Full House Ceiling Re-Skim by a Plasterer in Tower Hamlets, E1

This project was carried out on a period residential property in South London, with the work being documented for our Tower Hamlets, E1 portfolio. The property featured ceiling fans fitted in the main living area, a strong indicator of older-style décor throughout. The ceilings retained their original textured Artex swirl finish, typical of properties built or refurbished in the 1970s and 1980s. The room had been fully sheeted in protective dust sheets and plastic dust covers prior to work beginning, suggesting the homeowner was mid-renovation and required fresh plaster ceilings before decorating.

Image one clearly shows the ceiling in its original, unplastered state — a heavily textured Artex swirl pattern covering the entire ceiling surface. The Artex has visible discolouration in multiple areas, with rust-brown staining patches scattered across the surface, likely caused by previous water ingress or old condensation marks. Chunks and flakes of the original Artex finish are missing in several places, exposing the substrate underneath. Green masking tape has already been applied around the ceiling perimeter to protect the walls and coving. Blue and white protective dust sheeting covers the walls and floors. The ceiling fan remains in place during the work, centred in the room.

The full scope of work on this project involved re-skimming the entire ceiling of the main living room in this period property in South London. Rather than overboarding, the decision was made to skim directly over the existing Artex surface, which is a common and cost-effective approach where the Artex is still firmly bonded to the substrate and shows no sign of delamination or large-scale blowing. The work included: - Full assessment of the Artex ceiling to confirm it was stable and suitably bonded - Application of a PVA bonding solution across the entire Artex surface to seal and stabilise the porous, textured substrate - Once the PVA had become tacky, a bonding or finish plaster scratch coat was applied to begin filling the Artex texture - A second finishing coat of multi-finish plaster was then laid over the ceiling to bring it to a flat, smooth surface - The ceiling fan rose was carefully worked around and masked to protect the fitting - Green masking tape and plastic dust sheeting were used throughout to protect all walls, floors, and fixtures - Final trowelling and polishing of the skim coat to produce a flat, paint-ready surface The project was completed as part of a broader full house re-skim, with this ceiling forming one of the key rooms treated during the works.

Before any plaster was applied, the entire room was prepared to protect surfaces from dust and splatter. Plastic sheeting was fixed to the walls using green masking tape, which is visible in both photographs. The floor area beneath the ceiling was also covered. The existing Artex ceiling was assessed by hand — pressed and tapped across its full surface to identify any hollow or delaminating sections that would need cutting back before skimming could begin. Once confirmed stable, the Artex surface was coated with a diluted PVA solution — typically one part PVA to four parts water — and left to reach a firm, tacky consistency before plaster was applied. This step is critical when skimming over Artex, as the porous texture will draw moisture from the plaster too quickly without a sealant coat.

With the PVA coat at the correct tackiness, the first coat of British Gypsum multi-finish plaster was mixed to a smooth, lump-free consistency and applied directly over the Artex ceiling using a gauging trowel and a large plastering trowel. This first coat serves as a scratch coat — it fills in the raised swirl pattern of the Artex and begins to level the ceiling plane. The plaster was pressed firmly into the textured surface to ensure full contact and adhesion, with the trowel worked in overlapping passes across the ceiling. Once the scratch coat had stiffened sufficiently — but before it had dried fully — the second coat of multi-finish was applied on top. This finishing coat was worked across the ceiling in long, even strokes to bring the surface up to a uniform flat plane. The ceiling fan rose was carefully plastered around, with the fan itself masked off to prevent contamination. As the second coat began to firm up, the plasterer returned repeatedly to trowel the surface, first with a wet trowel to compress and flatten the plaster, and then with a near-dry trowel pass to polish the surface to a smooth finish. By the time the second image was taken, the ceiling had been fully skimmed and was in its brown, wet plaster state — the characteristic colour of freshly applied multi-finish before it dries to white. The entire ceiling was left to dry naturally with adequate ventilation before any decoration was carried out.

The primary challenge on this project was achieving a flat, even skim coat directly over a heavily textured Artex ceiling that had been in place for decades. The swirl pattern was deep and uneven in places, and the existing surface had discolouration and areas of missing Artex texture, meaning the substrate thickness varied across the ceiling. Getting the scratch coat to fully fill the recesses of the Artex without leaving air pockets or thin spots required careful application pressure and consistent coverage. The ceiling fan in the centre of the room also presented a practical obstacle — the fan was still mounted and required the plasterer to work carefully around the blades and rose without disturbing the fitting.

To address the uneven Artex texture, a generous first coat of multi-finish was applied with firm trowel pressure to ensure the plaster was pushed into every recess of the swirl pattern. Areas of missing Artex were built up slightly on the scratch coat pass before the finishing coat was applied over the whole ceiling. Where the fan rose met the ceiling, the plaster was cut in neatly around the fitting using a smaller gauging trowel, and the fan itself was left running at low speed to allow the room to ventilate during drying. Green masking tape was extended precisely around the perimeter to keep a clean edge against the walls and coving, preventing any plaster bleed onto adjacent surfaces.

The second photograph shows the ceiling immediately after the final skim coat was completed. The surface is entirely covered in a smooth, freshly applied layer of multi-finish plaster — visible in its characteristic warm brown tone, indicating the plaster is still damp and curing. The Artex texture that previously dominated the ceiling has been fully concealed beneath two coats of plaster. The ceiling perimeter is clean and sharp where the masking tape was applied. The ceiling fan rose sits neatly within the new plaster surface. Once dry, the ceiling would be ready for a mist coat of diluted emulsion followed by two full coats of ceiling paint.

The homeowner now has a fully flat, smooth ceiling surface replacing the decades-old Artex swirl finish. The ceiling is paint-ready and forms a clean base for the broader renovation works being carried out throughout the property. The protective sheeting kept all walls and floors clean throughout the process, meaning no additional cleaning or remedial work was needed on completion. The project was completed within the agreed timeframe, allowing the homeowner to continue with the next phase of their refurbishment without delay.

Skimming over Artex is a task that looks straightforward but carries real risk if the substrate preparation is skipped or done incorrectly. Without a proper PVA sealing coat applied at the right dilution and allowed to reach the correct tackiness, the Artex will absorb moisture from the plaster too fast — causing the skim coat to crack, craze, or delaminate within days of drying. An experienced plasterer also knows how to read the ceiling as it firms up and when to return for each trowelling pass. Getting the timing wrong on a ceiling skim results in drag marks, surface tearing, or a finish that requires sanding before it can be painted.