for garden stuff and it did put me off using it, it cost us about £2k for 30ft x 6ft of AIB removal

If you have no intention of reducing the price you're willing to pay you don't need it done before exchange. Just book it in for whenever. As long as there's no damage you're fine anyway.

We have been told we wouldn't need to move out, we'd just have to isolate the rooms it's in.

Does your quote include initial test for asbestos and air quality test afterwards? if they are removing boards completely and then doing new ceilings with all tests included your quote is not unrealistic.
How big is the house? Sorry if I missed it.

Its a small 3 bed semi just quoted for living n dining room.
Quote seemed to be just for the removal.

That price does not sound right at all!
I've worked in home Insuance over 10 years, dealing with asbestos testing and removal.
I understand what people have recommended about skimming, but like others have said if you ever needed to drill or have a problem in the home ie a leak which damaged the ceiling which is very common, the artic would be disturbed and be a risk.

£9k for 2 rooms, I thought that was whole house😯 so probably 6-8 rooms

OP, in the kindest possible way, you sound a bit hysterical. It's perfectly fine as long as you leave it alone. Just skim it, if you're not planning on drilling into it to install recessed spotlights or something.

We had a house full of artexed ceilings until fairly recently and had to have it tested as part of subsidence repairs. Most of it did contain artex and these had to be removed (insurance job so I've no idea of cost) as they couldn't cut into it to repair cracks. A couple that had really offensive deep swirly bits (that we'd had skimmed when we moved in) surprisingly did not contain asbestos - I think they done considerably later. We had to move out and the whole house including loft had to be emptied when the ceilings were removed, and all our stuff had to go into storage. It wasn't an issue for us as the insurance paid, but there's no way in hell I'd have been doing that for something that's perfectly safe unless you mess with it.

If our buyers were talking about asbestos testing I'd be hearing alarm bells ringing and worry that they were going to either attempt to reduce their offer (which would be a definitely no) or pull out. I'd probably let them arrange for testing but only after we'd exchanged. Half the country has artex (even if it's been skimmed so you can't see it), it was so common, and unless you buy a new build you might never even know it was there.

Just asked DH, he was checking prices when we were house hunting (we’ve put an offer and then realised that the house’s got Artex) He said that it sounds about right,

I would remove it. I know skimming over is fine but it makes ceiling lower and then you need to consider it every time you want to do something.

Yeah we thought about skimming over - and some ceilings have been before we knew. But I wanted it gone so we could feel safe with any future work.
We could only afford to do two rooms which had disturbed it through damage. The reactions from tradesman were insane - one practically thought we'd killed the kids as one of their rooms had had a wall moved so the artex was damaged, told us to seal the room and wouldn't go near it, right through to the other end of it being nothing to worry about and the risk overplayed.

Yes I am freaked out by it.
Yes I do want to walk away from the house, but cant let everyone down. It would be a terrible thing to do.
Not sure I can cope with this mentally finicially
I should have known better, its all my fault but affects other peoples lives too.
.

I think the only way you can avoid it is to buy a newer house, most older houses will have it somewhere, ours as I said upthread was AIB in the outbuilding, the garage roof was asbestos bonded concrete which we had replaced as it needed it but had it been sound we would have left it. Our house is 1930s and had no artex but there may be asbestos elsewhere we don't know about like in the fireplace or places like the electric cupboard.

There are literally so many houses with artex. Where I live ALL the houses have them and they sell well. It's really not a big deal unless you are going to cut holes in the ceiling - at which point you call in a professional. Artex usually does have asbestos in the form of low grade cryolite. Low grade being key here - you have to have spent years ripping down artex with zero protection for any substantial risk.

Your seller has to declare asbestos presence anyway as it's a question on the sellers form. Your options are skim over it, less expensive - or remove it, more expensive. The quote you obtained is absolutely ridiculous. It certainly shouldn't be a criteria for pulling out - but could be for reducing price. Most likely seller will say no though if there's plenty of interest in the property. Someone else will buy it.

Thank you for your all replies.
They are a great help.
As we want to take a wall down we will need it dealt with.

But op most houses prior to 1990s will have asbestos in so if you walk away from this one you'll only be getting a new built type one. Asbestos is more something we all have to live around, it's everywhere insulation, the roof, I understand the anxiety totally but it's more something we all just need to live with. Don't touch it and if you need to get it removed then 😁 good luck xx

Thank you for your all your kind.words and sensible advice.
I was scared to.post as I wasnt sure how people would reply.
But everyone has been honest, supportive and lots of good advice.