So you’re thinking about completing a Venetian plaster feature wall installation as part of your renovation project, having seen it all over Pinterest, Instagram and wherever else you seek inspiration.
You’re convinced it will be the cherry on top and finish the project perfectly, setting your home apart from everyone else’s and giving you that little personality in sifted into the decor in ways that’ll envious your friends.
After organising all the builders and other contractors, you’re convinced everything has been sorted until you realise you have yet to learn when a feature wall should be completed.
Fear not, this blog will serve as a handy reference for you and hopefully answer all the questions you might have, but if not, just drop us an email over to hello@signature-walls.co.uk
Timing is everything with Venetian plaster
When should you talk to contractors like yourself about your Venetian plaster feature wall?
Ideally, as soon as it becomes a thing, it is mentioned or discussed with your designer, family or significant other.
Most installers can get booked up in advance, and depending on their team and capacity, this is commonly several months.
So, if you ring around a few people hoping to get it done next week or the week after, you’ll probably find it challenging.
You are placing unnecessary stress onto your plate.
Remember, if you’re working with an interior designer, architect or stylist, have an early-stage conversation with them.
Consider that the additional timeline for installing these finishes can impact the rest of your project and have a knock-on effect if not managed properly from the outset.
Venetian plaster feature walls and decorating
We will start with the most logical point and work through it since Venetian plaster is technically a decorative finishing item.
We prefer installing the Venetian plaster feature wall as a final item in the renovation project, which means no other trades will likely get near the installation and risk damaging it.
Doing so would mean that your usual decorators, second-fix carpenters and everyone else should have finished.
The only slight caveat is if electricians are second fixing wall lights that are part of the feature wall. In this case, they can either leave the wires hanging out the wall, safely terminated or leave the fittings loose so we can tape them up and get the product behind.
The wires are often left out, and the electrician will pop back once we’re done.
For decorating, unless we’re doing this as part of our scope of work (which is a possibility given our backgrounds), we advise the homeowner to have rooms finished; we’ll tape up and protect where necessary and ensure our lines where Venetian plaster meets ceiling or walls are sharp.
Venetian plaster and ordinary plaster
In most cases, we’ll require your feature walls to be plasterboarded and skimmed with regular pink gypsum plaster, giving us a smooth and flat finish before we arrive.
Venetian plaster is a decorative topping, the same as micro cement, and whilst some builders may lead you to believe that it will go over and hide all sorts of surface sinnery, we recommend a freshly skimmed and cured surface.
If the plastering isn’t up to scratch, we’ll highlight this as part of our survey or when we begin the project, depending on when we first visited.
Should your walls and surfaces require additional work or preparations to get right before Venetian plaster, we’ll let you know and find a solution between us all.
Sometimes, we can rectify poor artistry before we start, but not always.
With some of our Venetian plaster products, we don’t need the plasterboard to be skimmed and can go straight over the existing substrate, but you’ll need to check this at the point of enquiry.
Venetian plaster and carpentry
If you plan to add skirting boards to the feature wall, we advise this to be carried out before we arrive so that the decorative Venetian plaster topping can be brought down to meet them.
Doing it this way means that your Venetian plaster feature wall is less likely to be damaged, as Monday will be banging, hitting or drilling onto the wall.
It also keeps gripfill away from the decorative feature wall, which has the potential to mark your surfaces.
Venetian plaster and plumbing
If the feature wall just so happens to have a radiator mounted, we recommend that this be installed first, hung, tested, and removed for the Venetian plaster feature wall being installed.
This is because the brackets will already be on the walls and pipework in situ, so no more drilling, cutting or knocking into the walls will occur.
We’ll then tape up these items when installing the Venetian plaster and ensure the exact finish is consistent across the surface rather than trying to manipulate a trowel or equipment to get into tight areas.
Other considerations
What’s happening in the rooms next door or above and below?
Whilst one room may be finished and ready for us to install your Venetian plaster feature wall, think about what else needs to happen.
If we’re the last trade, this worry is alleviated, and there are no problems; however, if you have work planned for the room next door, we’d encourage you to rethink the plans.
We tell you this from experience after completing a polished plaster feature wall only to have the bathroom fit-out next door ruin the wall within weeks.
Building works can be a nightmare, and anything could go wrong; it doesn’t take a lot to crack or damage some of the more delicate finishes, or if a pipe bursts and water leaks down onto it, it can ruin your installation.
Final clean of the Venetian plaster before you use the space
While we take care to install your Venetian plaster and coat it with a protective wax upon completion to help preserve the masterpiece, when it comes to the final clean down, you must still take care.
We’ll always leave the surface in optimal condition, ready for you to enjoy.
However, we understand you may have arranged cleaners for the end of the project, so they must take care of this finishing item and treat it as a delicate coating.
Liaising with multiple contractors can be a challenge as part of your renovation project; since the Venetian plaster, micro cement, or other decorative coatings are the last thing to be installed, you shouldn’t have too many challenges.
If you need the builder or other tradespeople to check details with us, ask them to contact us by getting in touch through here.
