Adding Detail to the Plaster Cornice

Project: Federal-Style Home, Episode 4, Part 1



Bob joins contractor Richard Marks to review progress on the cornice reconstruction, following water damage, and the painstaking restoration of the elaborately carved and inset fireplace mantle. Also, Bob returns to the William Gibbes house for a tour of its one-acre garden.
Part 1: Adding Detail to the Plaster Cornice
Bob observers the expert plasterer add detail to the cornice, which is under reconstruction due to water damage. The scratch coat is complete and the white coat is underway. Several types of plaster are combined and each batch is workable for only 5 minutes before it hardens. A template is pulled across the spread plaster to form the cornice profile.
Part 2: William Gibbes House Garden Tour
Part 3: Decorative Woodwork Restoration
Bob Vila tackles the revitalization of an exquisite Federal-style home, built in the early 1800s, which survived the Civil War but barely survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989. A major aspect of the project is the painstaking process of restoring the original plaster ornamentation and woodwork to their original detail.

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