Artex is a trade name (along with Wondertex, Suretex, Newtex, Pebblecoat and Marblecoat ) which has come to be used to describe all thick plaster-like paints that were used to create decorative effects, most commonly on ceilings, but often on walls too. Up until 1984 these decorative paints manufacturers used small amounts (only 3-5%) of Chrysotile white asbestos in Artex. Within the buiding trade these are referred to as textured coatings and the non-asbestos versions are still used to this day. As you would expect its use is very much dictated by fashion but it was used extensively up until 1980s.
There are no overwhelming safety reasons to remove Artex asbestos. In fact, the opposite is true. The removal process (through scraping) disturbs the material and causes fibre release. Up until 2006 textured coating could only be removed by licensed contractors but this is no longer true. That said its always best to use a specialist when removing asbestos because they use techniques to prevent fibre release.
If you do want a quote from a licensed removal comany you can use our form on the right otherwise there are specialist products available that soak into the paint and turn it into a mulch that can be easily scraped off. This is not for the faint-hearted as these products contain some pretty unpleasant chemicals. You certainly need to wear adequate protective clothing to ensure that you don't get splashed.
More recently new products have become available that allow you to 'plaster' over the textured coating and produce a flat surface. These are certainly the cheapest and safest option but presumably the finish isn't too good (unless you're a plasterer).
If your building is more than 25 years old then there is a good chance that your Artex does contain asbestos. The only only hard and fast way to find out is to get the material analysed by a specialised laboratory (see asbestos analysis). If you are worried about whether your Artex contains asbestos you can find out the cost to get a sample taken and analysed by using our 'need a quote?' form.
IMPORTANT: We are NOT a government organisation and the comments below merely represent the opinions of our staff (and other contributors) and any advice given is taken at your own risk.
Kay Priestley commented...
My house was built in the 1940s and the previous owners used a product called Marblecoat which i think is a fore runner of artex. I want toi remove this. It is now all covered with rough plartser so his will involve hacking the plaster / marble coat off bacjk to brick . Where can I get product information re asbestos in marblecoat
12/08/2010 12:05:07
Administrator commented...
Kay Marblecoat should be treated as Artex (its just a different trade name) and thus could potentiall contain upto 5% of chrysotile asbestos
22/08/2010 11:13:20
Dale Paterson commented...
i have to remove plaster from my walls to install a damp proof course for rising damp , the plaster has artex on and i would like to know the safest way to remove the plaster . thanks
28/09/2010 08:21:29
The safest way is to use a specialist product such as X-Tex which will turn the Artex into a mulch which can be easily scraped from the surface its on. The waste should be double-bagged and disposed of at your local recycling centre and it goes without saying that you should be wearing disposable coveralls and a P3 mask.
01/10/2010 09:51:57
Worried commented...
I recently scraped the artex from my hall and stair walls and now I'm really really worried that this is gonna make me and my family really ill. I used a wallpaper steamer and wore a mask some of the time but if the asbestos particles are airborne then my kids may have breathed them in. Our house was built in about 1975-1980. Can you offer any advice?
05/10/2010 20:19:03
Worried, Artex has minimal asbestos content (and Chrysotile at that) and only continued access over a long period would be dangerous for you and your family. Your kids breathe in asbestos fibres every day because they're present in ambient air. To put your mind at rest you may consider given the area a good vacumming.
05/10/2010 22:44:00
John commented...
The local housing association are coming to rewire my mothers kitchen which has artex on ceiling and walls, they were to carry out an asbestos survey before work commenced but this has never been done and the work starts in two days. Is this legal?
06/10/2010 11:01:24
John, your house becomes a place of work as soon as the landlord employs someone to work there. So, yes they are required to establish a register. They may already have one which presumes that everything is asbestos (or if the building was built after 1999 'nothing is asbestos'). The contractor should ask for the register before commencing work where they are likely to encounter asbestos.
06/10/2010 14:36:29
Jane commented...
We have a plaster ceiling rose that we intend to remove due to the light being relocated. I am not sure of how old the rose is perhaps 12 years? Is it possible that it may contain asbestos?
12/10/2010 19:58:56
brian commented...
I am tryiing to sell my house and have been advised that chrysotile is present in all the ceiiings.The house was built mid 70's and was not a problem when i got a mortgage and moved in 10 years ago.Do i have to replace the ceilings before i can continue with the sale?
23/10/2010 13:27:55
judy hayman commented...
I have only just learnt that Artex contains asbestos and I am concerned because recently a member of my family had their Artex ceiling sanded down by someone who obviously did not know what they were doing. The dust was appalling. What damage is likely to have been done to anyone before I tell them of the likely dangers? The ceiling would have been put in place in the 1970's I would guess. Thanks for your help.
24/10/2010 12:26:33
Jane, if its 12 years old it certainly should contain asbestos because although asbestos wasn't banned in the UK until 1999 it was removed from most products long before then. The really dangerous types of asbestos were banned back in the 80's
25/10/2010 12:58:53
Brian, you certainly don't have to remove the asbesto but its not uncommon for buyers to use the presence of asbestos as a way of getting the price reduced. While the reality is that there is almost no danger posed by textured coating while left in-situ, the cost of having it removed is high. So, if your buyers want to redecorate they probably don't want to fork out the removal costs.
25/10/2010 13:04:13
Judy, it certainly won't have done them any good thats for sure. At the time they may well have caused some damage to their lungs but the body should have healed them fine as it does almost 100% of the time. As I often say, asbestos exposure is just like smoking. The more you do it, the more chance that something nasty will develop. One exposure, no matter how big, should be OK. The people that are dieing are those that have worked day-in day-out in the presence of damaged asbestos material.
25/10/2010 13:09:53
joanne commented...
i have just recently found out that artex may have asbestos in. i moved in to my council house in june last yr & scraped the artex of the room & kitchen ceiling in feb this yr, i contacted my council which asured me that they would have done a asbestos check as there were major work done on my house, i still feel abit uncertain as i am worried for my children as they are only little. thanks
27/10/2010 09:26:28
Joanne, your council's response seems a little strange because if they have had an asbestos survey carried out they should be able to tell you whether or not the artex contained asbestos. Either way, as long as the artex has gone you are in little danger (see post above). If you are still worried you may want to contact the council again and ask if your artex contained asbestos.
27/10/2010 10:05:50
Joan commented...
We had most of our walls and ceilings Artexed in 1994 and it looks like we now have damp as the Artex is a few places has become soft and fallen off when touched. Is it safe to remove it please?
28/10/2010 18:17:37
Cathy Hagan commented...
I moved into my house in 1994. The kitchen has artex on the walls and ceiling which had been carried out in 1993. Is there a chance that there may be asbestos in the artex?
29/10/2010 10:47:08
There is a chance that it will contain asbestos but (assuming that you are in the UK) most companies stopped putting artex in their paints in the 80s. Chrysotile asbestos (the type found in Artex) was not banned until 1999.
01/11/2010 07:59:46
r cassidy commented...
I have artex in my bedroom and its been there for about 25 years i have been there 11 years can you tell me if it would be harmfull to drill my walls to attach a television
17/11/2010 13:58:09
r cassidy, if the Artex did contain asbestos this low-level exposure would probably cause you about as much harm as smoking a cigarette.
17/11/2010 18:20:36
Coughing commented...
I live in a house built on 1963. Yesterday a builder, who is rebuilding our porch, sanded down a bobbly artex ceiling (area is about 2m x 1.5m). The smell was really strong so I put my 3 month old to bed in a bedroom at the back of the house and sat in a front bedroom with my toddler. When they had finished I return to the lounge for the rest of the day. I am now really concerned about asbestos dust as there was dust everywhere. We have wiped all surfaces with a damp cloth and washed clothes ect. We have also opened all widows and doors for an hour. Could this level of exposure harm my children?
19/11/2010 10:47:47
An exposure to asbestos like this certainly wouldn't do a child any good but there are a few things to consider. Firstly, textured coating contains very little asbestos and it contains Chrysotile which is commonly considered as the least dangerous type. Secondly, there is a good chance that the material doesn't contain asbestos because I'm sure the house has been repainted in the last 25 years. Either waiy it seems that you have done the best thing by wiping down the surfaces but if you are still worried you may want to contact the HSE and talk to someone in person.
19/11/2010 12:28:39
Jem commented...
I am in the middle of buying a house, I have had a survery done and been advised that the artexed ceilings and the porch walls/ceiling may contain asbestos. We have been told that if we are not planning on decorating it is fine, but if we are then we shouldn't sand it down etc because of the asbestos being disturbed. We were not planning on removing it, but instead having the ceilings skimmed over with plaster instead. Does skim plastering over the artex provide the same risk? Would the process of skimming disturb asbestos (if there is any)?
02/12/2010 19:36:51
aiden commented...
I recently moved into a georgian dated building and am in the process of re-decorating. I have just removed a layer of artex that had begun to hang and flake off on one of the downstairs ceilings and did not use breathing apparatus throughout the entire duration of the work. Could you please tell me the chances of that artex containing asbestos? I also heard that it only takes one fibre of asbestos to cause asbestosis in later life, is this true? Many thanks
07/12/2010 09:44:14
Jem. Skimming isn't likely to release dangerous levels of fibres.
07/12/2010 14:00:36
Aiden, in theory it only takes one fibre but thats like saying it only takes one cigarette to give you cancer. The reality is that the risk of cancer greatly increases as you increasingly expose yourself to carconogenics. Please bear in mind that we often breath in asbestos in normal ambient air.
07/12/2010 14:04:35
Ben commented...
Many thanks for this useful site. I've only recently become aware of chrysotile asbestos in artex / polytex. This has concerned me as over the past 4 years I have drilled approx 15 holes (light fittings, projector screen bracket, etc.,...) in ceilings with thin artex / polytex in my house, without taking any precautions. Also when removing strip lights in the kitchen 4 years ago a portion of the thin (1 or 2mm thick) artex / polytex (approx 1 squeare foot) came away with the light. As I was unaware I took no special care in the disposal of the debris. I did repaint (just for cosmetic reasons at the time) the damaged area shortly after. Now knowing that artex/polytex contains chrysotile asbestos I have concerns for the long term health of my family. Obviously it's too late to do anything to change my drilling / light removal mistakes, but how worried should I be? I have read that occasional exposure to chrysotile carries only low risk of lung disease. Would the exposure that I and my family have suffered because of my prior ignorance count as such 'low risk'? Many thanks for any information. Ben
12/12/2010 19:35:46
Ben, thank you, the exposures you've had are insignificant and you need not worry. For Artex to cause health problems you'd need to exposure yourself to a damaged material over a long period.
16/12/2010 09:09:37
Rod Atkinson commented...
My son has an old cottage with what looks like an artex ceiling which we will have to take a piece out of due to leaking water from a shower above. We would probably cut a rectangle out with a stanley knife. Please advise best safety precautions for this sort of job. When did artex with asbestos content first come into use in the UK? Regards Rod Atkinson
05/01/2011 09:06:54
chalky commented...
I am worried sick as we have bought a new house, when having the walls replastered the plasterer knocked the tips of the artex celling before skimming. Later samples said it was white asbestos. We arn't living in the house but have been in there most days, although we wernt there when the skimming was done. How much asbestos dust would have been around as we have a small baby? The plasterer swept up after and didt sand it just knocked the tips of each peak. Im so worried.
05/01/2011 21:20:14
Rod, Have never been able to find an accurate answer to the timing question, I'm afraid. With regard to cutting the material, damp down the area thoroughly (to prevent fibre release), use a disposable knife and wear a P3 mask.The frayed edges left behind could be sealed with a PVA solution (or painted) if you feel so inclined.
07/01/2011 19:12:18
Chalky, artex contains very little asbestos (as your sample analysis will have confirmed) so, while there will have been some level of exposure, it was a one-off and should not be significant. Sounds like the plasterer took the brunt of it and if he does that regularly he will be exposing himself to excessive levels.If you are really worried you could have an air test carried out.
07/01/2011 19:18:24
c c commented...
Is a air test needed? It was alll swept up and it wasnt sanded just chipped off?
07/01/2011 20:37:40
CC, No, I don't think so. Some people need more reassuring than others so I guess its more down to the individual.
07/01/2011 21:51:54
Andy commented...
I live in an MOD house constructed c1960 with Artex ceilings. We suffered a burst pipe over Christmas which brought down the lounge ceiling. I was sat in the adjoining room as the contractors took away the soaked, collapsed section, removed a bulged drier section and then screwed plasterboard over the top of the whole ceiling and re-artexed. Could I/they have been affected. My suspicions were raised when the maintenance company called to ask to take a sample for asbestos testing after all debris had been removed and work completed - is that legal and should I now be worried? Final question - will the sofas that were under the ceiling be damaged beyond repair by the fibres? Many questions, but thanks.
08/01/2011 23:17:25
Nicola commented...
We have just bought a new house built in 1999 and all the ceilings are textured, how do i find out if the ceilings contain asbestos ?
13/01/2011 13:08:57
mrctr commented...
in our downstairs toilet the system is that old it has mmmf around some of the pipes which is damaged and exposed. And on the walls looks like artek 2 me and if u run ur fingetnail over the wall, paint comes off on your finger and is crumbly in your hand will that be exposing us to asbestos if there is any
15/01/2011 22:12:56
Andy, the law is a bit strange here because the companies are required by law to get a survey carried our before they employ anyone to work within a building. Now, I am assuming that you don't actually work there so this wouldn't effect you. The workman, however, could have been unnecessarily exposed to asbestos (which is probably why they are panicking a bit). Of course, at this stage, we cannot be sure that asbestos was present and until the analysis results come back you won't know. I would vaccum all of the visible debris and this should be sufficient. Artex is a composite product and only has very small quantitiies of white asbestos present.
17/01/2011 14:36:40
Nicola, asbestos artex was not used as late as 1999.
17/01/2011 14:37:14
The MMMF won't contain asbestos if you are sure thats what it is (asbestos is not manmade). If the Artex does contain asbestos then you will be exposed to the fibres. This is nothing to worry about as long as the exposure is not prolonged. If you think the room was decorated before the mid-80s it might be worth getting someone to have a look.
17/01/2011 14:43:32
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