This month I want to start the year by answering a question that comes up often, then take a look ahead at major trends in the plastering world.

Our customers like having choices, for the size of the addition they are planning for their home, as well as updates for their kitchen. Many customers also like being able to make choices about the finish they’ll select for the walls and ceilings for each room in their latest project.

This month I thought I’d include a recent project that turned out very well, and which, most importantly, made the homeowner happy as well. It was a nice transformation that was done to a home and I’ve included some pictures to go along with this discussion.

I mentioned in the May column that I recently took a trip out to California. I had a list of companies to visit who manufacture and/or import a wide variety of plaster products. One company I was anxious to meet with is the manufacturer and distributor of Vella Venetian Systems.

This time around I want to tell you about a product that comes from a little farther away, Japan!

There are so many types of Venetian plasters on the market. What are the differences and what do you recommend?Mike Heit, New Hampton, IowaThere are a tremendous amount of new

Selos is a plasterer, but to leave it at that would be like saying Van Gogh or Rembrandt dabbled in paints. Just as the masters started with a blank slate and brush in hand, Selos starts with many of the same tools as any plastering professional. What is created by the end of the process, though, is far from typical.

It was a “drywall job.” The minute I would hear those words, I’d tell them to get a drywaller. In my mind, there was always this clear separation between drywall and plaster – and never the two should meet. No longer is that the case.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that in many parts of the country the economy has slowed way down. For several months now, I have gotten e-mails from many who have asked for tips on staying busy, especially around this time of the year. I like to talk about repair work and plastering but if there’s no work, it doesn’t really make much sense to talk about how to do it if the phone isn’t ringing.

This project was in the kitchen area of the home (photo 1). Water had come through the ceiling and peeled the paint layer. One of the first steps I took was to find out how extensive the damage was.