Commercial & Residential Plastering & Painting • Plaster • Stucco • Interior • External • EIFS
Our Services
Plaster Repairs
Plaster Repairs usually consists of removing old and loose plaster, securing the surrounding areas and lathing and applying new plaster.
Plaster Restoration
Plaster restoration Is somewhat more involved so that beyond the necessary patching, it is also included to finish out the wall or ceiling to have a good match.
Plaster Material
Plaster comes in many forms. There are Gypsum base-coats with and without sand. White finish plaster comes in many forms as well, in different degrees of hardness and set times. Knowing what type of plaster to use is very important to the outcome of the project.
Painting
We recommend that we paint the work we complete, to guarantee the best results!
What is Plaster?
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English “plaster” usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while “render” commonly refers to external applications. Another imprecise term used for the material is stucco, which is also often used for plaster-work that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.
The most common types of plaster mainly contain either gypsum, lime, or cement, but all work in a similar way. The plaster is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to form a stiff but workable paste immediately before it is applied to the surface. The reaction with water liberates heat through crystallization and the hydrated plaster then hardens.
Plaster can be relatively easily worked with metal tools or even sandpaper, and can be moulded, either on site or to make pre-formed sections in advance, which are put in place with adhesive. Plaster is not a strong material; it is suitable for finishing, rather than load-bearing, and when thickly applied for decoration may require a hidden supporting framework, usually in metal.
Other Uses for Plaster
Forms of plaster have several other uses. In medicine plaster orthopedic casts are still often used for supporting set broken bones. In dentistry plaster is used to make dental models. Various types of models and moulds are made with plaster. In art, lime plaster is the traditional matrix for fresco painting; the pigments are applied to a thin wet top layer of plaster and fuse with it so that the painting is actually in colored plaster. In the ancient world, as well as the sort of ornamental designs in plaster relief that are still used, plaster was also widely used to create large figurative reliefs for walls, though few of these have survived.
Types of Plaster
Clay
Earthen plaster (adobe plaster) is a blend of clay, fine aggregate, and fiber. Other common additives include pigments, lime, casein, prickly pear cactus juice (Opuntia), manure, and linseed oil. Earthen plaster is usually applied to masonry, cob, or straw bale interiors or exteriors as a wall finish. It provides protection to the structural and insulating building components as well as texture and color. Clay is cohesive and binds to the sand and the straw, holding the mixture together, as well as securing the mixture to the wall. Clay is also plastic when wet, which makes the plaster mixture workable.
Lime
Lime plaster is composed of sand, water, and lime, usually non-hydraulic hydrated lime (also known as slaked lime, high calcium lime or air lime). Ancient lime plaster often contained horse hair for reinforcement and pozzolan additives to reduce the working time. It will not set when submersed in water. When a very thick layer or several layers are applied, the lime can remain soft for weeks. The curing time of lime plaster can be shortened by using (natural) hydraulic lime or adding pozzolan additives, transforming it into artificially hydraulic lime. In ancient times, Roman lime plaster incorporated pozzolanic volcanic ash; in modern times, fly ash is preferred. Non-hydraulic lime plaster can also be made to set faster by adding gypsum.
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture. Stucco may be used to cover less visually appealing construction materials, such as metal, concrete, cinder block, or clay brick and adobe.