Artex bubbling repair

Question

I've got some Artex (it's been tested and isn't the bad, asbestos containing kind) on my external wall. There's a large patch as you can see where it's bubbled up and come away from the wall.
Is there any way of patching this or repairing it? We're planning on extending the house in a year or two so this whole wall will come down, so I don't want to have to do anything major but I just want to tidy it up a bit. Any advice welcome.

FreeMan · Accepted Answer

With the understanding that this is a temporary fix for cosmetic purposes only designed to last a year or two until the wall is demolished as part of an upcoming remodeling...
I'd recommend just simply painting over it.
It appears from the close up picture that there's some texture in the white spots, so I'd think that if you matched the paint color and painted the white areas tan, for the most part it wouldn't be noticeable. Or, you could go whole hog and paint the whole wall, which would probably look better and wouldn't take significantly longer.
In the US (I'm assuming you're not since Artex seems to be a British product), we can take a color sample to the local home improvement center/paint store and they can use a computer to make an exact color match. If they do the same where you are, maybe flake up a bit more of the painted Artex to get an exact color match.
As an alternative, a "bold, contrasting 'accent' wall" seems to be the hip, trendy decorating thing to do now, so paint this one wall a totally different color. (Check elsewhere for your decorating tips - that doesn't fall under the purview of DIY.)

Fred Shope · Answer

First, you must address the cause of the separation/bubbling or it will happen again after you repair. Damage like this is typically caused by moisture, which could be caused by a leak, improper ventilation, insulation gap or improper moisture barrier and is likely on the inside of that wall. This doesn't look like a basement concrete wall but moisture is common on these and difficult to resolve, often involving drainage and waterproofing repair from the exterior. Visual inspection of a drywall wall can often miss important clues, you could try a moisture meter or look above (attic) and below (basement) this spot for clues what could be going on inside.
Once the source of the moisture is resolved, patching drywall is fairly straightforward but matching texture is much more difficult. You'll have best results if you're able to determine and duplicate the original application method and practice on a scrap piece of drywall. Ceilings are often textured in similar ways so videos detailing ceiling texture repair may help if you've never done this before.

Artex bubbling repair

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