Is this Distemper

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Rotsocks7

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Merry Christmas to everybody

Went to have a look at a Bathroom and Toilet that need plastering this morning.
Walls and ceilings have a rough painted artex finish on them currently that the owner wants skimming flat.
Looks straight forward enough but the is a small area in one corner where the paint has peeled away and the artex underneath is loose and powdery.
The backing plaster is solid with no evidence of damp.
I have seen a few threads on here in relation to distemper in older buildings and wondered what you guy's think.
I have added a picture of the affected area and would appreciate your comments.

Cheers Andy
 
Hard to say looking at the picture, how old is the house? Main concern looking at the pic is that just to the left of the patch that is off it looks like some damp issue is their. Another thing before you take the job on is that if the artex is coming away it will bring your skimming with it.
 
Sounds like it - Its hard to tell from the picture if its just the artex though. How old is the property. Can you see any reason why paint would have peeled just in that spot ?

You could try the wall paper steamer but Id worry about blowing the plaster behind off.
 
thing with artex mate is that it dosent set like plaster it can be bought back to wet even when its donkeys years old,thats how come you can get it off with a steamer,steams prolly got thru the paint an turned it back,scrape off all the loose,use a stabiliser on the patch,couple of good coats of pva should sort it but the best bets to over board if the money stretches to it!
 
gmw said:
thing with artex mate is that it dosent set like plaster it can be bought back to wet even when its donkeys years old,thats how come you can get it off with a steamer,

Exactly if the wall is small enough to do it may be just as cost effective to steam the artex and the distemper off, scrap it back and just skim on the original plaster. (H&S issues aside)
 
probs be quicker to overboard and skim? ive never had the pleasure of steaming it off before.. is this a lengthty task?
 
Normaly with it being a bathroom it would off probably had some condenstion issues hence the patch in just one corner, wouldn't bother scraping or steaming just overboard, as quick realy. and just qoute him H&S ,and bump up your price.
If not then stabilise, unibond, maybe bond out and skim or just unibond and skim personal preferance more than owt
 
MrSpoon85 said:
probs be quicker to overboard and skim? ive never had the pleasure of steaming it off before.. is this a lengthty task?
prolly the most shity dirty job you could think of mate ,avoid it like the pox!
 
in that case i vowe never to steam, unless its wallpaper and the price is right ofcourse
 
sorry just re-read it and realised theres wall paper there ...........warriors bang on man goo's probably the way forward ;)
lay into it while it's still warm though :)
 
as long as youre fairly post op you should be fine ............it's the blood that actually acts as the key ;)
 
how about the size of the job lads,if its a bit big do you get your mates to give you a lift or is it a case for that vigara stuff? :eek:
 
;D.......yep or the missus......it's tricky tying the jobs in to the time of the month though :-\
ive got a huge pile at the mo which helps, instead of the old squirt and rub method i pop and rub my fat arse over the wall ;)
 
Thanks for the feedback :)
The property is over a 100 years old and the customer does not want it boarding as the wall in question has a radiator fitted so it would require replumbing after board and skim.
The rest of the artex apart from this area is solid so think i am going to scrape and stabilize the affected area,scrape the high spots elsewhere,2 x pva then skim.
Will let you know how i get on.
ps Where can I get hold of some Artex Stabilex. I have tried all the local DIY and decorating centres with no joy and all of the local building suppliers are closed.
 
Billy said:
Thanks for the feedback :)
The property is over a 100 years old and the customer does not want it boarding as the wall in question has a radiator fitted so it would require replumbing after board and skim.
The rest of the artex apart from this area is solid so think i am going to scrape and stabilize the affected area,scrape the high spots elsewhere,2 x pva then skim.
Will let you know how i get on.
ps Where can I get hold of some Artex Stabilex. I have tried all the local DIY and decorating centres with no joy and all of the local building suppliers are closed.

B&Q
Homebase
Dulux Decorator Centres
Crown Decorator Centres
Brewers
SigmaKalon
Travis Perkins
Jewson

those are the stockist listed on their site.
 
Thanks for that bud.
Tried the first 4 with no joy so will try my local Jewsons if they are back open tomorrow.
 
If you get stuck you can use wood or metal primer , a couple of coates , a old school decorator i know does it this way .I have skimmed a few ceilings he has done like this , and all was fine .
If its loose in a bathroom like this , you may find most of the artex will scrape away after a coat of pva.
 
sometimes it is easyer and certainly cheaper to get a steamer and sponge to the distemper ( if thats what it is) then get a scraper to it and scrape it off...another one is shilac ( a chippys sealer liquid ) also good with stains that come through plaster...but as kebab king says paints out there too to do the job...lots by leyland paints
 
Funny that , i seem to rember Phippsy involved in a little disscussion about distemper on another forum , with a little Big man.
 
Did the plastering last weekend then went back in the week to do the painting.
Surprised by how many want the painting doing aswell.
Anway had no problems with the affected area and the plaster is still on the wall.
 
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