Practical Guide
Does Artex Contain Asbestos?
Some Artex does, most modern Artex doesn't, and nobody can tell which by looking. Here is when asbestos stopped being used in Artex and other textured coatings, how to tell if your ceiling has it, and what to do once you know.
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The short answer
Artex and similar textured coatings applied before 2000 may contain a small amount of white asbestos (chrysotile). Artex Ltd stopped adding asbestos in the mid-1980s, but other brands and old stock carried on until the 1999 UK ban. Only a lab test can tell them apart.
The Background
Artex, asbestos and why the two get confused
Artex is a brand name that became the everyday word for any textured ceiling or wall coating — the swirls, stipples, combed arcs and 'pebble' finishes that went on millions of UK ceilings from the 1960s onwards. It was popular because it was cheap, hid cracks and uneven plaster, and needed no skilled plastering to apply.
Asbestos was added to many of these coatings as a reinforcing fibre, usually white asbestos (chrysotile), and usually at a low level — typically a few per cent. That low content, held in a bonded coating, is why intact asbestos Artex is a lower-risk material than most. It is also why sanding, scraping or drilling it dry is a bad idea: the fibre is there, and abrasion is the thing that frees it.
The Dates
When did they stop using asbestos in Artex?
Artex Ltd, the company behind the brand, is generally reported to have stopped adding asbestos to its own products in the mid-1980s. That date gets quoted as if it closes the question, and it doesn't — 'Artex' on a ceiling usually just means textured coating, and other manufacturers kept using asbestos for longer.
White asbestos was not banned in the UK until 24 November 1999, and existing stock could still be used up after that. So the honest rule is the one surveyors work to: any textured coating applied before 2000 should be treated as possibly containing asbestos until a test says otherwise. Coatings applied after 2000 are clear.
For the full timeline, see when asbestos was banned in the UK.
The Odds
Does all Artex have asbestos?
No — and that is the point most people miss. Plenty of textured coatings from the 1970s and 80s test clear, and plenty from the same streets test positive. Two identical-looking ceilings in the same house, done in different decades, can give different results. The pattern, colour, thickness and how many times it has been painted tell you nothing reliable about the asbestos content.
What raises the odds is age: a coating applied in the 1960s or 70s is more likely to contain asbestos than one applied in the late 80s or 90s. What settles it is a lab result.
How To Tell
How to tell if Artex has asbestos
You can narrow it down by date — when was the house built, and when was the ceiling last redone? — but the only way to know is to test it. A small sample of the coating goes to a UKAS-accredited laboratory, which examines it under a microscope and reports whether asbestos is present. It costs around £25–£60 per sample and results come back in a few working days.
Test every ceiling you plan to disturb, not just one. Different rooms were often coated at different times, and a clear result in the living room says nothing about the hall.
- Is the coating older than 2000? If so, treat it as suspect
- Has it been sanded, scraped or drilled already? Stop and test
- Is the work going to cut, sand or remove it? Test first
- Several rooms done at different times? Test each one
- Painted over many times? That changes nothing — still test
- Selling, letting or renovating? A survey may cover all of it
Testing Options
Artex asbestos testing: home kits or professional sampling?
An Artex asbestos testing kit is a sample bag, a form and a prepaid analysis at a real laboratory. The analysis is usually sound. The weak point is you taking the sample — scraping a piece of ceiling off from a stepladder without damping it is exactly the disturbance you were trying to avoid, and a sample from the wrong layer or the wrong room gives you a clean certificate for a ceiling that isn't clean.
Professional sampling costs a little more and removes both problems: the sample is taken damp, the point is sealed afterwards, and you get a result you can show a plasterer, an electrician or a buyer. Our asbestos testing service does this across Glasgow, often the same day.
What Next
Asbestos in your Artex: leave it, cover it, or remove it
A positive result is not an emergency. An intact, painted asbestos ceiling that nobody is going to drill or sand is safe to live under, and leaving it alone is a legitimate choice. If you want a smooth finish, overboarding with new plasterboard or encapsulating the surface avoids disturbing it — the asbestos stays, so record it and tell anyone who works on the ceiling later.
Textured coatings such as Artex are non-licensed work under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Removal still needs trained operatives, wet methods, controlled waste and a clean finish — it just doesn't need an HSE licence, and a firm quoting licensed-work prices for an ordinary ceiling is pricing the wrong job.
If the ceiling has to come out — a rewire, a layout change, water damage — our Artex asbestos removal page sets out the method and typical costs.
Don't sand, scrape or drill it until you know
Dry sanding and power tools are the fastest way to turn a low-risk asbestos coating into airborne dust. If work has already started on a suspect ceiling, stop, close the door, keep people out and get it tested before anything else happens.
Reviewed by Quinton Davidson, founder of Asbestos Removal Environmental, with 30+ years' hands-on industry experience.
Sources
Common Questions
FAQs
Is Artex asbestos?
Some is, much isn't. Textured coatings applied before 2000 may contain a small amount of white asbestos; coatings applied after 2000 do not. The only way to know about a particular ceiling is a lab test, at around £25–£60 per sample.
When did Artex stop using asbestos?
Artex Ltd is generally reported to have removed asbestos from its own product in the mid-1980s. Other textured coating manufacturers, and old stock, carried on until white asbestos was banned in the UK on 24 November 1999 — so treat any coating applied before 2000 as suspect.
How do you test Artex for asbestos?
A small piece of the coating is taken damp, sealed in a double bag and analysed under a microscope by a UKAS-accredited laboratory. Results take a few working days. You can use a postal kit, but professional sampling avoids disturbing the ceiling dry and makes sure the right layer is tested.
Can I drill into an Artex ceiling?
Not until you know what it is. Drilling an asbestos coating releases fibres at the drill point. If it tests clear, carry on. If it tests positive, any drilling should be done by someone trained to work on asbestos, with the spot damped, dust captured at the bit and the area cleaned wet — not as a quick DIY job with a household hoover.
Is it dangerous to live in a house with asbestos Artex?
Not while it is intact and undisturbed. The asbestos is bound into the coating, and painted, sound ceilings release essentially nothing in normal use. The risk comes from sanding, scraping, drilling or water damage that makes the coating crumble.
How much does it cost to remove asbestos Artex?
As a market guide, about £25–£50 per m², which puts a typical room ceiling at £600–£1,500 including cleaning and disposal. Overboarding or encapsulation instead runs about £15–£30 per m². A test first, at £25–£60, tells you whether any of it is necessary.