[ricflairandy]

Just wondering how hard / expensive this would cost?

[Dave]

Very hard to do it yourself and quite expensive to get professionals in.

You can skim over artex but then there's the problem of wiring the spots in which is a nightmare if the joists run the wrong way.

Costs wise, it depends on the size of the room but your probably looking at around 500 quid for a small to medium sized room.

[smiffy333]

Depends if you are going to be doing any of it yourself.
Cost me £100 to get the ceiling skimmed and about £50 for th lights/cable. Just find where the joists are and work out the position of the lights from that, do it before the plastering in case you get it wrong!
Looks a whole lot better as well

[ricflairandy]

do you guys know of any guides oranything? Its the wireng the spots thats worrying me, i dont want to have to lift the boards up upstairs.

[clockworks]

Might be easier to add another layer of plasterboard. You can then drill holes and cut channels in the existing board to fit the wiring, then just board and skim the whole lot.

The wiring is simple, as long as you are going to use the existing light switch. Just replace the ceiling rose with a 4-terminal junction box, and run a cable from each spot to the junction box. The spots will connect to the neutral terminal and the live return from the switch, just like the existing pendant fitting connects to the rose.

[KW1816]

from artex cieling to flat with spotlights, anyone done this?

Did this in two rooms last year. The first was a large lounge (6MX5M) and we brought a plasterer in to do it. Had a quick chat about the best way to do it and we decided on (in order of works) ......

Removed exisiting central light.
Decided on position of new spots (GU10 Mains voltage halogens) which involved pinging chalk lines across the ceiling - great fun
Cut holes for new spots.
Very limited access above so we ran the cables by using the new spot holes as access and chasing out the ceiling where we crossed joists. Cut a little nick into the joists (notice the work little - you don't want your upper floors coming down!) and secured the T&E cable into it.
Connected all the cables and left the actual spots connected but hanging down from the ceiling. Tested all worked OK.
At this point the ceiling looked like a total mess - lots of holes, hacked out bits and several blue chalk lines running in two directions - and still the artex
We then covered all the spots in poly bags to protect them from plaster (remember they're still hanging down)
Plasterer came in and prepared the ceiling by scraping off the highest points of the artex, used a scratch coat to fill in the hacked out bits and any large imperfections. PVA'd the entire ceiling and let it dry.
Plasterer then skim coated the entire ceiling. When he'd finished I let it dry for an hour and two and then cleaned out the holes for the spots. It's better doing this before the plaster fully drys out to prevent cracking.
Let it dry for a week and then painted it, first coat 50% Emulsion 50% water then two further coats of Brilliant white emulsion.
When dry released the spots from there bags and ever so carefully sprung them into place.
Job done

A lot of work but the end results were worth it, just rememeber to tell the missus you can't make an omellette etc etc..

Plasterer was £200 which also included to replastering on walls etc. Electrical work was done by myself and an electrician mate for 'a drink' !

Kevin.

[johndon]

I've done the same as KW1816. Only difference was I prewired and then cut the holes for the spotlights in the ceiling after it had been plastered.

John

[ricflairandy]

Cheers guys.

[Londondecca]

I removed my artex with X-Tex, it took two tins at about £20 each but was very effective and easy to use. My reason for doing this was to add another layer of plasterboard for additional soundproofing.

[woody67]

Just remember that artex made prior to mid 1980's may contain asbestos fibres, and so should not be sanded etc, and dust from drilling should be avoided. Best err on the safe side anyhow with regards to age and dust generally

[mrscalex]

I know it sounds drastic but you could always pull the old ceiling down for full access. Plasterboard is cheap. About £60 to reboard a 7x4 metre (ie large) living room. And you can pull the old board down and reboard afterwards yourself. No big skills required. And if anything it's easier for a plasterer to skim that than artex. I took this approach and I'm glad I did. By having the ceiling down in just 4 of my 8 downstairs ceiling surfaces I've now got Cat5 flooded throughout the whole house, as well as rerouted plumbing and downlighters.

Have to saying notching the underside of joists is not advisable however shallow the notch!