Abestos

Asbestos in Artex Ceilings and Textured Coating

Commercial and residential buildings may have artex and other textured coatings on walls and ceilings which may contain asbestos.

Artex is often found on the ceilings of bedrooms and living areas of homes. If these materials are left undamaged, they are not potentially harmful to your health.

The risk is not the artex itself, but the asbestos fibres that could be contained in it.

If you are looking to remove your artexed ceiling or walls, want to sand the material or disturb it in another way, you need to know if it contains asbestos first.

Asbestos was a popular building material and was used in thousands of products prior to being banned fully in the UK in 1999. Asbestos was still legal when artex was popular during the 1960's through to the 1980's. Artex and textured coatings used during that period may contain asbestos fibres.

The only way to know if artex or textured coatings contains asbestos is by having a sample tested.

The quantity of asbestos in artex is relatively low, typically stated as around 1-2%, There are different types of asbestos. The type found in artex is chrysotile, also known as white asbestos. This was banned from use in the UK until 1999.

Asbestos is only a risk to health when the fibres are released and breathed into your lungs. Asbestos containing products can remain in properties without risk to your health, as long as they are not damaged.

To be 100% sure if asbestos is present the artex will need to be tested by an asbestos surveyor.

Asbestos is a high risk material.

Our typical cost for sampling and testing is £60 plus VAT per medium sized room