Stucco Italiano » lime plaster

Lime vs Cement

Aaron Cohen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:40:42 +0000

OK maybe this is a little biased, but all and all I found it to be a pretty decent synopses of the differences between lime and cement especially regarding plaster and mortars:

LIME VS CEMENT

Why you should care about indoor air quality

Katharine Houpt — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:48:03 +0000

Wondering why we stress Venetian plaster’s green qualities (non-VOC, naturally mold-resistant)?

People are becoming more and more concerned about indoor air quality. Homes plagued with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or mold can negatively impact the health of the occupants. According to Green By Design, “an estimated 15% of the U.S. population — millions of people — are chronically ill from their homes, and indoor air quality is a major factor.”

If you are using Venetian plaster, you might want to check out some info on indoor air quality around the web:

The EPA’s guide to indoor air quality

Wikipedia on indoor air quality

Treehugger on causes and testing of poor indoor air quality

Build It Green explains that “A common source of indoor air pollution is the offgassing of chemicals found in many building materials…”

There’s even an Indoor Air Quality Association…

Have you noticed a difference between working with non-toxic Venetian plasters versus acrylic finishes? Tell us about it in the comments…

Venetian Plastering Tip: How to Tint Your Wax to Soften Contrast

Aaron Cohen — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:17:16 +0000

This is a really helpful little trick for calming down your Venetian Plaster finishes, especially the more saturated colors. Pay careful attention, though, about not overtinting your wax. Be conservative and always test a small area first to be sure. You have to wait until it dries back to really know what you’re going to get.

We’ll post more short subject tips in the future so stay tuned.

Aaron and Stucco Italiano Venetian plaster featured on Fauxology blog

Katharine Houpt — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:39:54 +0000

The lovely and talented Regina Garay of Garay Artisans posted a nice feature on Stucco Italiano including an interview with Aaron. He discusses what first sparked his interest in Venetian plaster as well as some of the more popular lime-based products.

Regina is quite prolific and her blog, Fauxology, is always a great read. One of the most articulate and balanced resources we know of. Definitely subscribe if you’re in the biz. Check her out on twitter too.

Thanks Regina for all you hard work!

Lars on Tadelakt: “the finest of lime plasters”

Katharine Houpt — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:36:25 +0000

Lars Hansen wrote a nice post about Tadelakt. Great little summary of the history, look, and feel of one of the most popular wall finishing materials.

Speaking of Lars, if you’re in Colorado this weekend be sure to check out his Handcrafted Finishes booth at the Four Corners Green Living Expo at the Durango fairgrounds (For those of you who live in Telluride, please come down, it is only a two hour drive).

Check out Lars’ personal Stucco Italiano applicator profile…

…and Lars’ website.

Project Photos: Mariella Russo’s Venetian Plaster and Decorative Painting

Aaron Cohen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:08:59 +0000

Stucco Italiano Certifified applicator and talented artisan Mariella Russo sent us some great pics of her recent projects…

In the first one she used Marmorino Carrara on the walls and Golden metallic paints and powder pigments on the ceiling. She also painted the designs in the middle.

And here is a distressed Carrara finish…

A lovely Marmorino Classic finish…

Here is a table before Mariella started…

and after a Carrara finish…

Click on the thumbnails to see more photos of Mariella’s work:

Video: Tadelakt by Handcrafted Finishes

Aaron Cohen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:43:51 +0000

Working on a Tadelakt project and need some inspiration?

Lars of Handcrafted Finishes made a series of videos showing his process applying Tadelakt in a modern home in Denver.

Take a look:

More of of his Tadelakt videos here and here.

Video: Tadelakt Installation in Canada

Aaron Cohen — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 20:51:25 +0000

Thanks to Steve Manby of Authentic Plaster Effects and Alltex Stucco for submitting video of his crew doing an impressive Tadelakt installation in the Vancouver, BC area. Watch how they create a very natural distressed finish by starting with a strong vertical pattern and gradually backfilling into the pattern. Looks very realistic and organic.

Work was done on about 50 columns total on this impressive home which also features a naturally green, lime based Intonachino application on the exterior.

Thoughts on “Green”

Aaron Cohen — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:13:03 +0000

We like to talk about how our Stucco Italiano Italian Plaster materials are “green”, and many consumers do respond in a positive way to that message. It gets increasingly difficult to separate the facts from the hype when it comes to calling a product green – “greenwashing” is a term I’ve seen used about over-hyping or just plain lying about the environmentally friendly nature of one’s product. More about greenwashing.

Our Stucco Italiano line consists of non-toxic, natural lime plasters. If you work with our materials you can be confident you are offering your customers a natural alternative to acrylic and cement based materials, both of which do not offer the same naturally green characteristics. Pointing these features out is a good place to start a conversation about what kind of wall finishing materials your customer wants in their home.