Artex - Omega Asbestos Consulting Ltd

ASBESTOS GUIDANCE | ARTEX
HEAD OFFICE:
Wellsprings Business Centre,
Durham Road West,
Bowburn, Durham, DH6 5AU.
SCOTLAND OFFICE:
Bonshaw Farm Offices,
Bonshaw Farm, Nr Stewarton,
Kilmarnock, KA3 3EQ.
SHEFFIELD OFFICE:
67 Philadelphia House,
6 Cross Bedford Street,
Sheffield, S6 3BS.
LONDON OFFICE:
Suite 1,
5 Percy Street,
London, W1T 1DG.
CONTACT:
Tel: 0191 377 0900
Email: info@omega-asbestos.co.uk
Web: www.omega-asbestos.co.uk
Asbestos Guidance – Artex in Homes
The following guidance has been put together as a aid for the domestic sector.
Omega are a UKAS Accredited Asbestos Surveying & Testing company.
We pride ourselves in offering a great service. We keep it simple, no nonsense and stress free.
If you need a free, no obligation chat, please get in touch. We are here to help and make it easy to do
business with us should you need our services.
Yours sincerely
Gary McKendrick, Managing Director
Omega Asbestos Consulting Ltd,
T : 0191 377 0900
Registered in UK No. 7307832
Wellsprings Business Centre,
E : info@omega-asbestos.co.uk
VAT Reg. No. 995 3463 71
Durham Road West, Bowburn, Durham, DH6 5AU.
W : omega-asbestos.co.uk
Registered office as stated.
Artex
• Textured coatings used to produce
decorative finishes on ceilings and walls
• Typical trade name of ‘Artex’
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Asbestos in Artex
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Can contain Chrysotile [white asbestos]
Low % fibre content [typically <1 to 5%]
Asbestos used up to early 1990’s
A hard ridged patterned surface
Originally white in colour but often painted over
Perfectly safe if in good condition and left alone
Asbestos is only a health risk when it is disturbed and
becomes airborne
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Sampling Artex
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Asbestos can only be identified by sample analysis
Must be analysed at a UKAS Accredited Lab
Sample must be taken by a competent person
Sample must contain enough material of a minimum area of
4sq inches
• Best to sample from more than one place per room due to
random fibre distribution
• Samples should also cover all visibly different patterns
• If all artex looks the same pattern throughout the house
then take some from each room to make 1 larger sample
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Working on Artex
• Artex is classed as a ‘non-licensed’ material
• HOWEVER, this does not mean anyone can work on it
• Work on artex must be carried out by workers who hold appropriate
(CategoryB) training
• These workers must also:
• hold adequate insurance
• use correct equipment and control measures
• comply with waste disposal law
• clean up and leave the area suitable for re-occupation
• And if the work is liable to significantly disturb the artex then the work
becomes Notifiable Non-Licensed works (NNLW).
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Working on Artex
• The HSE’s website is a good information source:
• http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/coatings.htm
• The HSE produce a series of task sheets for non-licensed works, refer
to http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/essentials/index.htm
• The following task sheets relate to artex:
A26. Drilling and boring through textured coatings
A27. Inserting and removing screws through textured coatings
A28. Removing textured coating from a small area eg 1 square metre
A29. Cleaning up debris following collapse of a ceiling or wall covered with textured coating
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Working on Artex
• We would always recommend the use of a specialist asbestos
contractor for any works on artex.
• Tradesmen MUST AVOID uncontrolled disturbance of artex
• Artex can be re-skimmed however the plasterer must avoid sanding
down as this creates airborne dust
• Often a new plasterboard ceiling can be installed slightly below the
artex ceiling thus concealing (or overboarding) the artex
• Artex onto plasterboard can be removed as whole boards more easily
than artex onto concrete or lath&plaster
• Removing whole ceilings with artex relatively left intact is non-licensed
• Removing artex from concrete or lath/plaster is notifiable non-licensed
work as the artex itself must be degraded to remove
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Consider a full survey…..
• We would always recommend a full survey; especially where any refit
or renovation works will be carried out to the home
• The presence of asbestos can be used to negotiate price
• Many different asbestos materials were used in the domestic sector up
until 1999; not just artex.
• Asbestos could be present in any building, including homes, built
before the year 2000.
• Asbestos could be used in materials which form roofs, soffits, ceilings,
walls, flooring, insulation materials and also in heaters or boilers.
• Asbestos is often concealed within the fabric of the buildings too and
may not be visible until building works commence
• For a more in-depth read please see our recent blog:
https://www.omega-asbestos.co.uk/news/blog-homes-are-you-buyingasbestos
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Possible asbestos in homes
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