Ask for advice

info@dejong-stukadoors.nl

Language: Nederlands

Restoring classic plasterwork

In many houses in The Hague from around 1900, the finest details are still on the ceiling. Ceiling roses, cornices, sometimes a complete surround with leaf motifs. After a century of settling, renovating and repainting they're often cracked or clogged under layers of paint. That's the work we love most.

Repair before we replace

An old ceiling is usually plaster on reed: lime plaster on reed mats nailed to wooden laths. If the plaster has come loose, we first fix it back with plaster anchors and a lime injection. Only when a section is truly lost do we take it down.

If part of a cornice is missing, we take the profile from an intact section and run the new cornice on site with a template, the way it was done a hundred years ago. A ceiling rose we recast in our workshop, in lime or plaster.

Listed buildings

In national and municipal listed buildings we use materials that suit the building, usually lime. We write a method statement you can use for your permit application, and you get a photo report of before, during and after.

Questions about restoring classic plasterwork

Does the whole ceiling have to come down if it has a crack?

Almost never. Most cracks come from the house moving and can be repaired with lime and reinforcing mesh. Only when large areas have come away from the reed do we replace a section.

Can you bring painted-over cornices back to a crisp profile?

Yes. We soften the old layers of paint and carefully remove them until the original profile shows again. Then we finish it with limewash, so it doesn’t clog up again.

Our 1904 ceiling had cracks running from one ceiling rose to the other. Robert didn't just fill them, he fixed the loose sections and finished it again in lime. You can't see where they were any more.

AnnemiekStatenkwartier · Restoring classic plasterwork · April 2026

Other techniques

  • Grey decorative plaster wall with five niches

    Decorative plaster

    Marmorino, stucco veneziano and tadelakt. Lime plaster applied by hand in thin coats and burnished to a soft, deep sheen.

  • Cloudy sand-coloured limewash behind a wooden chair with a leather seat

    Limewash

    Matt, cloudy limewash that lets moisture through. For old walls that can't cope with emulsion, and for anyone who wants a soft, lively wall.

  • Light grey concrete-look wall with a plant on a wooden shelf

    Concrete look

    Walls, floors and showers in microcement. One continuous surface without joints, three millimetres thick, even over existing tiles.

  • Plasterer finishing the joint between a new ceiling and the wall

    Plastering new builds

    Plastering ready for wallpaper or paint, for new builds and conversions. For homeowners, contractors and architects around The Hague.

One wall, a ceiling or a whole house?

Robert comes round with samples and can put a test panel on your wall. It costs you nothing.

Get in touch