How do I removed a pattern from a plastered ceiling ?

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Laura

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Have bought a house with plaster work designed onto the ceiling .. sort of like icing on a cake. Its horrible and want to make it smooth and get rid of the centre piece as well. Would like to do this ourselves if possible. Does anyone know how to make a patterned plastered ceiling smooth ? Any recommendations.
I don't want to plaster over it - I want to sand it down smooth if I can - Any special machinery for this job ?
 
Hi Laura,

is this a period house? What you are describing sounds like period plasterwork. I would say that in no account should you remove this from an old property. Ornate plasterwork is a real asset of the house and when you come to sell, it really keeps the price high. Period property stripped of its period details has a lower value.

If you have a period property, give a call to the council's planning department and ask for the conservation officer. Not because you need planning permission or anything, but generally conservation officers are a mine of good information and they would give you lots of good advice for free! And actually a modern decorating scheme can look stunning in a period room.

If your property is modern and you are talking about artistic Artex (the stuff of the devil in my opinion :) ) then ignore the above.

cheers,
Diziet (who likes old houses)
 
I assumed from the first post that it was a stippled ceiling and not necessarily period plasterwork. I'm not sure how you get a stippled ceiling smooth again. I suspect that you can't just sand it flat and maybe it needs to be reskimmed after removal of the stippling or over this.
 
Sounds like Artex stippling or fancy plasterwork either way if you don't like it there is no quick fix you would be better off tearing down the ceiling putting up new plasterboard and replastering to obtain a new smooth finish.

Good Luck ;)
 
Polycell make a product called Smoothover for Textured Ceilings. It is easy and quick to apply and has a good finish. You can get it at Atlantic Homecare but it is expensive.

Before you do this though, get a paint scraper and see if you can shave it down with brute force. Some types of 'Artex' are not plasticised and can be fairly easily removed, you might be lucky.
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies - The house is not a period house - I reckon its about 20 years old. Some of the ceilings have stippled plaster work which could be lived with but its the sitting room and hallway that have this sort of concentric pattern plastered onto them. I haven't tried sanding it. I reckon that could be a nightmare. I was kind of hoping there would be miracle chemical you could apply that would soften the plaster for smoothing again - Wishful thinking on my behalf probably
 
Hi again Laura,

I did try an Artex remover preparation in my previous (modern) house and it was not great. Do not try to sand it - a waste of time. You may be able to prise it off and then fill, but I suspect a new plasterboard ceiling as suggested before is a quicker option. Sorry about the lecture on period houses - it is difficult to tell in this medium!

cheers,
Diziet
 
1) You don't need to replace your whole ceiling, that is daft unless you are stinking rich and want a perfect finish.

2) There is no effective chemical to remove 'Artex' although you could probably use paint stripper if you were determined to spend a lot of time and mony to burn your face off.

3) You my be able to scrape it flatt quickly and easily if it is not plasticised.

4) You will most likely have to a)live with it or b) use a product to smooth it over.


Erith said:
Polycell make a product called Smoothover for Textured Ceilings. It is easy and quick to apply and has a good finish. You can get it at Atlantic Homecare but it is expensive.

Before you do this though, get a paint scraper and see if you can shave it down with brute force. Some types of 'Artex' are not plasticised and can be fairly easily removed, you might be lucky.
Click to expand...
 
It might not be 'Artex'. It could be ordinary plaster that the plasterer 'drew' out the pattern with a comb while it was still wet. I had that concentric pattern on the ceiling in one room and ended up knocking off the high spots and plastered over it. Pig of a job ( I'm not a plasterer though), I would have been quicker to slab it and tape it like Dobber said.

Maybe a plasterer could skim it out for you quickly and .....cheaply??
 
Had a job done on stillped ceilings in previous house (living room, hallway, Kitchen\diner). Paid plasterer about 400 to skim them. Quick, easy & pain-free. Nice smooth ceilings at the end of it !
 
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