Artex removal and ceilings in Brighton

Getting rid of an Artex ceiling

Artex and other textured coatings were hugely popular on ceilings and walls for decades, and plenty of homes in Brighton and Hove still have swirls, stipples or peaks overhead. Most people now want a flat, smooth ceiling that makes the room feel lighter and more modern, and there are three main ways to get one.

• Skimming over the Artex. Where the texture is shallow and sound, we apply a bonding coat and skim the ceiling smooth. It is usually the quickest and most affordable option, and it leaves the Artex undisturbed.
• Overboarding. Where the texture is deep, cracked or loose, we fix new plasterboard over the old ceiling and skim it. This also seals the old surface in.
• Taking the ceiling down. Where an old ceiling is failing, it may be better to remove it and start again with new boards and a skim. This needs more care with older coatings, as explained below.

Asbestos comes first

Textured coatings made before the 1980s often contained small amounts of white asbestos. The HSE says asbestos was completely banned in 1999 and may still be present in buildings built before 2000, and its guidance is clear that you should never scrape through or sand down textured coatings, and should not use power tools to cut through them.

Artex that is in good condition and left alone is not considered a risk. The problems start when it is sanded, scraped or drilled. So before we touch an older textured ceiling we will ask whether it has been tested and, if not, recommend a test. Covering it by skimming or boarding is often the simplest answer, and where a coating containing asbestos needs to come off, that work should be done by a specialist. Read our full guide to whether Artex contains asbestos.

Ceilings and coving

As well as dealing with Artex, we reboard and skim damaged or sagging ceilings, repair cracks, and fit new plaster coving or repair damaged sections. In period homes we can often match existing coving profiles so repairs blend in. MyJobQuote’s October 2026 guide puts plaster coving at around £25 to £60 per metre supplied and fitted.