Today’s wall and ceiling industry hardly resembles what it was in the past. If you have been around the business for more than a few decades, you will relate to what I am saying. If you are new to the business, you may want to pay attention and heed some advice.
Ornamentation is certainly still possible with real plaster. Look at all the old castles and churches in Europe. They have tons of ornamentation. The wall and ceiling industry today has new products and systems coming out all the time that continue to push the envelope on design and creativity. Architects have a seemingly unlimited source of products to add all types of ornamentation to buildings at a reasonable cost. Ornamentation is still here – it has just changed.
Every contractor who has anything to do with stucco knows the frustration of hairline cracks that are inherent with a cement stucco system. We try every new product and technique but yet still seem to find ourselves on site with the designer, owner and general contractor pointing fingers at one another for cracks in stucco. When tempers fly and no resolution seems likely, a private consultant can be hired to take core samples and ship them off to the lab for a petrographic analysis.
Someone once told me “things always change.” Truer words were never spoken. As the Democratic Party prepares to take control of the House and Senate, some people are celebrating while others are filled with fret and concern.
It is amazing how such a small mechanical device can have a huge impact on the wall and ceiling industry, and in particular, the contractor installing systems.
Building owners have more choices, option and selections for ceilings than ever before. The Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau has been assisting designers, contractors and code officials for more than 50 years with ceiling selection and proper installation standards. Ceilings will generally fall into one of three basic categories.
A veneer plaster system is a thin coat of plaster, usually 3/32 inch, over a gypsum-based panel. The reason for specifying a veneer plaster is typically to achieve a hard, abuse-resistant monolithic surface.
Portland cement plaster has traditionally been a three-coat cement system as described by all model building codes and now in the International Building Code. Within the last two decades, acrylic has become very popular as an alternative finish coat to the traditional Portland cement stucco finish. Both finish coats are excellent finish materials, can be integrally colored and are vapor permeable but this is where the similarities end.
