I didn't know I was going to be an expert in plastering, but seeing as Aagaard Hanley is an award winning manufacturer of fibrous plaster and supplier of polished plaster and lighting products; I thought I'd better learn...
Yet, what is fibrous plaster and where does it come from?
Plaster is a relatively harmless dry powder made from gypsum rock. The mineral gypsum is commonly found. In Britain, the most frequently found type is alabaster. Gypsum is white or pale grey in colour and occurs in sedimentary beds or veins, these range in thickness from a few inches to 30 feet. Gypsum rock is fairly soft and it can be scratched with a fingernail. There are many uses for this, for example in plastic and also in food, such as baking powder. However, its uses as a building material and as a craft material are the most well known.
Gypsum plaster is not by any means a modern invention, there is evidence of it being used by the Egyptians in some of the pyramids. In Britain there are indications that shipments of plaster of Paris were being imported in Henry VIII's reign.
By studying the history of plaster and it's development over the years, it allows specialists at Aagaard Hanley to ensure that repairs on old bulidings, such as ceiling roses and cornices, turn out to the best possible standard.
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