Technical

Polished plaster can be applied to interior walls, ceilings and columns. The surfaces can be flat curved or arched.

Although polished plaster can be repaired it is best to avoid the need to do this by ensuring the integrity of the substrate and the late scheduling of installation. Polished plaster itself does not readily crack and is quite flexible but steps should be taken during construction to minimise flaws in the substrate which could potentially flaw the polished plaster surface. Ideally walls should be two staggered sheets of plasterboard thick with taped joints and then either skimmed with gypsum plaster prior to our arrival on site or handed over to us to apply a more crack resistant substrate. We are happy to further advise on substrate preparation.

Tadelakt is suitable for areas that will come into regular and prolonged contact with water, unlike our Polished and Venetian plasters, which are water resistant but not waterproof. If applied to a suitable waterproof substrate, tadelakt can be used instead of tiles in wet rooms, steam rooms and shower cubicles.

Although some polished plasters are applied to a depth of 3mm, they will not tolerate substrate imperfections.

The carefully considered use of lighting enhances the subtleties of polished plaster. Halogen spotlights carefully angled down the plasters surface will bring out a depth of texture and will wash the walls with colour.

History

Polished plasters have long been used as luxury decoration by many ancient cultures, including the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. The Roman architect Vitrivius said polished plaster has a 'strength and brilliance and an excellence that will last an age'. In sinking renaissance Venice polished plaster was revived to provide the lustre and veining of marble but at a fraction of its weight and cost. It wasn't until the 1960's that Italian architect Carlo Scarpa re-established and encouraged these techniques.