Victorian Coving was mass produced and arrived on site in standard lengths. The invention of gelatine moulds in the middle of the nineteenth century had allowed mass production of standard designs, whilst the simpler plain cornices used in bedrooms were run in situ by the Plasterer using wet plaster and a template.

Victorian Coving was often decorated in several colours with different colours used to pick out the various elements of the design; gilding was also applied to some of the more elaborate designs.

Plaster coving was an important part of Victorian interior design, often painted in a number of different colours that related to the other elements of the room, unfortunately much of the surviving Victorian coving is so badly clogged up with paint that it is impossible to recreate the original look and painting it a single colour may be the only option.

We have a number of different designs that recreate Victorian coving, they are made in exactly the same way as the originals, by hand in a mould, and once fitted and painted it is impossible to tell the difference.

It was considered very important to create the right impression when visitors came to your house with a grand impressive entrance hall, and Victorian coving played a part in this with the grandest most elaborate designs used in the entrance halls, with designs becoming more restrained as you moved through the house.

So having had a pause after the roof was completed I had got used to looking at the front of the house with a large concrete blockwork structure at the base of the front door and a large gap in the sandstone faade where all you could see was blockwork. This was now going to be transformed by the addition of the front steps.

The sandstone treads themselves are bull nosed and there are special corner pieces with the bull nosing on two sides, the treads come in three sizes so that the width of the steps can be reduced as you climb higher and the joints can also be staggered.

Along with the steps there are sandstone risers also in three sizes, these are fixed with resin onto the front of the blockwork frame and the treads are then bedded on top with compo, both the sandstone steps and risers have a honed finish and the edges have been slightly bevelled.

With accurate architects drawings the steps turned out to be not particularly difficult to do, though like everything else, time spent in preparation and laying out was rewarded by an easy job later on, and now the finished steps have completely changed the look of the front of the house.

The house now seems to extend down from the faade and now has started to command and dominate the space in front of it, whilst at the same time making the space I front of it now look a complete mess, the sandstone flags however for the front have also been sitting in their packing crates for a year and will be going in next.

These sandstone steps and risers could be configured in many different ways to suit different drops and widths, if you are looking for sandstone steps please contact us through the website.

The history of plaster stretches back to the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who made extensive use of it for their temples and palaces, and after disappearing with the fall of the Roman Empire it reappeared here in England in the early Middle Ages, introduced from France where it had been seen by the King in Paris.

Originally only for the very rich over the centuries plaster became affordable for all, and with this grew up a set of rules and proportions governing its use.

There is no need today to follow these rules, people can and do, have anything they want wherever they want, but they are still interesting and provide a useful guide to others.

In this section of the website we are going to write more about the history of plaster, its styles and the rules that have grown up around its use, there will be tips on installation and pictures of finished jobs.

All of which I hope will be useful to anybody trying to decide which style of coving to choose.

Once you come up the stairs lit with a skylight in the sloping roof, there is a landing with two bedrooms on either side; these are good sized rooms with a sloping ceilings and spectacular views over the surrounding countryside.

At the end of the landing is the bathroom, this is in the roof space and is lit with a skylight in the same way as the stairwell.

The landing features two flat roof lights one of which opens giving access to the flat roof and balcony at the top of the house, at the moment you have to climb a wooden ladder to get out onto the roof, in the end I am going to have to find a more elegant way of getting up there, but that is not todays most pressing problem.

It has been very satisfying to see the interest that visitors to the website have taken in the building of the house and we have had enquiries regarding sandstone and architectural details from as far away as America, Canada and Australia.

The majority of enquiries have come from self builders and renovators in the UK and it has been fascinating to talk to people and hear their stories of other self build projects. We have become closely involved in a number of projects sourcing all kinds of materials, most often when something unusual or bespoke was required such as special sized roofing slate, a complete white onyx bathroom, and several highly ornate fireplaces, to name a few.

The Sovalli range of iridescent glass tiles have also proved very popular as has our range of plaster coving, but now it is time to return to the main job of building a house of which the website was really an offshoot.

Luckily he did not accept this as a final answer and Googled plaster ceiling roses, where he found Sovalli. He called in and left with three real handmade plaster ceiling roses for less than the price of the polystyrene ones he had been offered elsewhere.

Adhesive - Mix your coving adhesive in a clean bucket with clean water following the manufacturers instructions. If mixed properly the adhesive should normally set within 1 to 2 hours so don't mix up more than you can use within that time. If the surface areas are porous where you are adding the coving then it can be dampened just prior to adding the coving. Apply the adhesive, no less than 3mm, right along the two surfaces of the coving that will be in contact with the wall and ceiling.

Fitting - Push firmly and evenly into position between your guide lines and remove any excess adhesive. Use your fingers, you are going to get a little messy! Then wipe off any residual adhesive with a damp sponge. The excess can be used to fill in any gaps in the corners or joints. To avoid accidentally knocking the coving you can tap in some nails directly beneath the coving to hold in into position while the adhesive sets, then remove them.

If your trying coving for the first time then buy at least 20% extra lengths and practice cutting your internal and external mitres. Start fitting your coving at external corners like chimney breasts so you get good mitred finishes. External corners catch the eye more than internal corners which can be easily filled if your slightly out. With an off cut of your coving, mitre both ends and use this to position up against the coving you are fitting to check the mitres as you go along.

Use a caulking tool to join two lengths of coving. Apply some adhesive along the join and run the caulking tool along it to force the adhesive into any gaps and remove any excess at the same time. Once dry you can gently sandpaper the join and once painted you'll never know it's there.

To see our full range of Decorative plaster coving, cornice and ceiling roses click here.

The Preparation on your wall and ceiling surfaces where the coving edges will touch is generally straight forward. You should remove any wallpaper or backing paper from the area and brush away any loose or dust particles. Then draw some guide lines along the walls and ceiling.

If you have painted or plastered areas which will come in contact with the coving edges they should be scratched to help provide a key to the adhesive.

Before you start to cut the coving, consider the angles of your coving cuts. Internal corners go inwards and external corners the mitre cut goes outwards. It is not possible to overthink this - you should always think carefully before you cut the coving with your mitre as to whether you are working on an internal corner or an external corner.

When cutting the coving, you ideally want a mitre block and a fine tooth saw. The mitre block has the angles already set. Mitre blocks are cheap easy to buy and essential for getting this job done correctly. When cutting using a mitre block you put the ceiling edge down into the block with have the front of the coving facing you and you cut into the curve. Then gently sandpaper the edges of the cut to remove any rough edges.

The best way to join two pieces of coving together is not just by butting two straight edges but by cutting an external mitre on the left hand piece and an internal mitre on the right hand piece and slide them together. They will fit together nicely. This is a better way to disguise the coving join than just by butting the edges together.

Look out for the next in our series on fitting plaster coving, to see out full range of decorative plaster mouldings, plaster coving and cornice click here.

Today we had a white onyx basin arrive from the factory which was a special order for a new build house, our client had seen what she wanted on a luxury bathroom website but it was too big.

All we needed was the link to the image and the architects drawings of the wc. After confirming with the architect the dimensions of the bowl we made this stunning rectangular onyx bowl, not only is it exactly the right size, it was also less than half the price.

The following images were all we had to work on, and I am very pleased with the result.