How to remove spiky plaster/finish on inside walls?

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Petal

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Hi guys,

There's all this spiky stuff/finish/plaster - a bit like pebble dash on the inside walls, which I'd like to get rid of. What's the best way about doing this?

Many thanks for your help.
 
It is probably woodchip wallpaper if on the walls. If on the ceilings, it is probably stippled plaster.

If woodchip is on the walls you can strip it as you would any wallpaper (i.e. labouriously with loads of swearing!), or you can skim it.

Not sure about whether you could skim a stippled ceiling, or whether you'd have to hack it down, re-slab the ceiling and then skim.
 
Sounds like artex/ textured plaster. Right pain to remove. You can get a chemical stripper or use a steam wall paper stipper to soften it. Either way, this is a messy job. Alterantively you can plaster over it, there are a few DIY products available such as PolyCell Smooth Over.

Be careful if the plaster is old though, some older varieties contained asbestos.
 
Thanks for that. It's definitely that stippled plaster, same as on the ceiling. How would I find out about the asbestos? Not sure how old the plaster might be, all I know is that the house is 60 years old, but I think the extension was built 20 years ago and has the same stuff on the walls. Either way, it has to go, it's ugly!!!
 
Another option would be to use a bolster chisel to knock off the highest part of the plaster and as suggested get some bonding agent and then replaster or reskim with hardwall if possible.
 
Petal,

We just moved into a house a month ago that has this in one room (thankfully only one). House is about 50 years old. Is so naff is'nt it?? It's definitely not woodchip - it's like a plaster/stoney effect. Ours is like little ice-cream cones sticking out of the walls

We were wondering how to get rid of it too. Are getting a re-wire and re-plumb done so will need to get a plasterer out anyways to do the whole house. Are hoping to get one out next week to see what can be done with this stipple sh*te. Will let you know what he recomends

D
 
We have this too - stippled ceilings everywhere downstairs. The guy doing up our house is going to plasterboard over it. My boyfriend is a bit worried it'll be too heavy for the ceiling - any opinions??
 
I've been told that either sanding it off or using a steamer will help in getting rid of. Aparently it's a paint, usually cement is added to it, so it's not actually a plaster as such... Either way, I'll keep you all posted also on any progress made!
 
More often than not, it is a form of plaster. Cement in paint would be quite tricky to work I'd imagine.

I wouldn't advise sanding unless you like the idea of living through a Saharan sand storm. Steaming or using the special chemicals is the best way to remove, both are tedious and slow though.

As for determining if it contains asbestos, only an asbestos removal specialist will know for sure. From what I've read, the use of asbestos in textured plaster stopped around 1985.
Leo
 
Many thanks for the info Leo. The pain doesn't look 20 years old, so I'm hopeful about the asbestos, but in any case where would i get one of those specialists? I also got this wrong with the cement, it's actually sand that is added. I saw a spot in the kitchen behind one of the cupboards where you can see the plaster underneath, so it appears to be just paint with added sand. Is that paintstripper you're referring to when talking about chemicals?
 
Hi Muffin1973,

We had that done in our last house. The ceiling stipple was quite big - too chunky to just skim over. We were given the choice of sanding the spikes down or simply plasterboarding over. We went with the plasterboarding - was less effort for us :)

Was pricey enough as we had the whole of downstairs done. It was absolutely fine - no need to worry about the weight. Just got a skim of plaster over it then. Was a great job

D
 
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