Plaster moldings
We are restoring our brownstone and would like to re-create plaster moldings on the ceiling of our parlor floor. I have been referred to a couple of people but im trying to understand the difference of having someone come to our home and do everything by hand, as opposed to buying them already made from a place like Decorators Supply Corp. what are the pros and cons to this?

stuyheights
in Roofers 10 years and 10 months ago
3
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cate | 10 years and 10 months ago
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We’ve had skim coating done by real plaster experts and it was surprisingly affordable (competitive with painting). However, I have the feeling they charge a lot more for decorative plaster work! Nonetheless, at $28 per square foot just for the pre-made moldings, wouldn’t be surprised if custom works out to be considerably less. Re what to put in, might want to check with your neighbors to see if any have an identical house with original details still there. Any idea what period/style your house is? (Pay no attention to the city records for dates — they’re almost always wrong.)

stuyheights | 10 years and 10 months ago
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Cate, Thank you for your reply. The house we purchased is completely gutted with no pre-existing plasterwork whatsoever. I don’t know what was originally in the house but im working on getting pictures. I found a few from Decorators Supply Corp that caught my eye, and they were around $28 per foot. I have not gotten an estimate by any plaster workers yet, but have spoken to a couple.

cate | 10 years and 10 months ago
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You might want to have them made by hand if the ones in your house were originally made this way or if you are trying to match what is already there. A custom molding could also be more authentic than one bought off the shelf, although it all depends on which off the shelf molding you are buying and whether or not it’s an exact copy of a molding that could have conceivably originally been in your house. As for practical considerations, such as whether or not it’s possible to fit premade plaster molding onto an old, uneven wall or the cost difference, I do not know. It’s possible having a plaster expert create moldings in place by running a template is actually cheaper or competitive with the cost of buying premade product plus installation, but I don’t know — and obviously the cost will be highly affected by whether the moldings are simple or complicated.