Hi guys, I have a couple of weeks coming up so I am planning on doing my Bathroom.

Now I have Artex stipple effect on the celing, now do I pull the celing down and re-board, or can I get a plasterer for a day to re-skim? (May as well get the walls done at the same time if I can)

Spoken to a couple of guys (not plasterers) once says if its stipple effect this will be perfect. The other said, that I cant do this or the skim well go soft??

Any advice?

P.s. If it is a re-skim anyone plasterers near or around Ashford, Kent?

So basically you have spoken to a couple of guys who haven't got a clue

You can skim over the artex. However, as you are refurbing the room then why not have the ceiling down, new one up and as you say, skim the whole room.

This is not intended to be a stupid question but if I can skim over it, why would I want too? I dont think taking the old ceiling down would be a massive ordeal as I think a couple of sheets of plasterboard would cover it, just seems like more effort?

thing with artex, it can go a bit pete tong from time to time, ive skimmed hundreds of artex ceilings and had my fair share of nightmares... yes, you can skim it, but if the artex was badly done in the first place it has this really annoying habit of waiting till youve 2nd coated and are on the 2nd trowel before it changes its name to carpet...
reboarding it will cut any uncertainty out of the job and for the price of 2 boards (about 8 quid) and a bootfull of old board for the tip you could board it yourself and save the heartache of realising the plasterer you get wasnt as good as you hoped...
youll need a plasterer to tell you one way or the other really...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

yes, definately can skim over artex!! two coats of pva and skim when 2nd coat is tacky. check for high spots on the stipple though as skim is only few mm thin. if in doubt scrape the stipple off, check the age of artex 1st though incase contains asbestos. if still in doubt remove ceiling and replace with 12.5mm boards and skim away

Theres no reason why you can't overskim artex, I've done it loads of times. But I agree with chris, The best option is always to take it down and reboard. you can buy the board and the skim for about £20 so its hardly breaking the bank. A decent plasterer will take no more than a day to skim a bathroom.

agree with SB and CW, i've also done a few artex ceilings and had one 'fail and bail' on me, not a good experience and messy to boot!

Artex coatings have recently been declassified as a hazardous asbestos containing material because the amount of artex in it was only ever below 2% and is deemed no danger.

so i'd also advise you rip it done and tack up a couple of new boards, and get the whole room skimmed.

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“He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever”
Abingdon Plasterer

if you dont want to re-board I would recommend a coat of bonding before skimming.