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What changes the cost of Artex removal?
An Artex removal quote changes with the area, the method, whether the coating contains asbestos, and what the ceiling needs afterwards, and this guide does not print a price. Removal is not a job to start yourself, because the coating may contain asbestos and the work is overhead.
Last reviewed:What this guide prices, and what it refuses
Artex is a trade name HSE uses as an example of a textured decorative coating on walls and ceilings [S1]. HSE's diagrams of where asbestos can occur in buildings also label textured decorative coatings, for example Artex, on ceilings and walls [S4]. People use the name for the swirls and peaks whether or not that particular ceiling contains asbestos. This guide is about the quote for taking such a coating off. It is not a set of steps, and it does not print a pound figure.
How to deal with an Artex ceiling is the options page: leave it, paint it, cover it, skim it or remove it. Read that before you decide removal is the job. This page starts once removal is the question, and it explains what should be written down so two quotes can be compared.
A textured ceiling in Crewe, a hall in Nantwich or a bedroom in Sandbach is still an overhead coating. Cheshire ceilings are in this guide. Anyone in the UK can post the removal. Do not start the work before the contractor arrives.
What a removal quote should itemise
| Line | What the writing should say | What a thin quote hides |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Which ceilings or walls, and how the area was judged | "The ceiling" with no room named |
| Check | How they will find out whether the coating contains asbestos, before removal | A price that assumes the answer |
| Method | Steam, gel, or something else, in their words | "Remove Artex" with no method |
| Who does it | Trained non-licensed workers, or a licensed contractor, and why [S1] | A name with no training mentioned |
| Board behind | Whether the coating is on plaster or on insulating board [S1] | A ceiling build-up nobody has looked at |
| Making good | Skim, board, or leave the scars | A bare, damaged ceiling called finished |
| Waste | How the waste leaves the house | Bags left in the garden |
| Access | How they reach the ceiling [S2] | A chair implied and not written |
| VAT | Included or not, against the £90,000 registration line [S3] | A total that changes on the invoice |
| Decoration | Paint afterwards, or stop at plaster | A decorator assumed |
Citizens Advice says to try to get written quotes from at least three traders, that a quote is a fixed price and an estimate is only a rough guess, and that some traders charge for quotes, so ask about this first [S5]. After you say yes to a quote, it is a binding agreement [S5].
Who HSE says can do the work
The locations page is specific. Work on textured coatings is low-risk and can be carried out by non-licensed workers. They must be trained to recognise and work safely with asbestos [S1].
If the work is likely to cause significant break up and deterioration of the material, such as large-scale removal using steaming or gelling methods, then HSE says notification as non-licensed work would be required [S1]. That sentence is HSE's description of the work. It is not a method for you to follow.
Examples of lower-risk non-licensed work on that page include drilling and boring through textured coatings, inserting and removing screws, removing coatings from an area less than around 1 metre square using steam or gel, and cleaning up debris after a ceiling or wall covered with the coating has collapsed [S1]. None of those examples is a method for a householder to copy [S1].
Examples of higher-risk work, for a licensed contractor, include removal using energetic methods, for example wet abrasive blasting, and removal of coatings that cover asbestos insulating board [S1]. If a contractor cannot say which of those lists your ceiling sits on, the quote is not ready.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE). QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
What changes the method, without a price list
A price moves when the job moves. This guide will not invent the amounts. It will name the switches.
- Plaster underneath, or board. Removal of coatings covering asbestos insulating board is on HSE's licensed-contractor list [S1]. A coating on ordinary plaster is not that sentence. The quote should say which build-up they have allowed for, and what happens if they are wrong.
- One room or the whole landing. Large-scale removal by steaming or gelling is the example HSE gives for notification as non-licensed work [S1]. A single small area is a different example on the same page. Do not add the areas up yourself and call it one or the other. Ask them to class the job.
- Paint on top of the texture. HSE says the coatings were originally white but have often been painted over [S1]. Paint is not a reason to sand. Sanding is not in the lower-risk list this guide is willing to repeat as a home task, and it is not a task for you in any case.
- Walls as well as ceilings. The same rules name both [S1]. A wall you can reach from the floor is still not a DIY removal. A ceiling adds the height question below.
- What you want to see afterwards. Removal that leaves torn plaster is not the same quote as removal plus a skim. Split them.
Working above the floor
HSE says work at height means work in any place where, if precautions were not taken, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury. You are working at height if you work above ground or floor level [S2]. A ceiling is that place. The regulations place duties on employers and on those who control any work at height, such as building owners who may contract others to work at height [S2].
Ask how the team will reach the ceiling. Do not go up and "knock a sample off" to be helpful. HSE explains work at height in its questions. HSE: work at height. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
Our plasterers page is the trade that often meets this ceiling, either to remove or to skim. A builder may be the firm if the ceiling itself is failing, not only the coating. Say which you think you need, and let them correct you.
Making good, waste and the next trade
A removal quote that stops when the texture is in bags can leave a ceiling you still cannot paint. Ask:
- who skims or boards
- whether decoration is in or out
- how long they want the room empty, without this guide printing a day count
- how waste is wrapped and where it goes
If the plan changes from removal to a skim over a coating that stays, stop this quote and use the options on the Artex ceiling guide. A skim over a sound coating is not a failed removal. It is a different choice. Ceiling paint comes after there is a surface to paint, not before.
How to compare the quotes
Lay the written quotes next to each other and tick the lines in the table above. A lower total that omits the check, the method or the making good is not a saving you can see. Citizens Advice says comparing quotes helps you decide whether you are getting a fair price [S5]. Fair, here, means the same area and the same method.
If the work will take a long time, Citizens Advice says you might not be able to avoid a deposit. Push it down as far as you can, do not agree to more than 25%, and get a receipt [S5]. If they ask for a deposit to pay for materials, offer to buy the materials yourself instead, so that you own them if something goes wrong [S5]. For removal, ask what the deposit is actually for, because the kit may be the contractor's own.
A business must register if taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, the VAT threshold [S3]. That is a registration rule, not a ceiling price.
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- "Bedroom ceiling, textured and painted. Please quote to test and, if you will remove it, name the method and say whether you are non-licensed and trained or a licensed contractor. Do not start by sanding."
- "Landing ceiling may be on board, not plaster. Please look and say which, and price licensed removal only if the board is the kind HSE puts on that list. Include making good."
- "We thought we wanted removal. Please also price leaving the coating and skimming it, as a separate line, so we can choose. No work until we accept one line."
Posting the ceiling
Photos from the floor are enough. Name the rooms. Up to five matched local businesses can send a quote [QZ2]. QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
Honest status: QuoteZila is new. We're starting in Cheshire, beginning with Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach, and growing area by area. Anyone in the UK can still post a job or register a business. How fast you get quotes depends on how many local businesses have joined near you. Businesses can register and receive jobs straight away. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire.
Posting a job is not open yet
Questions about removal quotes
How much does it cost to remove Artex?
This guide does not print a figure. A small patch, a whole ceiling, a ceiling that also covers insulating board, and a ceiling that will be skimmed afterwards are different quotes. Ask for the method and the area in writing, and compare those lines rather than a single total.
Does the pattern tell me if there is asbestos?
HSE says textured coatings were used to produce decorative finishes on ceilings and walls, that the look depends on the finish, such as peaks or patterns, and that they are hard and were originally white but have often been painted. That description is not a test. Do not scrape a sample off to find out. Ask the contractor how the coating will be checked before anyone removes it.
Who is allowed to remove it?
HSE says work on textured coatings is low-risk and can be carried out by non-licensed workers, but they must be trained to recognise and work safely with asbestos. If the work is likely to cause significant break up, such as large-scale removal using steaming or gelling, notification as non-licensed work would be required. Higher-risk removal, for example wet abrasive blasting, or removal of coatings covering insulating board, is for a licensed contractor.
Can I scrape a small patch myself?
No. HSE lists removing textured coatings from an area less than around 1 metre square, using steam or gel, among examples of lower-risk non-licensed work. That example is still work for trained workers, not a home method, and a ceiling is above floor level. Do not steam, gel, sand or scrape the coating yourself.
Is skimming cheaper than removal?
This guide does not print either figure, so it cannot say which is cheaper. Skimming leaves the coating in place and covers it. Removal takes it off. They are different quotes. Dealing with an Artex ceiling sets out the options. Setting up a skim is the plaster sequence if you choose a cover, not a removal.
What about VAT?
A business must register for VAT if its total taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000. Ask whether the quote includes VAT. A lower-looking total that has VAT added later is not the same quote.
Does QuoteZila check removal firms?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
This page is general information, not professional or legal advice. QuoteZila does not check Gas Safe, WaterSafe, NFRC, NICEIC or other registrations against the register on your behalf: look them up yourself.
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Related pages
- Ceiling Repair: What Changes the Job. Ceiling repair in Cheshire depends on a patch, a replacement under a cold loft, or an old coating. This guide prints no repair figure.
- Cement Render: What Changes the Quote. What changes a cement render quote in Cheshire: area, coats, beads, access, waste and permission. No square-metre figure is printed.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila home and FAQ copy.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila FAQ How does getting quotes work.
- S1: Where asbestos can be found, textured decorative coatings, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/location-materials.htm
- S2: Work at height: frequently asked questions, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/work-at-height/faqs.htm
- S3: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S4: Diagrams showing where asbestos can occur in buildings, HSE. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/diagrams.htm
- S5: Before you get building work done, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-29. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/