Professional skim coater plying his craft

Skim coating ceiling in process

Left - room ceiling complete. Right - closet ceiling patiently waiting for its skim coats.

Downtown Manhattan Skim Coating Contractors

Popcorn is one of six types of maize or corn and the only one of these whole grains which pops. Popcorn sales top $1 billion per year and more than 17 billion quarts are consumed. Its popularity is undisputed, but the appeal of popcorn ceilings waned a couple decades ago. Their attraction in the late 1970s was in hiding imperfections and absorbing sound, thereby reducing noise. But now, customers are requesting skim coatings that offer a smooth appearance. We do this, often. Multiple coats – applying, drying, sanding, applying again and so on.

 For this downtown Manhattan job, the ceiling tested positive for asbestos. Bet you didn’t know we even do that! Thus, we had to prime the ceiling first to eliminate releasing any dust into the room. Then we skim coated some 4 coats before it could all be smoothed like the client wanted. We delivered a beautifully crafted new ceiling, and skim coating is definitely both an art and a craft, finely tuned only by professional experience. Take a break and watch this video below of the process, and you’ll know just want to expect from our expert skim coaters and painters.

The lovely, smooth, ceiling completely repaired

The unlovely, peeling ceiling upon arrival

Our plastic protection before any work commences

Our work at the halfway point professionally restoring this ceiling

Tudor City Plastering and Painting

 Ceiling space is the largest expanse in any room. It may be equal to the floor in square feet, but it is not interrupted with furniture and rugs. And while you may not gaze at the ceiling, peripheral vision takes it all in – the big space with possibly one central chandelier or fan or recessing lighting. When your ceiling is in disrepair, then the entire room takes on a dull, crummy appearance. This Tudor City apartment’s ceiling had been peeling for a couple years, and it was time to fix it.

 Our team rolled in with copious plastic sheets to protect furnishings, floor coverings and electronics from debris that was sure to come down in pieces, flakes and dust. Once scraped, we applied a bonding primer to attach firmly to the subsequent coats of plaster. After sanding it flat and smooth, up went a high quality primer ahead of the finish coats. Ceiling work is challenging for the overhead position and working with arms raised on ladders and scaffolding that we haul along with all the tools and supplies. This entire room can now be seen, peripheral vision included, as a warm, inviting, home space.

UES Local Painters

With a bird’s eye view out this Upper East Side apartment, the owner wanted her rental nest to look great before marketing it for new tenants. The ceiling needed some repair, and since you can’t have a tree canopy and the sky above, like the real birds do, then sprucing this up was the next best thing. Ceilings are often only in our peripheral vision, not especially noteworthy, until there’s peeling paint or a little damage or imperfections that capture our eye. Then one might wonder if the ceiling here is not important to keep clean and freshly painted, what else might not be up to snuff?

 So, the Paintworks troop moved in with plaster, paint, ladders, scaffolding, long handles for rollers and all the tools for plastering, priming and painting the tops of the rooms. Ceilings can be challenging up overhead, but we are always up for any challenge that involves, renovation, flooring and more. This lady landlord can now proudly show the space in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, known for Madison Avenue, the Museum Mile and almost everything you need for a satisfying live-work-play experience.

NYC Scaffold Painting Contractor

There's a reverence that accompanies our work in buildings more than a century old. We recently had the privilege of working on ceiling repair from a slow water leak in a top floor apartment in one of these well-preserved structures. The ceilings were 24 feet high, and jobs like this require expert contractors protecting floors, art and furnishings while assembling safe scaffolding and using professional plastering, smoothing and painting skills. After masterfully repairing and painting the ceiling, we painted the entire living room. These residents can now enjoy a drip-free, freshly painted space at the top, penthouse-like.

Plastering and Painting To Revive A Home In Manhattan

When this client called us her apartment was in bad shape. After not painting or repairing the plaster in her home for over 40 years everything started to fail. Paint was falling from everywhere. Adding to the situation was water damage from the apartment above. We spent multiple days scraping and carefully disposing off all the failing paint and plaster. We were surprised to discover wallpaper underneath the paint (seen in the 2nd picture below). The client didn’t know there was wallpaper there! We then spent multiple days priming and plastering the entire apartment to return it to it’s former glory. You can see the dramatic transformation, especially in the bathroom picture below. These pictures were taken at the 70% mark of the project. While we always recommend addressing paint issues as they arise, it is never too late to save your home.

The half way point after 2 coats of plaster

After scraping off the failing paint we discovered wallpaper!

After plastering and priming

The scary bathroom before we started