Asbestos In Artex Ceilings
The most common form of asbestos in ceilings is artex a type of decorative textured wall coating.
Asbestos in artex ceilings. In this post we look at when you should be worried and what the law says about asbestos in artex. It was particularly popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The risk of asbestos in artex ceilings many buildings contain artex and other textured coatings on walls and ceilings which may contain asbestos.
These days the dangers of asbestos are relatively well known and as a consequence the material has been banned in the uk since 1999. It was commonly applied in swirls and stipples but may also be smooth and was applied to various materials including plasterboard and lath and plaster. The name has become synonymous with all textured coatings but there are in fact several competing businesses that sell similar products.
Artex is the name of a company that produces textured wall and ceiling coatings. In the past most of these coatings contained asbestos particles these were added as a hardener to firm up the liquid. Although artex was also offered in a non asbestos containing form from 1976 asbestos containing artex continued to be produced in the uk until 1984 and was still being installed well into the late 1990 s.
The biggest risk is not the artex itself but the potentially deadly fibres contained in it. Asbestos in artex ceilings walls is only dangerous when the artex is damaged. Artex is the trademark of british company artex limited.