The Plaster Master

Work projects have always gone excellent. Mike is an artist and his work is outstanding. We've hired him over the years and he's always been professional and done a superb job. One of the things that was most important to me is cleanup and every time Mike has always left the area clean. When it comes to plaster, the last thing you want is to clean up the dust - we've never had an issue with that. And, as said before, we've hired The Plaster Master over the past 6-8 years and he's always done an A+ rated job. Can't recommend him enough!

This is the second time we've called Michael Casas (the Plaster Master) to repair our damaged ceiling after my husband's ceiling fan replacement job ran into difficulty. We didn't want to repair our 1944 home's original lath-&-buttonboard plaster work with dry wall, so Michael's expertise with steel mesh & plaster was about the closest we could get to the original technique. Since this was a smaller job than our first one 9 yrs ago, I was able to simply send a photo of the damage to Virginia (Michael's wife) and got a quote back the next day. The work was done in a single afternoon, and we were on our way again after the plaster dried thoroughly (~3 days). Michael takes pride in his work, and is friendly, thorough, polite, and respectful of the client's home, putting down plastic everywhere they walk, and in the room where work is performed. Would ABSOLUTELY call on the Plaster Master again!!

Michael came to estimate the job on Saturday, he and his crew showed up on Monday and Tuesday and got the job done. The results are excellent, with true lime plaster, instead of the mixed drywall mud that generations of the uneducated had left behind. I'm impressed with the fine finished surface on the walls, which are now ready to paint. First rate work, on time and on budget.

I was away on vacation when the damage to my tenant's plaster ceiling occurred. Being away, I had trouble properly screening the pros I had found on Angie's List. When I contacted Mike, he was extremely professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. Once we agreed on a price, he was extremely communicative, providing me with a daily report via text of the progress of the repair. When I returned from my trip, I was extremely happy with the quality of his work. I will definitely use his services in the future and would recommend Mike to others looking for a seasoned pro.

Excellent. Mike Casas & his 2 co-workers did a masterful job of repairing all my exterior stucco walls of my home & garage for $5,750. The previous owner of the home had done such a poor job that the walls looked as if they had a bad case of varicose veins. This "repair of a previous bad repair" job took Mike & his 2 co-workers a week to accomplish in blazing sun & heat. The results were stunningly seamless & high quality. Mike truly is an old school artist who takes tremendous pride in his work. I can see why the big name tv shows have utilized his service. Many thanks Mike!

Mike was a pleasure to work with, he offered a reasonable rate given his specialization and the sensitive nature of the walls He was responsive to all communications and very clear with the project scope and goals. Work was competed in one day, I was briefed on the work at the end and my home was left very clean (and it is very messy work). I would recommend Mike to any homeowner who wishes to preserve the history of your home and its craftsmanship.

unknown

Michael and his crew did excellent work. They were prompt and would call if they would be late. Michael was very knowledgeable and took great pride in his workmanship. For example, he took the time to match the paint exactly on the exterior and interior walls and ceiling. I cannot do justice to the finer details in work and materials he used, but I was impressed. He was there every day doing the work and supervising his crew. Every day before leaving he went over what he had done and what he would do the next day. It was a pleasure talking with him because he has a passion for his craft and really enjoys people!

This was a great experience.  Our 1958 home has beautiful, un-textured,  real plaster walls and ceilings. We had some plumbing work done that required a hole in one of our walls and we had several places where roof leaks had created some problems. Because of his ratings on Angie's List and because we knew we wanted someone who specializes in the nearly lost art of plaster work we did not ask for any other bids.

Mike arrived punctually to give us his quote and had me walk through the house with him to explain what had to be done.  After a couple of glitches in our schedule he and his assistant (his son- now the 4th generation in this esoteric art) arrived promptly on a Saturday morning to complete the work.  They completed the job beautifully- all of the issues we had discussed (including some more that we discovered after removing a large valence from my living room/dining room) were plastered beautifully and sanded to match the walls around them.  In our bathroom he pointed out that the wall of the shower was concrete (that's why there is no tile!) and used a smooth concrete mixture to make an invisible patch in that wall as well.

Before leaving he cleaned up thoroughly and explained to us that we would need to use an oil-based primer when painting over the areas that he had patched because the plaster would soak up a water-based primer and the finish would no longer be flat.

Would we hire Mike, the Plaster Master, again?  In a heartbeat!

Beautifully !
Our reworked hearth is lovely.

unknown

Mr. Lee came from far away but was on time.  Spent 2 days repairing large open areas of walls after flooding.  He seemed to know what to do and came with the proper equipment and supplies. He did a very nice job of blending in the repaired areas with the existing walls. Professional looking work!  I would definitely hire him again.

From the very beginning they were prompt and courteous.  Mike is so very knowledgeable about his craft and he was able to tell us what we needed to do, and what we didn't need to worry about.  It was 104 degrees on the days that they worked outside, and they were so professional and positive.  The crew of 3 did a LOT of work, and now our house looks like new.  They were great at communicating if they were going to be getting a late start.  They covered all of their work areas and cleaned up nicely.  There was little that I needed to put back or touch up.  We will be using them again when we remodel our living and dining rooms.

Fine

After a cast iron drain line plumbing repair,  I was left with a 10 ft. by 2 ft. hole in the exterior side of  my house (stucco wall) . The Plaster Master was recommended by another contractor I am working with. I called Mike Casas, the Plaster Master and sent him pictures of the required repair. He responded quickly and provided an estimate and explained how he was going to perform the repair. He explained the importance of tying existing wire mesh backing to new wire backing material to minimize a chance of future cracking. He explained the material that he was going to use and time required to complete the job. After getting additional bids, I selected Mike. Once confirmed, Mike and his assistant were here the next day. Upon arrival, the area was prepped, surrounding area protected, and work started. Mike was eager to explain every step: backing material, mesh material and tie in, scratch coat, brown coat and final stucco texture. Mike showed me the texture pattern of the surrounding area and by looking, he knew that the original was applied by a left handed person in a 4 swipe pattern. The existing texture (applied in 1958) was matched perfectly. Mike explained how a few extra coats of paint may be required to catch up with the several coats the house has been painted in 50 + years.

Mike is a true craftsman and I would highly recommend his quality and knowledge.

We've used Michael before so there were no surprises.  He did what he said he would do, and he did it well.  The job was straightforward with the exception that only the section of the ceiling beneath the leak had to be repaired.  But he worked to match its color with the rest of the ceiling and cleaned up afterward.

The Plaster Master does great work.  He built a frame to close up the openings and then plastered over on the inside and restuccoed on the outside.  We also had him repair a small spot of peeling plaster in the ceiling of one bedroom, the result of an old roof leak.
Another company would probably have just slapped in some drywall.  But he and his crew take their time.  It took a few days (plaster dries very slowly).  The time frame still seemed quite reasonable considering he was closing up holes that went clear through exterior walls!
When the job was complete he left me with clear instructions on how long to wait (1 week) before repainting and the importance of using an oil-based primer on fresh plasterwork before repainting to ensure a smooth finish.  Now they are painted the walls look great and it's hard to tell where the work was done.

The whole job went amazingly well. I can not recommend The Plaster Master highly enough. It did take a while to book the job but this is due to Michael being a small operation and his policy of only taking one job at a time so he can be on site the entire time. So when you do hire them be patient at first, it is WELL WORTH the wait. Once we set a start date Michael and his small crew of plaster artists showed up on time every day, they were very professional and respectful and a pleasure to deal with. In fact most days we ended up a bit late to work because we enjoyed chatting with Michael in the morning. The man has a deep knowledge of your home's plaster work and all other aspects of old homes. I think in the week they were there we learned a ton about our house and how it was built. So as I said, we hired them to fix the walls in our living, dining 3 bedrooms and a hallway. The original walls were in, what I would consider, rough shape. But Michael reassured us they were really not bad and they would have them looking great in no time. It took about a week to finish the job and each day we were amazed to come home and see the progress made. One of the best parts about their work was how clean they were. Each day they left the room very tidy and once they finished a room and moved on to the next, the room was spotless. In the end the job was done to the highest standard of quality on time and at the quoted price. We recently finished painting the interior of the house and it looks like a brand new house, it's that good. There are a few ares of the house we decided not to work on at this time and a new window project in the future that will require plaster work. You can bet that Michael Casas, The Plaster Master will be the only one we trust to do the work. In fact, I can't wait until the time comes so we can talk with him again. A true pleasure to work with, an artist of the highest order.

Michael and his helper chipped and cleaned the area to be sure the new stucco would adhere to the area.
The work was done in about 4 hours.
Since the work was done in December we waited a few days before painting these new areas.
Michael has done inside work on my plaster walls and ceilings and continues to be the best source for plaster repairs to my home.

They did a really good job.  They were very knowledgeable and very thorough.  Their price wasn’t the lowest.

This review is way late but actually being late makes it better. Nine months after they did the work I have an even better appreciation of their work.  I've remodeled two kitchens, two bath rooms and a living room, of all the subs I've used Mike and his crew was be far the best experience.  They are prompt, good humored, and exceptionally good at what they do.  Of all the people who have worked for me they are the true craftsmen.  Their plaster work is amazing and completely matched the original from sixty-two years ago. 
Mike is a great lovable character and his sons obviously revere their dad and care as much as he does about the work. 

The Plaster Master was fantastic! I have a really unusual texture on my house. It is a Spanish tudor and the house has a unique plastering. It is very difficult to match. I haven't had anyone actually come close. He is the first person actually who came extremely close. It's pretty amazing! He actually knew the technique that was used. It was built in 1924. He used the broom and it was really interesting. He did an awesome job. I was super impressed. He was great! Every time I called him, he came out, he was on time, he did a really thorough job, and he was clean. When he came out, my neighbor actually came over and hired him as well. It impressed my neighbor as well. I liked him. He was great! He is one of those people that has this craft that no one uses anymore. He is unique. He is like an old timer but he is a younger guy, which is cool.

A++

Mike diagnosed the issue by first doing some water test to expose the sources of water intrusion.  He kept me well informed of his approach, his findings and the recommended solution.  The solution was to remove the incorrectly installed original wood trim and re-flash around the windows then replace the wood trim with plaster detailing.  As an Architect, after Mike exposed the poor wood detailing, I understood how the wood trim was incorrectly installed when the house was built in 1980 and agreed the plaster detailing that Mike and his team are so skilled at would provide protection from the water intrusion issues caused by the previous condition.

Mike and his team matched the finish of the existing plaster and the finished project was simpler and more aesthetically pleasing than the rough sawn wood trim.  Maintenance will also be much simpler in future years; no need to re-caulk wood trim every few years.

The work was priced well and done efficiently.  The clean-up was done well.  Mike The Plaster Master is  a real professional in his field and I recommend him highly. 

Mike is a true artist with unique skills hard to find these day's.  He is very passionate about his work and it shows in final product.   Wow!  We are so happy with the work Mike and his crew did.   The texture on the walls is absolutely beautiful.   I shopped around before we hired Mike and although The Plaster Master wasn't the cheapest, he is by far the best interior plasterer around and worth every bit of his fee.

I would recommend "The Plaster Master" to anyone.