Category Archives: About Stucco Italiano

Is Stucco Italiano Tadelakt “Real” Tadelakt?

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Aaron Cohen

I just got off the phone with one of our applicators who has used Moroccan Tadelakt many times in the past.  He trained in Morocco on it’s use.  He just finished a large steam room with Stucco Italiano Tadelakt and could not stop raving about how much he loved it.  It is a truly wonderful material.

This reminded me that I get asked fairly often if our Tadelakt is the “real” Tadelakt.  When people ask this they are usually asking if it comes from Morocco.  Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is manufactured in Italy.

In our humble opinion, ours is an improved version of Moroccan Tadelakt.  This is what our applicators are telling us as well.  Stucco Italiano Tadelakt looks the same as Moroccan Tadelakt, it has the same chemistry as Moroccan Tadelakt.  But due to the Italian refinement in the manufacturing process it is easier to polish and less likely to peel off when it is being polished.  On flat surfaces it can be brought up to the highest sheen with only a trowel – a stone is not necessary.  So it looks better more consistently and requires less labor.  Anything wrong with that?

Here’s the official statement from our website:

Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is manufactured in Italy by Giovanni Polistena.  Giovanni’s intentions in developing this Moroccan-style Tadelakt were to remain entirely faithful to the look, feel, and chemical makeup of the original Moroccan Tadelakt, while creating a more sophisticated, user-friendly product. Enlisting the help and guidance of Moroccan Tadelakt installers, Giovanni spent many months formulating the perfect blend of natural limes, clays, and sands.

Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is now preferred by many installers of  Moroccan Tadelakt for it’s beauty, ease of installation, and ability to resist delaminating/detaching from the surface as Moroccan Tadelakt often does in the hands of anyone but the most expert installers.  The results speak for themselves – Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is the equal to Moroccan Tadelakt in it’s look and durability, and superior in ease of application, price, and availability.…

Posted in About Stucco Italiano, Tadelakt | 2 Comments

NEW DEALER – HOUSE+EARTH IN AUSTIN, TX

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Aaron Cohen

House+Earth, a green build home store an Austin, Texas, will now be carrying a full line of Stucco Italiano materials.  From their website: House+Earth is a place where Central Texas homeowners, architects, interior designers, and professional tradesmen will find an extensive range of environmentally friendly alternatives for the things that make a home… a home.  House+Earth is proud to supply the most extensive selection of truly green building materials and healthy home products in Texas.

We’re thrilled to have another green building store as part of our dealer network.  More and more environmentally conscious homeowners and businesses are seeing that our beautiful, zero-VOC, natural lime materials, are the way to go for interior and exterior spaces.

House+Earth employees are currently working on a Tadelakt shower display for their showroom.  We’ll post some photos when they are done.…

Posted in About Stucco Italiano | Leave a comment

TADELAKT IS HOT

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Aaron Cohen

We get lots of phone calls here at Stucco Italiano, and over the past year or so the volume of calls about Tadelakt have become greater to the point where I think at least half of our first-time inquiries are made regarding Tadelakt.  We have had dozens of successful projects completed by applicators all over the country this year alone.

We’re introducing a one-day seminar on our Tadelakt which will be held twice this year.  Class dates are September 20 and December 6th.  Hope to see you there.  Details below:

 

One day Tadelakt Workshop

This one-day class will introduce you to the basics for applying our Italian manufactured Moroccan-style Tadelakt product.

You will also learn about substrates and sealing Tadelakt, how to apply in showers and wet areas, and how to create high polished Tadelakt.

Our one-day Tadelakt workshop is held on day 2 as part of our 3-day Stucco Italiano Certification class.  The Tadelakt class may be taken as part of our certification course for $795, or it can be taken separately for $300.  Class dates September 20 and December 6th. Call 206.838.5888 for more info.

About our Tadelakt:

Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is manufactured in Italy by Goivanni Polistena.  Giovanni’s intentions in developing this Moroccan-style Tadelakt were to remain entirely faithful to the look, feel, and chemical makeup of the original Morroccan Tadelakt, while creating a more sophisticated, user-friendly product.  Enlisting the help and guidance of Moroccan Tadelakt installers, Giovanni spent many months formulating the perfect blend of natural limes, clays, and sands.  Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is now preferred by many installers of  Moroccan Tadelakt for it’s beauty, ease of installation, and to resist delaminating/detaching from the surface as Moroccan Tadelakt often does in the hands of anyone but the most expert installers.

The results speak for themselves – Stucco Italiano Tadelakt is the equal to Moroccan Tadelakt in it’s look and durability, and superior for ease of application, price, and availability.

 …

Posted in lime plaster, Tadelakt, Venetian plaster | 1 Comment

#DECARTS TWITTER CHAT JULY 28 5-6 PM PACIFIC

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Aaron Cohen
#DECARTS TWITTER CHAT JULY 28 5-6 PM PACIFIC

I’ll be co-hosting a Twitter chat for decorative artisans tomorrow, July 28, between 5-6 PM Pacific time.  The focus will be on social media with guest host Lisa League.

For more information check out this post on Regina Garay’s Fauxology blog.

If you don’t know what a Tweetchat is, Regina does a pretty good job describing it here.

Hope to see you there!…

Posted in About Stucco Italiano | 1 Comment

SUBSTRATES FOR PLASTER FINISHES IN SHOWERS

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Aaron Cohen
SUBSTRATES FOR PLASTER FINISHES IN SHOWERS

We get so many requests from contractors and homeowners asking for information on how to do showers these days.  Probably our single-most requested technical info item.  My answer is always a resounding “don’t ask me”.  But seriously, tackling a shower surround is a whole different animal than just putting up a nice finish over drywall, so this is no job for amateurs.

Fortunately there are now full start-to-finish systems available that seem to be working great as a substrate for Tadelakt or even Marmorino Carrara or Intonachino.  Our applicators have had excellent success over the past 4-5 years with the Wedi board system which is a lightweight alternative to cement board and include a special panel fastener that seems much more reliable than simple screws, as well as a paintable urethane caulking system to ensure cracking does not occur at the joints.

 

Click here to get to the Wedi site.

 

During last week’s decorative cement class one of our students gave me a brochure from Schluter, another leader in the wet area substrate industry(thanks Tamara!).  They now have a relatively new system similar to Wedi called Kerdi-board.  And they have seminars around the country for interested contractors.  In our area there is one coming up in Lynwood, WA May 17th, Tacoma on May 18th, and Portland on May 19th.   I’ll be at either the Lynwood or Tacoma one for sure.  Here’s a link to the page listing Schluter seminars.

These seminars are free.  So you want to install an incredibly beautiful Tadelakt or other lime-plaster finish in a shower and not sure how to do the substrate?  Maybe quit calling me and go learn how to do it right from a professional.

AARON…

Posted in Green building, lime plaster, Prep Work, Tadelakt, Tips & Tricks, Venetian plaster | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments
← Older posts
Newer posts →