Beautiful newly plasterer and polished walls to showcase professional photos.

Close up view of beautiful walls.

NYC Apartment Skim Coating 

There are lots of ways to incorporate a homey atmosphere into your residence. Rugs, window treatments and furniture come to mind. But the personalization of space, that unique décor element that speaks volumes about the homeowner, might just be how one treats the walls. The options are nearly limitless for paintings, prints, fabric, mirrors, metal art, maps, shelves, plates, sconces, whiteboard, the television and – drum roll – photos. One of our recent clients is a professional photographer, and she wanted to showcase some of her work at home, but not on crummy, rough, uneven, peeling walls with ceilings to match!

We scraped off lots of loose, old paint and plaster before smoothing the surfaces with multiple skim coats of plaster, sanding between each one. After applying an excellent bonding primer, our team painted a polish plaster coat. This final layer provides a smooth, uniform texture which is durable and naturally waterproof. While it can be tinted, this lady opted for the cleanliness of white so her photos capture full attention. We took a few photos of our own so you can see the difference, though not close to professional standards of photography, we know.

The hallway walls when we arrived on the scene.

Ceilings needed serious attention, too.

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.

NYC Skim Coating and Baseboard Installation

Before - Crumbling walls

Skim coating - After 3 coats of compound plaster

The finished living room! Complete with smooth walls and new baseboards!

When this couple called us they were about to purchase their dream home and were about 2 months away from having their first baby. This residence was in dire need of some serious wall fixing from floor to ceiling. The walls were splotchy with paint and damaged wallboard, and plaster was loose, chipped and falling out at the floor. The home was showing major wear and tear and needed a seriously make over. It was the kind of mess we at Paintworks & Decorating are trained and experienced to remedy. 

We started by scraping all failing paint and plaster. Then we removed the old ragged baseboards. Once everything was fully scraped we applied bonding primer and began skim coating. After 3 coats of compound plaster we carefully sanded to make sure all walls and ceilings had a smooth even texture. We installed new baseboards and then painted everything with Benjamin Moore. This Manhattan historic apartment renovation was quite the challenge but looking at the home with furniture made it all worth it. The client is happy and we are grateful they trusted us to complete this project.