BobVila.com

The lost art of Victorian plaster details is making a comeback - in a new form. Modern manufacturers are finding ways to reproduce cornice moldings, friezes, corbels, brackets, rosettes, and ceiling medallions, using lightweight polymers. Less prone to damage than plaster, polymer details are flexible, paintable, easy to ship, and they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

For a rich wall treatment that's truly unique, find out more about marmorino plaster. Developed in 16th-century venice as a lightweight alternative to marble, this mix of marble dust and plaster with custom pigments requires two coats, a waxy finish, and lots of elbow grease, but the results can be spectacular.

Chris Borovka from US Gypsum joins Bob explain about patching with plaster. The first job entails patching over an existing door opening. They've put some Imperial Gypsum base up to the existing door frame and patched the existing hole with diamond veneer base coat. Next they put pressure sensitive fiber tape, P-Tape, over it and bonded the entire existing surface. The use USG Plaster Bonder Pink as a bonding agent - it rewettens and re-emulsifies - and put the base coat of plaster over that. Where the wall meets the ceiling, they apply pressure-sensitive tape to the existing surface and butt it in while applying the first coat of base coat. The first coat provides a nice even scratch coat. The second coat should be applied while the first coat is still fully wet and serves to take out some the bad dips and dives and the trowel marks from the first coat leaving a nice smooth finish. The next day you they'll put the finish coat over it. Where the insulators drilled holes into the original walls, the plasters put the Plaster Bonder Pink around the inside of the hole and fill it in with the base coat. They've meshed over the top of that for extra security and then bonded over the whole surface. On the blue board, it's a different type of installation. Shreve applies one-coat over the joints to reinforce them and fill in the undulation that's left from the two end tapes from the butt joints. That sets up for about an hour and then it's ready for finish coat.

Bob checks out the plaster cornice in the project home. Water damage has ruined a large section of the cornice, and much of the remaining plaster is in need of repair. Bob discusses the various elements and construction process for this style of cornice.

Bob interviews Mike Casas, a plastering contractor doing plaster repair over drywall and metal lath over wood lath.

The plaster crew is hard at work in the master bedroom, applying a coat of USG Diamond Veneer Plaster. Bob gets a demonstration of the plaster application process, and a few tips on the technique for a nice, neat plaster job. Starting with the walls first, the crew works its way around the room before moving on to the ceiling.

Bob meets with Richard Marks, the restoration contractor, to see how the existing plaster and cornice work is blended with the new drywall.