We are looking at having some improvement work done to the house. The head scratcher is that we have a wall that would need to be stripped down in order for any work to be done.

The wall is textured - it is very likely to be plaster sponged on and textured with a brush, however reading up on Artex tells me that earlier forms of this compound contain small amounts of asbestos. We have an Artex ceilings upstairs, and it has much shallower texturing that this wall. However, I am not sure how to tell what it is. Is there a way to tell the difference between just plaster and Artex? Lumpiness/depth of the texture? Just wondering if there is a telltale sign.

The Artex I've come across is usually more heavily textured, and very tough; a textured plaster finish will be softer - you should be able to dig into it with a scraper, whereas with artex you'd need something like a chisel. You can send a sample off to be tested - a quick google shows up a few likely companies, or ask your local authority if they have a list of approved local labs who can run these tests.

HTH Pete

Artex remains water soluble whereas plaster does not. Artex is an off-white powder in the bag. Though there are white powder plasters, they tend to be more commonly used on the continent and were mostly imported when British Gypsum had production problems. British plasters have tended to be pink for the last 30 years, before that grey in colour.
There are other products too, remember Polyripple?


edit and before anyone gets pedantic…lime plasters are softer, very thin over a sand/lime horse hair backing.

Comparing the Artex upstairs to the stuff we may have to move, the two seem very different - the Artex is certainly more coarse, while the stuff down stairs seems smoother and more rounded in the swirls it makes.

Paul, the finish is all down to the skill of the decorator. The mix is smooth and lump free when applied. The Asbestos fibres were included not for fire proofing but to give strength, in the same way as the horse hair in traditional plaster techniques.


some more discussion here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... ?t=3159660

It makes sense to pay for the testing if you are concerned.

Hmm - given the previous occupant was a “handyman” and the amount of bodged stuff we have found over time, I don’t think there’s much skill there. It does look like it was slopped on.



We’ll give it some more thought.

Just a thought, but are your concerns health-related, or more to do with regulatory compliance? EFBenson is right about Artex staying susceptible to moisture - wouldn't call it water-soluble exactly, but a wallpaper steamer should soften it up enough for you to get the worst of it off with a scraper.

My understanding of Asbestos-related health issues is that they're almost exclusively related to prolonged and/or intense exposure to asbestos e.g. decades of exposure without any PPE; with an appropriate respirator (Breaking Bad style P3) and clothing you should be fine, unless compliance with the regs is your main concern, of course, in which case ££££££££££...

Also, do you know approx. how old the textured finish is? FWIW Artex has been Asbestos-free for the last 20 years or so...

HTH Pete