Seattle · Puget Sound · Washington State
Plaster work for people who live in the house
Most of what we do for homeowners is repair: a medallion that came down, a cornice that was cut, ornament that cannot be bought because nobody makes that profile any more. We model it, cast it at our Seattle studio, and our own crew fits it — no subcontracted installer who has never handled plaster.
What people usually call about
A ceiling that has lost its centre
The medallion came down in a leak, or a previous owner took it out for a fan. We match the profile from a photograph or a surviving fragment, cast the replacement, and fit it — so the repair is not obvious from the floor.
Cornice that stops at a doorway
Runs that were cut for a wall that is no longer there, or that were never finished. We model the existing profile, run the new length to match, and mitre it into what is already up.
A room that reads flat
A plain remodel in an old house. Cornice, a medallion, a frieze at picture-rail height — the mouldings the house would have had, in the right proportion for the ceiling height rather than whatever the box store stocks.
Damage you cannot buy a replacement for
Hand-modelled ornament has no part number. If it is broken, the only route is to model the missing piece against the ones still on the wall. That is the work this business was built on.
How a repair actually goes
- Send photographs. One of the whole ceiling or wall, one close up, and one with a tape measure or a ruler in the shot so we can read the scale. That is usually enough to quote from.
- We model the profile. From your photographs, a surviving length, or a fragment you post to us. A silicone mould is cut from the finished model.
- Cast and cure. Fibre-reinforced gypsum for interior work — hollow cast, lighter than it looks, and it takes paint the way the original does.
- Fitted and pointed. Set, jointed and made good so the new work disappears into the old. Then you paint it, or we leave it ready for your decorator.
Questions we get asked first
- Can you match something you have never seen?
- Usually, yes — that is the normal case, not the hard one. Hand-modelled ornament has no catalogue number, so matching from a photograph and a measurement is how this trade has always worked. Send what you have and we will tell you honestly if it is beyond a match.
- Is it plaster, or is it foam?
- Plaster. Fibre-reinforced gypsum for interiors, GRG and GRC where the job needs something tougher. Polyurethane mouldings are cheaper and they look it — the arris is soft and the undercut is shallow, which is exactly what you notice in a room with real plaster already in it.
- Do I need to be there?
- For the survey it helps. For the fitting, not usually. The studio is by appointment rather than a walk-in showroom, so ring or email before coming over.
- What does it cost?
- A run of cornice is priced by the foot, a medallion by the piece, and a match by the modelling time it takes. There is no price list because no two repairs are the same size. Photographs get you a real number rather than a range.
Where the crew works
Out of the studio at 6011 12th Ave S, Seattle, across the Puget Sound region and anywhere else in the country. Washington contractor licence ORNAMPA830PC.
- Seattle
- West Seattle
- Queen Anne
- Ballard
- Beacon Hill
- Rainier Valley
- Bellevue
- Kirkland
- Renton
- Burien
- Shoreline
- Everett
- Tacoma
- Lakewood
- University Place
- Federal Way
- Olympia
- Spokane
Would you rather use your own contractor? We ship the castings with drawings — see shipping for how that works.
Send us the ceiling
Photographs and a rough measurement are enough to start. We will tell you what it is, whether it can be matched, and what it costs.
