Our February 2011 Newsletter

This months newsletter just went out – here’s a link to the online version.

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“…out 300 pages in the new catalog, 60% of the photos involve Plaster Walls and Plaster Mantels…” Read the whole post here.

5 things you’ve probably heard about Venetian plaster, and why they are wrong:

1. You’ve heard: “Venetian plaster is a faux finish.”

The truth: Authentic Venetian plaster is not a faux finish. In fact, it’s the most authentic veneer wall finish you can have. When natural, lime-based venetian plaster is applied it will eventually return to it’s original state, which is lime and marble, AKA stone.

2. You’ve heard: You can buy Venetian plaster at Lowes or Home Depot.

The truth: You will find products labeled “Venetian plaster,” but they are actually composed of acrylic polymers and fillers such as gypsum and/or clay. While these synthetic Venetian plasters made by paint manufacturers may look somewhat similar to the real thing to the untrained eye, it’s been our experience that these synthetics will ultimately fade and become “tired” looking over a relatively short period of time, just like painted walls. Unlike real Venetian Plaster, synthetic Venetians are more closely related to paint than to stone, so this should come as no surprise.

3. You’ve heard: Venetian plaster can’t be applied in the shower, on exteriors, or on any surface that will get wet.

The truth: True Italian Venetian plaster is actually a wonderful choice for surfaces that will get wet. Lime plasters perform extremely well in wet climates by simply allowing any water that is absorbed into the plaster to quickly evaporate and exit the structure. That’s why they’re called Venetian plaster, because they can tolerate rising damp and canal-side applications like in the lagoons of Venice that would cause failure in acrylic and cement plasters. Traditional Moroccan lime plaster Tadelakt has been used in the Hammams (the traditional Moroccan steam baths), and in the riads of Marrakesh for centuries.

4. You’ve heard: Anyone can apply Venetian plaster in their home.

The truth: Well, it’s true that anyone can apply it. But applying it well is a different story. While we definitely aren’t saying you’ll be a pro after one day, our new Introduction to Authentic Venetian Plaster is a good place for a beginner to start understanding the do’s and dont’s of Venetian plaster application. Also, consider hiring a skilled contractor to do the job.

5. You’ve heard: Installing Venetian plaster in your home will break the bank.

The truth: Unlike paints which must be reapplied over and over, Venetian plaster is a lifetime finish. The material is self-healing, much less likely to crack than cement finishes, and naturally mold-resistant, resulting in beautiful walls that will withstand the test of time. Green building will be a key part of America’s economic future, and authentic Venetian plasters are not only beautiful, they fit perfectly into the future of green building.

6. You’ve heard: Venetian plaster is really shiny.

The truth: OK that’s 6 things not 5 you caught me. Yes, Venetian plaster can be brought up to a natural high sheen by compressing the material as it dries. The more compression, the higher the sheen. However, natural lime plasters can also be finished to a rustic matte or satin sheen, depending on which material is used and how it is applied. The possible looks and finishes for Venetian plaster are limitless!

Got any more questions about Venetian plaster? Ask away in the comments and we’ll do our best to shed some light on the subject.

Steve Manby of Authentic Plaster FX posted on his blog about Aaron checking out his black Tadelakt exterior.

Hopefully he’ll send us more pics soon!

1 - Stop the cracks – Can you do an exterior?  Sure!  Can you do a shower?  Sure!  But you gotta stop the cracks.  So you have to know what you are doing.  Or hire someone that does.  And a very important point to bear in mind – lime does not crack by itself.  But it cannot bridge cracks. It adheres to whatever substrate it attaches to.  So when the substrate cracks the lime plaster cracks with it.  And never promise a crack free finish because if you do not actually do the substrate construction and preparation how can you guarantee the thin veneer of decorative plaster we apply will hold?  This often falls outside of our area of expertise and responsibility.

That being said, EIFS mesh and primer systems usually work pretty darn well, in my experience.

MESH AND BASECOAT

2 – Penny wise pound foolish  (AKA prep with the good stuff, you’re worth it!) – So you gotta fill a wall that has orange peel texture because you want to run a nice shiny plaster over it.  So you get out the joint compound because it’s cheap.  You skim.  Then you sand.  Then you prime.  Twice.  Then you can apply your lime plaster.  Hey but wait a minute, why didn’t you just skim with our Marmorino Classic and then do your finish right over it?  Because it’s so damn expensive you say?  But think about it -  if you skim with the good stuff you’ll already have your first coat of lime plaster on.  You’ll have the proper suction and you can do your final coats the next day.  The money you spend on materials (joint compound vs lime plaster) should be more than offset by the money you save on labor, no?

3 – Scrape don’t sand – Got some excess gunk on the walls before you start?  Or did you get some trowel lines from your first coat?  Before you throw up the giant cloud of dust with that sandpaper try breaking out a putty knife and scraping.  Less work, less dust, more better.

4 – Taping – it’s not paint – Yes it’s not paint so don’t tape right up to inside edge of where your wall meets your baseboard or crown molding or whatever you are protecting.  Otherwise you’ll bury your tape underneath your plaster and it will chip or crumble off when you remove your tape.  Allow for the thickness of the plaster material you will be using and tape away from the wall by 1/16″ or more depending on what material you are using.

NOT LIKE THIS

LIKE THIS

5 – Do not assume the people doing your prep are going to do it properly.  Unless they work for you. And then only if you know what you’re doing.  Which is debatable.

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!

1- Study actual photos of crumbling plaster exteriors and interiors. Note the size and scale of the different layers, note the shapes and direction. I generally work with about an 80% vertical and 20% horizontal direction, very little or no diagonal direction.

2- The pattern on a sample board must be expanded to the size and scale of the walls. A sample board may be viewed as a miniature version of the wall to be blown up accordingly.

3- Move your body in a large scale. That is, be expansive, move your arms accordingly – don’t work with small, tight motions from the wrist or elbow. Instead work from the shoulder. Stay loose.

4- Create pattern over multiple layers, not just on your final layer. This will force a greater degree of randomness in your overall pattern. Here’s an example:

On this exterior project the client really wanted to see dark brown openings through a Terra Cotta finish. This created a finish with a high degree of contrast so we had to be particularly careful about not allowing the house to have a contrived pattern when completed. We needed to do the finish in two coats since it was a large exterior surface – approximately 20,000 square feet. Rather than cover the entire first coat with the dark brown we chose to cover only about 15-20%.

This “under-pattern” was designed to help the stucco installers find a more realistic shape and scale on their second pass of material. Also, note how the dark brown generally originates from the top of the wall or the sides. This is often what you will see on an actual stuccoed surface where the first coats of plaster are falling away from the surface. Kind of looked like a giant cow for a while and the country club’s community board got a little nervous, but fortunately our clients had faith in me.
This photos shows the work in progress on the 2nd layer: The dark brown is revealed in small, linear shapes beneath the 2nd terra cotta stucco layer. By following the pattern initiated in the first layer, we had a much easier time avoiding the contrived, obvious, unrealistic pattern I was concerned about.

And here is a detail of the finished exterior surface.

Final tip: PRACTICE!! On a 4×8 sheet of drywall, or your mom’s house. You’ll get the hang of it. Just don’t try to figure it out on a multi million dollar job site if you can help it. Unless you have nerves of steel. We don’t.
]]> http://www.stuccoitalianoinc.com/tips-tricks/exterior-distressed-venetian-plaster/feed/ 6 http://www.stuccoitalianoinc.com/green-building/mold-resistance-why-lime-for-exteriors-and-interiors/ http://www.stuccoitalianoinc.com/green-building/mold-resistance-why-lime-for-exteriors-and-interiors/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:18:52 +0000 Aaron Cohen http://www.stuccoitalianoinc.com/?p=346 Intonachino has proven to be one of our most popular finishes for exteriors. Its naturally mold-resistant nature makes it perfect for the outdoors, even up here in the rainy northwest.

A while ago, I briefly mentioned a project Tom Williams is working on in Ballard using Intonachino Extra Fine and Medium. It’s worth taking another look. Click on the picture below to see more photos.

Of course, mold-resistance is great for optimal indoor air health as well, so intonachino and other lime plasters are also ideal for interiors. Quoting from this excellent article on lime plaster’s natural mold resistance; “the short answer as to why Venetian plaster is truly mold-resistant is that mold can only grow in an acidic and wet or damp environment. Venetian plasters breathe and do not retain moisture. Molds also require a food source and an acidic environment in which to multiply.”

For both health- and earth-conscious reasons, Venetian style Italian lime plasters are the way to go……

Don’t forget the following:

First, make sure after taping and before applying your Venetian plaster that you burnish your tape edges with a plastic putty knife or some other plastic tool. We actually like to cut up old credit cards and keep them in our tool kits.

After taping and burnishing if you are still concerned about your material bleeding through, use a water-based clear sealer and run it lightly over the edge of the tape using the beveled edge of a foam brush. This should seal that edge and stop any material from ruining that nice clean edge on your decorative painting project.

If you are having difficulty removing your tape, try using a hair dryer to lightly heat up the glue and make removal easier.

When applying Venetian plaster or other stucco or Italian plaster products, bleed should not be an issue. However, you may find when trying to remove your tape after applying Marmorino Carrara or similar Venetian plaster finishes that it can’t be removed cleanly due to the thickness of the plaster material. Try running the edge of your plastic putty knife into the seam where the tape edge is. This should help break the bond between the plaster material and the tape so that removal will be easier.

REMEMBER! 3-M blue tape and other similar painter’s tapes are not low-tack tapes. They are a long mask, medium tack tape. Use a lower tack tape to protect delicate surfaces.

Not Fade Away: While synthetic Venetian plasters made by various paint manufacturers may look somewhat similar to the real thing at first, it’s been our experience that these synthetics will ultimately fade and become “tired” looking over time.  This is similar to the way painted walls will fade and lose their fresh look after a few years.  Synthetic Venetians are paint, not stone – they are “organic” in the sense they have not finished their life-cycle and will continue to change after application.   Authentic mineral plasters are made from stone – lime and marble – they are non-organic and will not change over time.

Linoleum versus stone: We liken it to the difference between putting linoleum on your floor versus stone.  Remember, real slaked lime and marble based Venetian plasters are actually composed of stone in the form of crushed limestone and marble. It’s “like applying liquid stone to your walls” we like to tell our customers (excellent selling point), and it makes sense these real Venetian plaster materials retain their luster and vibrancy for decades and longer.

Short term versus long term: True you may save some money in the short term using quote-unquote Venetian plaster.  But considering the labor and the time involved, I think the synthetics are generally going to be used by the uneducated applicator/consumer.  I say this because it is very rarely that we see anyone turned on to natural plasters go back to the synthetics.