Artex removal is priced by ceiling area, access and what happens to the surface afterwards, and it is one of the few asbestos jobs where the alternative is genuinely as good. Overboarding or skimming a sound textured ceiling leaves the material undisturbed, produces no hazardous waste and costs less. Removal earns its price when the ceiling is damaged, when it is coming down anyway, or when the finish has to be perfect.
What the removal price includes
Sheeting the room, wetting or chemically softening the coating, removing it under control, bagging and consigning the waste, and cleaning. What it may not include is making good the plaster underneath, which is frequently damaged by whatever the coating was hiding. Ask each quote what the ceiling looks like when they leave and who skims it.
Covering instead
Overboarding with plasterboard over the existing ceiling gives a flat finish, adds a small amount to the ceiling depth, and leaves the asbestos in place and sealed. Skimming directly over a sound textured coating is also done. Both are cheaper and quicker than removal and both have to be recorded, because the next person to take that ceiling down needs to know.
Test before either
Textured coatings from before the ban often contained asbestos and later ones do not, and there is no way to tell by eye. Two ceilings in the same house can differ. The analysis is a fraction of the job and it decides whether you are buying a decorating job or an asbestos one.
What never to do
Sanding, dry scraping or dry brushing a textured coating is what releases fibres, and it turns a routine ceiling into a contaminated house. If somebody has already started, stop, leave the debris, close the room and get advice. This site does not describe removal methods: the whole point of the trade is that the reader does not do the work.
Questions people ask about asbestos artex removal cost
Is it worth removing artex?
When the ceiling is sound and the only problem is the texture, covering is usually the better purchase. Removal earns its price when the ceiling is damaged or the room is being stripped anyway.
Does artex removal need a licensed contractor?
Textured coating removal is normally non-licensed work. It still needs a contractor who will do it wet, bag the waste properly and consign it as hazardous waste.
Can I skim over asbestos artex?
Skimming over a sound coating is a recognised way of managing it. Preparing the surface by sanding first is not, and that is the step that causes the harm.