One Sabres fan got just want he wanted for the holidays this year when his blue and gold Sabres themed room was painted. Stripes along the top of the walls recall the Sabres classic sweater look, with a related version running along the baseboards. And since every locker room needs a place to draw out plays, a gray panel of chalkboard paint was added. Now this hockey fan can scribble down strategies right on his closet door, without paying a penalty.
This room has got it all, water damage, missing plaster, cracks in the walls and severe cracks in the ceiling. These all have to be fixed before we get to good part, changing the existing baby blue, baby pink and sparkle paint on the walls, woodwork, ceiling and medallion.
Once the fireplace, chandelier and floors are well covered, Scott goes to work cutting in the cracks.
Scott knows this home is almost 140 years old so he's not overly surprised when he finds that the lath board behind the crumbling plaster is rotted and must be removed. To preserve the integrity of the plaster moldings, he cuts a line along their edges. This enables him to remove the ceiling without pulling the moldings down with it.
Scott's finished cutting and taping all of the cracks in the ceiling, and he's started putting on the first of four layers of plaster. The stripes across the ceiling mark the joists and the silver washers you see are there to hold up existing and intact plaster. He has filled in the holes around the medallion with joint compound to strengthen the bond between the medallion and the ceiling.
The blue tape will hold the plaster in the narrow cracks and the silver squares you see prevent wet plaster from bowing out of the larger spaces he's cut in the ceiling.
The gaping hole has been fixed too. Scott's cut a piece of drywall to fit flush with the moldings and existing ceiling plaster.
Once he's plastered and sanded the ceiling it will be a single, flat, solid and even surface.
This project is done and the walls, ceiling and plasterwork have all been repaired and restored. Here's how it came together...
A row of windows brings gorgeous light into this living room and gives a great view of the wooded yard. It's a definite plus in this already beautiful new home, and Scott's attention to detail adds to it by bringing out the beauty of the woodwork without "embellishing" the walls.
Getting white trim paint on yellow walls would definitely mar the finished product, but having straight lines between architectural elements and a wall matters especially where high contrast colors appear next to each other.
Wherever there's a chair rail there's an opportunity to bring in colors that add interest and personal style to a room. These homeowners asked Scott to amp up the classic detailing of their dining room with a cool blue beneath the chair rail.
(The recessed light, above, is popped out to ensure that it does not get damaged or painted during the project. When Scott and his crew leave, the light and everything else in the room will be exactly as they were before the job began.)
Many of Buffalo's older homes feature unique and historic details, such as these plaster moldings and ceiling medallion. Over 100 years old, these plaster elements are very difficult and very expensive to replace once they’re damaged.
Damage may occur if the ceiling has cracks that need to be cut open and repaired. The stress of cutting in the cracks can cause a fissure to continue right through the moldings or around the medallions. These are areas you don’t want to have painted again and again. Once paint is on plaster it can’t be removed as easily as it can be from other surfaces. If a large drip of excess paint hardens along the molding, it will be there forever. And mishaps like that are likely to happen especially in features like these, where intricate details and curves can act as wells holding paint. Along with causing unsightly drips, too much paint will cover the details so they‘re not as sharp as they’re meant to be.
