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2011 Winning Walls With Wallcovering Contest
Sponsored by the Rustoleum/Zinsser Company
2010 Winning Walls with Wallcovering Contest
Winning Entry Descriptions
First Place - Residential Category
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Elsie Kapteina, C.P., Wallpaper Hang-ups by Elsie, Bethel, CT and
Vinny LaRusso, C.P., A Time for A Change Wallpapering, Inc, Brewster, NY
When you drive up to the home used in this project, it replicates a ship. The goal for the installers on this project was to replicate the interior to resemble a ship. The wall covering was wood veneer. The uniqueness of the job required several measurings to get the exact quantity of material. The beams offered no room for error and had to be engineered and done in three steps. The architect, homeowner, manufacturer, and the installers spent two meetings in creating a financially feasible plan to make this vision come true. The final vision would encompass the focal walls upon entering, the beams at the end of each open floor, and all curved ceiling beams on the ceilings would be covered with a teak wood veneer wallcovering. Also, each landing had 10 squared beams that would also be covered with the wood veneer. In total there were 21 curved beams to be installed with wood veneer, three face landings and 30 squared landing beams. The material was ordered and made in Japan and the job was rescheduled four times awaiting delivery. Each piece of wallcovering had to be installed in numerical order because of the growth of the tree. If not, one could see a difference in the color, wood grain and knots of wood. All installed wood veneer had to be pressed into place with a jay roller. There was no room for error and no air pockets because an air pocket cannot be fixed. The bathroom was a feat of skill. The installers had to take one sheet and wrap a piece of wood veneer, cutting around a sink, pipes, and a vanity in one short swoop getting the corners tight, not buckling the wood and making it seam perfectly. This one piece, with all the cutting and shifting of the material and securing it in place took over four hours.
Second Place - Residential Category
Michael Baughman, C.P., Baughman Wallcovering, Oceanside, CA
The jobsite was a high-end designer clothing store with one-of-a-kind dresses, starting in the several thousand-dollar price ranges. This project is considered in the Residential Category due to the size of the wallcovering and the rolled goods. The wall covering for the job being 18” to 28.5” wide with the majority being sold in rolls.
The job site was on a 13’ wide dome with a 12 foot height at its lowest point from the floor. The paperhanger first hired to do the job could not install Maya’s Beadazzled on the dome. He had tried one piece in the dome and said it could not be done. He could not figure how to hand cut the tiles for the angle of the dome and make acceptable seams. Also, keeping the front of the wallcovering clean of paste was an issue. The dome surface was rough with voids and high spots. There was loose paint at the bottom of the dome. It was a concern to keep the dust from sanding, patching, primer and paste within the dome and not interfere with the store’s clients. There were the one of a kind wedding dresses and formals hanging within three feet of the dome. My sealed area of plastic and tape worked but it made the work area 12 feet above unbearably hot and muggy. The next step was to skim coat the dome to level five finish. The dome design had various shapes and designs which needed to be altered and all hand-trimmed. There were 72 hand-trimmed pieces for the dome, including an added skirt made of Beadazzled on the bottom ring below the dome. After the installation was done, the designer thought lace would be a nice added touch. Out came the hot glue and the lace was added. The crystals hanging had to be released from their tied back position and untangled twice. This one of a kind look was phenomenal.
Residential Category – Honorable Mention
Mike McGinley, McGinley’s Wallcovering, Walled Lake, MI
This project consisted of new construction and the wallcovering installation was postponed several times due to construction delays. Probably the most interesting thing was the variety of wallcoverings used on this job, from Maya Romanoff’s Mother of Pearl, Maya Romanoff’s Remember Paris/Miel, Tyler Hall’s Sidbartha/Saddle/Gold Metallic; MDC Wall coverings’ Opulence/Baron Bronzer, Ronald Redding Designs York Wall coverings’ Sand/Glass Beads, and MDC Wall coverings’ Inami/Wood veneer to Wall Fashion’s Grandeco/Limestone Tile Travertine. It took two installers seven days using a lot of knowledge learned at previous NGPP educational offerings, such as making templates to get the job done. The results were amazing.
Specialty Category - First Place
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Ric Fisher, Ric Fisher Wallcovering, New Orleans, LA
This project was inside a Colonial mansion with a circular parlor and winding staircase. The home was in New Orleans and a Katrina casualty. A three-foot wainscoting covers the first floor and continues up the stairs halfway to the landing where the walls inset one foot. There is a large circular window in the center of the wall to let the sunlight in. The foyer is so grand that the interior designer and the client knew that something special had to be done. A scenic mural by Paul Montgomery Studios was chosen. The mural is a traditional Chinoiseries designed silk paper on a Fang Kuai ground. The owners had photos of birds, butterflies and reptiles indigenous to Louisiana and asked Montgomery to use those instead of the oriental-inspired ones. The turnaround time for the artist was 6-8 weeks. These papers are hand-made and, in this case, pasted together in 12 x 17 inch blocks overlapping each other ¼ of an inch to make a 36 inch wide panel and cut to the preferred length. The backing is made of delicate rice paper. The installer’s suggestion of blank stock was accepted so 20 rolls were used. With the blue print layout provided by the artist and, after mapping out the scenic, there was a problem found before installation. Adjustments had to be made to keep from losing or cutting birds in half and to make the pattern flow downstairs correctly. Some of the adjustments didn’t work; the extra panels sent didn’t match so the installer decided the artist could touch up the finished product. Once the mapping was finished, the liner paper was installed. Overlapping the liner paper to handle the wall movement and double cutting presented perfect seams. The liner was sized and the panels trimmed one at a time. Because of the uneven and curved walls, double pasting was done. All scraps and trimmings were saved for repair purposes. There was adjusting done due to the curve and unevenness of the wall. With the adjustments, a bird happened to land on an air conditioning vent. The installer painted the fins of the vent to match the ground color, wrapped the frame with plain ground and used extra branches to extend on and over the vent and laminated the bird on the extending branch. The job took two men and 70-man hours over a 10-day period. Paul Montgomery flew to New Orleans for touch ups and then asked the installer to be a certified hanger for his company.
Specialty Category –Second Place
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Mike DiGilio, DiGilio Decorating, Forest Park, IL
Michael Kelly, Jr., Michael J. Kelly & Son, Wayne, PA
Rumor had it that the hand-painted mural used in this award winning project was valued at $50,000, imported from England and a one-of-a-kind piece of art and printed on a non-woven substrate by Fromental, Ltd. The job originally projected for three installers to complete in five days became a two person install in three days. The installation of liner paper turned into a 13-hour first day job. The mural came on 48 individual sheets measuring 36” wide and nine feet long. They were numbered in sequence so the second day consisted of getting the measurements and sheets lined up, even with interruptions of the drapery people who had to get and get out. Early that afternoon the power was to be turned off for a power check so the installers had to get out the extension cords and the generators. When the lights came back on about 2:00 p.m., the installers were told to be out of there by 3:30 p.m. as well as all the equipment in order to make way for a practice run for the dining service. The third day, again the work had to be done by 3:30 p.m. Late in the morning there was a glitch discovered in the pattern. There was no extra, no copy, no reordering. A decision was made to splice the sheet and then draw the missing pattern with ink and pencil. Creativity and experience met the challenge and saved the mural. The deadline was met and all is well with the mural in the Thomas Jefferson Dining Room in the Thomas Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC.
Specialty Category – Honorable Mention
Michael Baughman, C.P., Baughman Wallcovering, Oceanside, CA
This exhibit consisted of four murals-10 feet high by 20 feet wide .These were to be installed on one wall that is 10 feet high by 80 feet wide wall as well as two additional tank sidewall murals. Each mural is a digitally printed grand format Fredrix canvas with a clear coat finish. There were a total of seven murals totaling one thousand and eighty seven square feet. Priming, tedious cutting, making templates, patching, pasting and working in very tight spaces were all an integral part of bringing the project to completion. This exhibit is at the Aquarium of the Pacific and is called the Sea Otter Exhibit.
Commercial Category – First Place
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Anthony Bonino, Wall Sensations, LTD, Northport, NY
This project is a high profile restaurant whose owner is a celebrity chef. The installation needed to be flawless, meticulous and as usual completed within a pre-determined time frame. The designer and installer went over the project details. The walls were covered in red leather blocks and the ceiling was composed of ¾ inch thick black high gloss lacquer panels that were suspended to form a grid. The installer recommended that the leather bricks be removed and the walls are skim coated. After a 2 ½ hour consultation, reviewing wall covering designs and textures, the installer was asked to submit a written proposal. The job was awarded to this installer with only a two week window to complete the work. When the project began, the room was completely empty, walls had been skimmed coated and primed and the floors covered. The installer began sanding the ceiling panels with a palm sander .Time was spent removing the accumulated dust and grime on top of the panel so the wallcovering would adhere. The ceiling and walls were to be covered in a custom designed retro Japanese print. The Roysons Corporation digitally produced the beautiful finished wall covering. The design was made in tiles or panels that were 13’6’’ in height and 48” wide and created to fall exactly as planned to accommodate the window returns and treatment that was ordered. The shades had to match the wall pattern when they were completely down. Behind four sliding glass doors (4’by 8’ panels) was a thick glass window. These sliding doors would be opened so the guests could view the nightclub. During the dining hours, the doors were closed and had to appear as if they were one continuous wall. This meant the doors had to be wrapped on the sides. The ceiling installation was also planned out -panel by panel. The wall covering had to be adhered to the ceiling with the adhesive on the face and viewed from the second floor. The ultimate conclusion to accommodate the need to retain the aesthetic integrity was to print the ceiling panels in reverse, resulting in a mirage image of the walls. It was difficult task but successfully completed The next time you are in Chelsea, New York, stop in at the Tanuki Tavern and take a good look around and up.
Commercial Category – Second Place
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Cyndi Green, C.P., Cyndi Green Wallcovering, LLC, Monroe, LA
Pam McCartney, Wallpaper Fashions, Mineola, TX
A hospital with at least five layers of vinyl on the wall…Oh, no!! These layers were so thick that at some door frames there was no trim relief. Since, the layers of vinyl had created so many problems with repair; it was decided to remove the wall covering and replace with paint. The provided a great recommendation to use a product called Texturglas by Roos. This glass texture product would strengthen and stabilize the wall, could be easily patched and would give them a much more durable surface than paint. This was all that was needed to sell the project using wall covering.. The first phase of this project involved 1480 square feet of walls that required 1485 yards of material. There was a lot of plaster and drywall repair work, while at the same time, the installers needed to keep a low profile in a busy working hospital. The response was wonderful and resulted in another hospital contract and some residential work. The true rewards of a job well done.
Commercial Category - Honorable Mention
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Luis Sanjurjo, Custom Service Installations, Inc., Prescott, AZ
This project was a historical renovation of the Elks Opera House Theatre consisting of installing 520 feet of non-treated, non-backed 67 inch Fagril, a 100% post-consumer recycled polyester manufactured to look like fine burlap. This would closely duplicate the historical look of the 1905 fabric installation. The client asked that the fabric be run linearly, only creating a seam when absolutely necessary. Considering the angle of the theatre floors and chair rail, it was measured out to four seams in the balcony and one seam in the lower level, all double cut. About 439 feet of the areas ran anywhere from one inch to four feet in height. The installer also tackled the balcony face, where he was asked to install ½ inch foam before installing the fabric to aid is sound absorption. One challenge was to figure out how to get the 67 inch wide roll of fabric and run it linearly without damaging the fabric and keeping it free of wrinkles. The installer sprayed, tacked and trimmed and accomplished the task with expert maneuvering of the scissor lift. The project not over, as once the fabric was installed, primed and painted, and then the installer needed to duplicate the original stencil creating 24 swags and 23 wreaths. The legible material was traced from a section created during the discovery period and researched old photos from 1905. Each stencil had to be created with one coat of sealer under four coats of paint. Then a stencil frieze was created along the barrel rim joist ceiling that consists of 292 pattern repeats. Where there was originally plaster work, a stencil was designed. The workers spent many happy days glazing, highlighting, gilding and sealing the ornamental woodwork and decorative elements on the “returned” opera boxes and rope molding. This was a labor of love funded by donations of the fine people of Prescott, Arizona.
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