Venetian Plaster

Our Authentic Venetian Plaster for Quality Homes in Tampa Bay
Combines Old World Beauty with Environment Friendly Materials

SPECIAL NOTE: For Authentic Venetian Plaster projects, we only bid on jobs requiring at least 2,000 square feet of Venetian Plaster application on surfaces (walls, columns, etc.) Because of the costs involved, this is a service suited only for high-end homes or properties.

Give the walls in your quality home a classic European feel with Venetian plasters made with authentic materials that are beautiful, environment friendly and long lasting.

At Nelson Construction and Renovations, Inc., situated in Tampa Bay Florida, we have mastered the almost forgotten art of Venetian plastering that creates elegant, unique walls that are environment friendly and eternal in their beauty.

Your quality home can have beautifully crafted walls and columns akin to those found in Italy and other Mediterranean countries. We use authentic lime plasters because they are better for the environment, and give a much more luxurious feel than any synthetic finishes available. We say this from real experience as we have used many other materials and systems over time.

Our proprietary, 98% organic, imported product line will give your walls a rich, natural patina that creates a luxurious setting in any area of the home. With less than 2% resins in the products we use, we can certify it as Green building materials and environmentally friendly.

If you are looking for authentic Venetian Plaster for your Tampa Bay area home, please call us at: (727) 596-9006 for a free estimate or design consultation.  Or you can email us.

The Art of Turning Walls into Art with Venetian Plasters

Venetian Plaster is created with techniques dating back to 900 BC. It’s made from limestone rocks heated with water and turned into a “lime putty”.

This mixture is then combined with different natural colorants such as ground marble dust. Different techniques and organic pigments are used to create various designs and texture.

The addition of these textured layers and colors give Venetian plaster an elegant and rich look fit for royalty.

The putty is seasoned for up to one year and processed as a finishing plaster. After this labor intensive process, limestone putty turns into a very fine material – finer than expensive, cosmetic face makeup.

Our Venetian Plaster Designs

We have many designs available for Venetian plasters. With its adaptable material, we can create unique looks tailored to your needs. Here’s a list of our commonly requested designs:

• Polished or “burnished” look
• Suede
• Stone
• Marble look
• Metallic designs
• Old World
• Tuscan
• Contemporary
• Traditional

Benefits of Using Venetian Plaster for Walls and Columns

• Endless possibilities- given the range of materials and techniques that could be used with this material, there are literally millions of designs available. By using Venetian plaster, you can turn an ordinary wall into a unique and breathtaking work of art.
• Lime inhibits and prevents bacteria growth on the surface, which eliminates the possibility of mold and mildew. The plaster also absorbs carbon dioxide to clean the air you breathe.
• It is hypoallergenic, eliminating mold spores that keep allergy spores alive longer during allergy seasons.
• A safety advantage of Lime Plasters is that it helps keep a fire from spreading faster, as it will not burn like painted surfaces. It takes about 3000°C to burn and is resistant to a fire within a room thus reducing or eliminating structural damage or destruction provided the fire is extinguished promptly.
• The main benefit of Italian plaster is that it will last about 3-4 times longer than painted walls. Highly durable Venetian plasters have been used for centuries. The material only gets better with age as evidenced by the many beautiful Egyptian tombs and historical landmarks in Europe.
• Eliminate the need to paint, and the finish will actually age gracefully over time. Low maintenance- the colorants used in the plaster are deeply seated into the plaster, it’s not just a surface coat. Hence, it’s not like your ordinary wall plaint that you need to apply after a few years.
• It has a self-healing property that will fix minor cracks over time.
• Easy to maintain and keep clean
• Environment friendly– it’s made from limestone and organic color pigments, unlike other synthetic finishes.
• Water proof- Venetian plasters draw out water and moisture out of the wall, making them last longer than your average wall finish. The material acts like a sponge, allowing the wall to breathe and let the moisture evaporate off the surface.

Venetian Plaster by any Other Name

There are many so called Venetian Plaster “experts” that really don’t know what real lime plasters are supposed to do and how they work.

There are also many companies that sell products under the label “Venetian Plaster” and if you sold one of these buckets to an artisan living in Venice 200 years ago, they would dump the bucket into the canal along with the salesman that sold it to them.

Modern day Venetian Plaster (and just because it’s made in Italy doesn’t make it real) is a term used for many products that are supposed to “act” like plaster but should be called “Faux Venetian Plaster”. Why? Because that’s really what they are. These manufacturers are trying to improve upon nature. They use the same products used in Italian Lime Plaster but add synthetic materials to assist in making the product act and look like Italian Plaster.

In the end, faux Venetian Plaster does not have the design or natural traits that allow it to work properly for the applicator, and, ultimately, it is not in the customer’s best interest.

Faux plaster will not age as gracefully, nor have the same redeeming attributes of plaster and the cost will sometimes be more expensive than real authentic Italian Lime Plaster. If you have a quality home, you want authentic Venetian Plaster, not a poor imitation.

Venetian Plaster is called different things. It’s commonly called “Marble Venetian polished plastering” or some refer to this as marble plastering or marble plaster, polished plastering or polished plaster, Venetian plastering or just Venetian plaster.

Venetian Plaster vs. “Fat Paint”

This is very important… There are other building suppliers and manufacturers that sell and make and promote some of their products to be “Venetian Plaster.” But the Italians have a word they refer to these materials with which means “Fat Paint.” This is because that material is basically really thick paint.

These other materials are loaded with chemicals, resins, and such which harm both the environment and the applicator. They contain a list of toxic ingredients pages long.

Additionally, these synthetic, man-made, so called Venetian Plasters have no crushed marble or minerals in them.

Conversely, the minerals and crushed marble in authentic Italian Venetian plaster create very desirable and sought after effects in the surface which, when applied by a professional, can create surfaces that look hundreds of hears old or dazzling with detail and color.

What is so Great About Authentic Italian products?

Years of tradition and heritage stand behind our authentic Venetian plaster products. Like fine wine, lime must be aged and skillfully prepared to achieve the quality necessary to create the truly incredible finishes available.

The products we use for our finishes are all authentic Italian products and we are experts in the application of these.

Italian Lime Plaster inhibits the growth of mold and mildew and will actually improve over time. It is the choice for the most prestigious commercial and residential projects.

Also, in particularly humid areas like Florida where mold and mildew are a problem, the use of Italian Lime Plaster handles most of the problem. This is because the material is fully breathable. It actually pulls moisture out of the air like a sponge and lets it evaporate through the wall or ceiling surface.

Some might say, “Yes, but mold grows on drywall paper, what about the inside of the wall on the back of the drywall when it gets moist and hot in there.” The answer is that the drywall paper is also breathable and the only reason mold would grow on it is because the moisture is trapped inside because of the use of modern day paint which locks in and seals the surface. Paint lets nothing in and lets nothing out.

But if one used Authentic Italian Lime Plaster over the drywall, moisture would be allowed to evaporate through the surface of the wall.

The Magic Ingredients

Mixed with granules of lime, marble and other minerals, the Venetian Plaster products we use are widely accepted and certified as all-natural, green building products.

The finishes that can be created with their pure, natural appeal are almost unlimited.

We are trained in the expert application of these products. We can work with your designer or bring our own. We work with some of the top designers in the greater Tampa Bay area and beyond.

What about color? The color is paint isn’t it?

No. The color added to the products is high quality, fade-resistant, all-natural color pigments made specifically for lime plaster. The surfaces will age gracefully over years and need little to no maintenance.

The materials used have no paint in them, so moisture is not locked in.

Can you match colors I pick from the paint store? – What about sheen?

Yes. Any color can be matched. We can make a matt finish ( flat finish, not reflecting light; not glossy) all that way to a gloss finish on most of the products we use. We can also wax the surface with a special breathable wax that can be polished with a rag after it’s dry.

The benefit of the wax is that it

• can make a surface very shiny similar to high-gloss and
• can protect the surface from stains like wine, coffee etc. The wax still allows breath-ability but it will be harder for these things to absorb into the surface.

Metallic Finishes

Metallic Finishes – The finishes we can create with the metallic lime plasters we use are very high end and luxurious. The materials are made of micro-filtered lime putty and carefully mixed with a series of prestigious metallic powders of silver, gold and bronze.

Traditional Marmorino Finishes

Marmorino Veneziano is a plaster or stucco decoration used on walls. It was used as far back as Roman times. When people think of Venetian Plaster they traditionally think Marmorino. Marmorino is the basis for most Italian lime plasters and is truly a classic product. Many beautiful finishes can be created using this collection of material.

There are several (5) specific Marmorino plasters we use in our Venetian finishes. Some are designed for that truly classic look, some are especially designed to obtain the typical look of Venetian Plaster, as well as the contemporary look of modern application. Some have special colored minerals to obtain the affect of stone.

What if I already have painted walls – do I need to replace the drywall?

No. We can apply any of the products we use over a wide variety of surfaces using a special primer or “bonding agent” which was made specifically for adhering these products to other surfaces.

Nelson Construction Guarantee of Excellence

We guarantee the authenticity of our Venetian plasters and we do not create faux plasters that mimic the look of Venetian plasters.

Our Venetian plasters are work of arts that are created with much care and passion. We strive only for excellence and your complete satisfaction.

Call us now at (727) 595-5691 for a free quote or design consultation.