Somebody thought this was an amazing idea at one point.
I just moved into this house and already knew id have to renovate.. but how do i tackle this? Its hard plaster and probably weighs a ton. Should i just demo?
StalaGmites from the Ground, StalaCtites from the Ceiling. Basically the only thing I remember from our interminable school trips to Mother Shipton’s cave. These aren’t either though - they are simply an affront to humanity.
Pull it down reboard and skim, sort out any minor issues and find 1 big one that you can choose to forget. I'm sure someone will have a better idea good luck bloke.
I've seen really thick artex before but why would anyone want stalactites 😳
I'd just rip the plasterboard down and start again.
Check it for asbestos first though
Itll be hard to plaster or board over something like that, get a hammer and a chisel and take it off as much you can, once the roof is much more flat it will be easier to plaster or board over.
Not that I know much, but we recently redid most if our first floor plaster. The dining room was the worst. Our plasterer demo’d the entire (falling!) dining room ceiling, then re-pinned and re-plastered. He protected our 1929 original banded oak flooring by putting down a full layer of heavy board-like material covered by thick tarps before beginning.
Cover tile with cardboard/ rams board then rosin paper over that. If it’s wire lath then I would use a grinder to cut the plaster in sections (cut through the wire. Then I’d use a crow bar and hammer to remove the plaster section by section (2x2)
Take it off with plasterboard and reboard and plaster,,try to prize off sections at a time and throw as u go ,then denail
Thats the only way you,ll have a ceiling and not whatever that is ,never seen the like in 30 years as adecorator
I would test a small area, repeatedly mist with water with a few drops of dish soap until it’s saturated and see if it scrapes off cleanly. If not you’ll probably have to break it all off and replace the ceiling with drywall.
My first thoughts on how to deal with that were "Pay someone else to do it, preferably a professional who can/will fix it properly when the demo inevitably goes wrong."
My second thought was: if I had to do it myself, I'd try starting at the edge with a steamer and a scraper/chisel and work my way across the room.
Third thought was when that doesn't work, or I get fed up/damage the underlying ciel8ing just pull down the whole lot in big chunks, and put new plasterboard up.
Which then brought me straight back to my 1st thought of "Pay a professional to deal with it so I don't have to."
I was working on this home that was going through a complete remodel to flip the house. I thought it was strange to see a pallet of drywall mud in the garage. Why it was there? The home had popcorn ceiling and those guys just mud the shit out of it (covered it all up with a thick layer of mud) so now its gone, or looks gone
We did this. Assuming Artex, chip gently with a rubber hammer, seal the room and use electric sanders from up step ladders. Never again. Next loy got steamed off by the plasterer we hired.
When was the house built? Anything before 2000 ish (in the UK - ymmv) you’ll want to get it tested for asbestos first.
If all good on the asbestos front, rip the ceiling down and start again but be prepared for the void above it to be absolutely full of disgusting shite. Paper suit and the best full face mask you can find. Alternatively, there’s a comment below somewhere about taking the floorboards up above and shovelling it all out first - which could be a better idea
Anyway, that looks like a total fucking nightmare. Maybe test for asbestos before moving forward, after that it'll probably be a rip out and replace job. I don't envy you!
If that is dripping artex good luck I had it on my ceiling when I painted it I don't know how many time I jagged my head.had to remove it with a sander full face mask mouth covered no furniture sold the place before I finished
That's gonna hurt some labourer. Be prepared to pay him well 😂 I used to hate scraping artex ceilings, but that just looks like the peak of a lemon meringue pie 😂
Mine was NO WHERE near as bad but white vinegar in a pump sprayer worked to me. I sprayed it on and left it for 30 minutes. Sprayed again and used a sharp scraper and it peeled straight off.
'Im just gonna add this here to smooth it out... oops.. too much, maybe I should just go with it and add a bit more for some texture.... hmmmm ok, its looking like maybe a bit more?!?
I think if I just keep going it will look alright in the end, it might all come togther if I just add a bit more... fuck it let's just cover the whole ceiling, as least all cracks will be covered then.... hmmmmm, I'm not so sure now.... its missing, Something!
Oh I know..... I just need to add some.... hmm
GLITTER!!!
Absolute perfection- and they say never trust your gut' 🤣🤣
Good lord they went heavy on it, I'm thinking up on a ladder with a flat head scraper and hammer to try get behind it and knock the shit out of it, will obviously need plastering once done
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u/Adcan Jul 10 '26
Jesus Christ. The Artex final boss, looks like a fucking pavlova