Stucco is a surface coating made of Portland cement, sand, and sometimes lime. It is also known as “Portland cement plaster”, “cement plaster finish” or just “cement finish”.

Since stucco can be colored with mortar colorants and textured with a variety of tools, it is an ideal medium for dressing up a drab concrete block wall. It can also be applied to a wooden surface, provided that building felt and wiremesh are mounted to the substrate beforehand.

In general, stucco will adhere well to new concrete walls because the surface has an open texture that quickly draws the stucco into the minute pores of the concrete. Since the materials are similar, there is also a chemical bond as well as a mechanical one. Surface preparation consists of dampening, but not saturating, the wall with a fine water spray. You must keep the surface damp while you are working. Maintaining the damp surface is not necessary if you use a liquid bonding agent. The adhesive works even when its dry.

Ideally, stucco should not be painted. The color should be added to the mix so that is becomes an integral part of the medium and will not peel or wear off. Even if some of the surface material chiips away, the color will remain in the underlying core.

While often used just to cover up joints between the bits and pieces our homes are made from, moldings (or trim work) can also unify and manipulate the way we perceive architectural proportions and add gracious details to ordinary spaces.

Trim work is one of the most important decorative elements in a home. Historically, trim evolved with architectural styles, so it’s important to match moldings to the style and spirit of a house. When done correctly, trimwork lends polish, detail, and authenticity to your home it can also help differentiate rooms. More ornate layered looks are common in public areas, while private rooms, such as bedrooms, have less elaborate moldings.

Trims create an instant sense of comfort and depth, and are always visually stunning to the eye. They are a very small detail in the overall design of a home, but they are a detail that most potential homebuyers notice the instant they walk into a room… Carefully look inside your room, you will notice you have two or more trims - it could either be a base molding, a cornice or crown molding, or perhaps a door and window casing.

Depending on the perceived style of your home, trims can be just a simple S-profile called Cyma Recta and Cyma Reversa or the more elaborate types as shown above. Ranges in cost vary (depending on materials, profile, manufacturing cost and installation). Common wood such as Tanguile may (as of this writing) cost 60 pesos to 90 pesos per 8 feet (2.40 meters). Plastic moldings such as polyurethane, pvc, and polystyrene cost around 110 to 190 pesos per 8 feet.

Wood and plaster has historically been the preferred choice for interior moldings due to their authenticity (for historic homes), but alternative materials like lightweight Polyurethane, PVC, Polystyrene and MDF are making news which is attracting customers. Please continue to visit this blog for upcoming reviews or discussion of the different types of materials used for moldings. Happy Easter!

The most difficult part of wood flooring is simply deciding on the right type of wood floor for your home. You will obviously want a floor that looks good and matches the style for your home but you also need to consider a material’s durability, comfort, and ease of installation, as well as how easy it is to clean.

There is a wide range of wood flooring available, and each type of wood has its own individual plus and minus points. For example, real wood floors are a fantastic choice for an authentic look and feel - but they are really expensive plus the log ban in effect now makes solid hardwood a hard find. On the other hand, laminate wood flooring will work well in a contemporary room but, at times, can look shiny or fake.

The best thing to do is to decide on the look that you want for the wood flooring and how much you have to spend on it. Don’t worry if you have a small budget, as all wood floors come in a wide variety of different protective finishes and varnishes, which means you still have tons of choice for the finished result.

It is always a good idea to take samples of the wood home first, to see what would best match your furniture and walls.

The Types

Real Wood Floors

is also known as Solid Hardwood and there is very little substitute for this traditional hardwood style of flooring. If money and time were no object then real wood flooring would win hands down!

if you choose real wood planks, the main thing to remember is real wood flooring hates moisture, so you should never lay it in any areas where a lot of humidity is present. This is because the planks are a completely natural product - the wood tends to swell and contract depending on the moisture in the air. The lack of humidity can cause solid wood floors to contract, leaving unsightly gaps between each plank. When the humidity is higher, the wood planks could expand and cause bulging in parts of your floor.

If you are laying your real wood floor, all rooms in the house will need a small gap (1/2″) alongside all the walls for some small natural swelling and contraction.

Engineered wood Floors

consists of a plank that is made up of several layers of different woods, which are topped off by a veneer top layer of your selected wood type. The top veneer of an engineered wood plank can be any wood you like - which means you can get an expensive wood finish for a competitive price. It’s environmentally friendly also, as it doesn’t require as much of a particular tree to be cut down. Engineered wood floors are just as durable as real wood, which makes them a popular - and cheaper - alternative.

Although they do not have the ‘feel’ of real wood, engineered wood planks are treated specially so that they do not swell and contract like real wood. This means you can lay engineered wood almost anywhere in your home.

Laminate Floors

they are becoming increasingly popular in the Philippines. Mainly because the technology surround laminate floors has improved, meaning better quality, durability and a low-cost, easy installation process.

Laminate flooring looks just like traditional wood flooring but is, in fact, a thin layer of decor paper placed under a tough-as-nails protective film. Decor paper is actually a photographic image of a certain type of wood. This picture is then glued and pressed to a high-density backing board. Despite appearances there is no real wood in a laminate board at all!

The main benefits of laminate flooring are its lasting durability and the ease of installation. Some laminate flooring is simply glued down to the sub-floor, but others sit on top of an underlay grid which lifts them off the surface beneath. Planks of laminate flooring simply click together, which enables the floor to be fitted fast, with no real mess, and you can walk on your floor straightaway. You don’t have to compromise on style either, as laminate flooring comes in a massive array of different wood effects and finishes.

Observe the pictures above and try to see any difference. Looks can be deceiving

Marble and granite products alike add a polished sophistication and enhance any room. Both can be used for countertops, tile flooring, mantels, columns, vases and much more. However, even though marble and granite have a similar aesthetic, they can also be better suited for specific purposes.

Marble lasts as long as granite but is typically best used for items such as vases, crosses, and mantels. Subtle color choices and veining patterns that marble offers can create more unique and exquisite designs in bathrooms. Physically, marble is less dense and is often the preferred choice for fireplace mantels because more detailed designs can be carved. Largely composed of calcite, marble is sensitive to acidic foods which include ketchup, lemon, vinegar and wine. In exposing marble to these acids there is a risk of staining and dulling the polished finish.

Greater density and hardness help make granite resistant to scratches, acids, stains and heat. That makes granite a popular choice for kitchen countertops and outdoor pieces, including headstones and monuments because it is the most durable natural stone and stands up well to weather changes. Granite is long-lasting and creates a beautiful, unique ambiance in any environment.