Finished Ceiling Restoration

Making progress

Manhattan Townhouse Plaster Restoration 

Coffered ceilings are an elegant architectural feature which have stood the test of time. They may have originally been designed as a more lightweight option to stone, while evoking a measure of formality. Some speculate they also hide ceiling imperfections while adding perceived height and drama overhead. They are indeed beautiful. When water damaged the stunning ceiling in this Manhattan townhouse, we came in to remove the old plaster, clean, scrape and prep for a new surface.

Not only did we patch and paint the ceiling, but also we recreated some of the molding in our shop. It’s intricate work crafting the wood for the coffered effect, even before transporting, installing, priming and painting it. There’s a great deal of satisfaction at the end of the project like this, and the outcome was an historic plaster ceiling restored to its former glory.

After partial ceiling collapsed.

The stunning Fire Dance living room!

Midtown Manhattan Plaster Repair Contractor

It is well-known that water and oil don’t mix, and equally as recognized that water and drywall are not good companions. The former really messes up the latter, causing peeling, blistering, discoloration and potential material deterioration. This client’s living room plaster had been damaged by water from above. We have a real experienced been-there-done-that crew when it comes to water damage in or not in an historic building. This was inside a gracefully renovated historic structure, and we set to work scraping and evaluating the tasks at hand.

Once all the peeling paint was removed, we plastered it, let it dry, smoothed it, plastered again as needed, dried and smoothed and primed and painted. It’s a multi-step process not to be rushed. In the end, we loved the color itself as much as the name of the color: Fire Dance by Benjamin Moore, an extraordinarily bold color which enriches this space immensely. The client now returns home to a beautiful living room in which to relax, entertain and enjoy.

BEFORE

AFTER

After — Hall wall completely restored

In process - hall wall spackled, ready for primer and paint

Brooklyn Plasterers

Electricians are brilliant in their grasp of wiring, switches, schematics and technical drawings, circuit breakers, loads and meter diagnostic tools. They must know local and state building code requirements along with the National Electric Code which dictates safe electric design, installation and inspection to protect the public from electrical hazards, which can be deadly. Overloaded electrical outlets are a common cause of electrical fires. The Fire Department of the City of New York has a 2-page “Plug Into Safety” document to guide residents on electrical home safety. You can review this at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/fdny/downloads/pdf/fire-safety-education/10_electricity_home_safety_english.pdf.

 With all these skills and knowledge packed into their heads, electricians are not expected to restore spaces where they work. And we love following in their footsteps. Here we filled and spackled more than 20 holes. Once sanded and smooth again, we primed and painted the hall wall in this 90-year-old Brooklyn building. The residents will be pleased come summer that new wiring was installed to support the air conditioning system, and they are grateful now for the freshly repaired and painted hallway. Even with modernization like air conditioning, these historic buildings continue to evoke a grace and style of yesteryear.

The job ahead of us.

The job in process.

The project nearing completion.

The very cool end result!

Uptown Co-op Wall Repair

A professionally textured wall can lend a gentle kind of rustic style, even in a stairwell or common hallway. In some cases, it camouflages imperfections that a smooth wall cannot, but overall it looks very cool except when the current coat of paint is flaking and falling off, revealing compromised plaster underneath and creating an eyesore for anyone walking the stairs or in the hallway. When a New York City co-op building determines that a stairwell needs some serious attention, many of them call us to evaluate the damage and prescribe the remedy.

 Here we had to scrape away old paint and plaster, vacuuming the debris with HEPA-filtered vacuum cleaners for the health and safety of residents and visitors. We applied a sophisticated plaster weld to ensure bonding before adding the decorative plaster in a way to match existing textures. Then our experienced painters fully primed the wall and added two coats of finish paint in Benjamin Moore’s Baby’s Breath white. Creating and painting textured walls is a skill and an art, and we like to think anyone traveling in this stairwell appreciates its fresh, new, polished look.