Hove's 20th-century suburbs
Hove's Victorian centre is only part of the town. To the north and west, whole districts were built in the 20th century. Hangleton, an ancient hilltop parish of around a hundred people at the start of that century, was covered with a mix of council housing and lower-density private houses between the 1930s and the 1950s, and its population went from 6,158 in 1951 to 9,006 ten years later. West Blatchington grew rapidly between the wars. Mile Oak, above Portslade, saw its first houses in the 1930s and kept growing until the end of the century, built by the council, private builders and housing associations. Add the Knoll estate and you have thousands of homes built or redecorated in the decades when patterned ceilings were at their most popular.
Asbestos: general safety advice
We do not test for asbestos or remove it, but anyone with an older textured ceiling should know the basics. Coatings applied before 2000 can contain a small amount of asbestos, and the risk comes from disturbing it: sanding it smooth, scraping it off, or drilling and cutting into it. Its appearance tells you nothing, so if the age of your ceiling is unknown, have an asbestos surveyor take a sample before any work that would break it up. Skimming over a sound coating does not disturb or remove it; it simply seals it beneath a new surface. Landlords and housing associations with homes in Hangleton or Mile Oak may already hold asbestos records for their properties, so check those before booking work.
Sealing the pattern in
Our method never involves sanding. After checking that the coating is firmly attached, with no hollow areas or sagging boards, we protect the room and coat the texture with a bonding agent so plaster will adhere to it. A first coat fills the swirls and stipples and leaves a level surface, and a second coat is trowelled smooth over the top. Old coving, ceiling roses and light fittings are noted before we start, so we can agree whether each one stays, comes down or is replaced. It is a two-coat British Gypsum finish, so the old pattern cannot ghost through after decorating.
Hallways, stairwells and textured walls
Patterned finishes were not only put on ceilings. In houses of this period they often appear on hallway and stairwell walls, around chimney breasts and on feature walls in living rooms. Walls are treated just like ceilings, with new beads on external corners so the edges come out sharp. Stairwells need staging or a platform to reach the higher sections safely, so tell us if yours is a tall one.
After the ceiling is flat
A smooth ceiling is the moment to think about new lighting positions and finishing details. Fit any new cable runs before the plaster goes on, and consider a cove or cornice: our coving and cornice service in Hove covers the profiles we fit. If the walls in the same room need attention too, our page on plastering and skimming in Hove explains the work. Pro Finish Plastering covers every part of Hove, and more detail is on our main Artex plastering page. Call 07824 165672 for a free, no-obligation quote.
