Ornamental plaster moldings restored for Jarman Construction
Washington, DC

Details:

This room is in an old church that had a fire tar was used as a bonder
A picture that Chris Jarman e-mailed me for estimating. This room is in an old church that had a fire. Drywall ceiling was torn out by the firemen. Plaster weld ( a bonding agent) is brushed on the old wall. A very interesting fact is the tar on the old terra cotta blocks. In the old days (1920's-1930's) this tar was used as a bonder or waterproofing. The tar was put on, and the scratch coat of plaster put on while the tar was still sticky. During a fire the tar gets hot and the plaster pops off. I used to re-plaster a lot of these walls years ago when I did a lot of fire damage work.
Trestle type scaffold Plaster mouldings here are replaced
Trestle type scaffold is made at the job to our ceiling height requirements. Two by four legs are custom made according to the ceiling height. I cut out a section to make a mold template.
Plaster mouldings here are replaced mold template>
The original ceiling and plaster moldings were put on rock lath. The back of the rock lath is stamped : "Beaver products". I have wondered why sometimes rock lath is referred to as "beaver board". I cut off another piece from my "Rebuilding D.C." sign to make the mold template.
ornamental plaster moldings in Washington, DC Metal is filed a little at a tim
Metal is filed a little at a time until it matches the molding. Finished knife is mounted on a wood backup, and a board for sliding. Metal strip at top is adjusted to the right height. Here, it is held in place by a vise grip waiting for a screw. The front has a piece of a sprite can. The bent metal allows the mold template to slide easier.
wood strip moulding plaster and lime
Straight wood strip is attached to the wall for the template to slide on. The top edge is filled with lath and plaster and straightened. Bare metal lath is left ready for the molding. Lath is filled with moulding plaster and lime and mold template slid along until the molding is nice and straight.
tooled with a long miter rod shorter miter rod
Shorter missing sections are filled and tooled with a long miter rod. A shorter miter rod is used to tool the join between the new and old molding.
The miters , or inside corners, are done with what else? a miter rod gypsum plaster and sand
The miters , or inside corners, are done with what else? a miter rod. Lath is filled with moulding plaster and lime and mold template slid along until the molding is nice and straight.
Finished molding just like the 1930's again restored historic ornamental plaster moldings in Washington, DC
Finished molding just like the 1930's The ceiling had been replaced with drywall some time ago, so new drywall was put back. After a coat of paint, this room will be back the way it was before the fire.