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Moulded Plaster Walls

by Eric Krause
Krause House Info-Research Solutions
May 2005

Whereas moulded plaster ceilings were a common feature in the 18th-Century, moulded plaster walls were far less so.

It has been stated that Acadian '"refugees" who arrived in New London, Connecticut, from Nova Scotia in 1756, constructed (without evidence) in that year, in that town, the Georgian center-hall stone structure of Capt. Nathanial Shaw. Given the dearth of masonry constructions in their home parishes, this assertion is certainly surprising, though perhaps not totally impossible.  Notwithstanding his unfamiliarity with Georgian design, an Acadian builder would also have been hard pressed to have imagined the construction of  a thick moulded plaster wall panel (together with a fireplace) attached directly to each of the end stone walls, of each of two floors, in imitation of raised wooden panels.

While this particular panel may be unusual in design and/or execution, certainly wall panelling wrought in plaster and then painted was not - that is, at least in France.

Where the traditional method of raised plaster moulding would have involved "running" [casting] a mould on a wall with a moulding type plaster in one of two methods (either create it on a table (or in a form), or apply the plaster with a template directly to laths on a wall, here what is described is in fact what might be defined as a lime or gypsum based decorative "stucco" faux wood finish that simulates a raised wood panel wall. Stucco in French construction was known as crépissage.

SOURCES

WEB SOURCES

The first ship reported to arrive in Connecticut was the " Elizabeth", Nova Scotian captain Ebenezer Rockwell at the helm. He arrived on January 21, 1756, at New London with 272 French. He started his voyage to Connecticut from Annapolis Royal, N.S. Right behind the "Elizabeth", was Capt. Worster's (Wooster, Worcester) Sloop (name unknown) carrying 173 more exiles to Connecticut.

Capt. Ephraim Cook's Ship, the "Snow Edward, left Nova Scotia Dec. 8, 1755, and was blown off course, winding up in Antigua, finally arriving in New London on May 22, 1756, with 180 French. Many of those aboard died of smallpox. When they arrived at New London, their featherbeds and some of their personal effects were burned, adding to their grief ...

The "Sloop Dove", Capt. Samuel Forbes, carrying 114 French also left from Minas Basin bound for Connecticut. All of the ships would have come to New London with the French, since New London was the official port of entry for all vessels in and out of the Colony. The king's custom house was located in New London. Later, the Acadians would be transferred to other ships, and delivered to other ports along the shore. Other French would be transported by carts to inland towns ...

"An Act for distributing and well ordering the French People sent into this Colony from Nova Scotia.

Whereas there is a number of French people sent by Governour Lawrence into this Colony, and more daily expected, to be disposed of here, supposed to be about four hundred in the whole. It is therefore resolved and enacted by this assembly, That a committee be appointed, and Hezekiah Huntington, Gurdon Saltonstall, Christopher Avery, and Pygan Adams, esqrs., or any three of them, are hereby appointed a committee to receive said people and distribute them in the towns hereafter mentioned, in the following manner:..."

( 50 towns are mentioned, with an allotment for each) ...

A ship called the Two Sisters was supposed to take 280 Acadians to Connecticut, but was replaced by the 166 ton ship, Elizabeth. Captained by Ebenezer Rockwell, it left Annapolis Royal on Dec. 8 with the 280 Acadians. Three Acadians died on the way, but the ship finally arrived at New London on Jan. 21, 1756 with 277 Acadians.
The following day, 173 Acadians from Pisiquid, Grand Pre, and Mines arrived ...

The snow, EDWARD, Captain Ephraim Cooke, left Annapolis Royal with 278 exiles and blown off course by violent storms. It finally put into port at Antigua and then continued on to Connecticut, arriving on May 22, 1756 with 180 exiles. Malaria had killed almost 100 exiles. Upon their arrival in New London, Connecticut, their personal items consisting of blankets, cushions and such, were burned causing further dismay and grief to the deported. Among those known to be aboard the EDWARD were Marie BOURG (Bourque), widow of Charles LANDRY with their seven children.

....

ELIZABETH
Ship 166 tons
ANNAPOLIS ROYAL TO CONNECTICUT

According to Al Lafreniere, the Ship Elizabeth replaced the TWO SISTERS that never left Annapolis Royal. The TWO SISTERS was supposed to carry 280 French (42 men, 40 women, 95 boys and 103 girls).
The ship ELIZABETH, 166 tons, Ebenezer Rockwell, captain, departed from Annapolis Royal on 8 December, 1755 with 280 exiles ( 42 men, 40 women, 95 boys and 103 girls) destined for Connecticut and arrived in New London Connecticut on 21 January, 1756 with 277 exiles. The Elizabeth left with 280
and three died enroute. Information that supports this can be found in the Connecticut Gazette (copy in the Yale University library). (Albert N. Lafreniere - "ACADIAN DEPORTATION SHIPS" - "Connecticut Maple Leaf", volume 6, published by the French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut, Inc.).
Like all of the other transports, the Elizabeth was probably chartered for a monthly fee (per ton), plus a pilot's fee and provisions, by Governor Lawrence, from Charles Apthorp & Thomas Hancock, of the Boston Mercantile Company of Apthorp and Hancock, to be used as a transport for the removal of the Acadian Exiles to the eastern seaboard. The amount of provisions for the transports were included in the sailing orders issued by Lawrence and was to be 5 pounds of flour and one pound of pork (or 1 lb of beef 2 lbs bread and 5 lbs of flour) for (each) 7 days for each person so embarked. (p. 280 of SELECTIONS FROM PUBLIC DOCUMENTS OF THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA, Published by resolution of the House of Assembly on March 15, 1865 in 1869)

The Acadians at Annapolis Royal were shipped off from Goat Island at 5:00 o'clock in the morning on Monday 8 December, 1755 ...

 

Elizabethan Architecture in England 1550-1625

Towards the end of Henry VIII's reign very little building occured in England. The debts run up by the spendthrift Henry meant that the country verged on bankruptcy. The wool trade, which had carried the economic life of the country in the late medieval period, was no longer as prosperous as it had been and there was less disposable wealth for architectural projects. But under Elizabeth the county's economy began to revive. The new queen encouraged a return to farming, and the resulting recovery put a reasonable amount of wealth into the hands of a large number of people.

Elizabethan manor

This new wealth expressed itself in two simultaneous building booms; a great number of small houses were built, and at the same time numerous country mansions were constructed. Many of the earlier medieval or Tudor manors were remodelled and modernised during Elizabeth's reign.

The style adopted by the country house builders was a curious blend of Italian Renaissance tempered with large doses of Dutch influence. Indeed many builders relied heavily on books illustrating Dutch building plans and architectural details. This influence is most readily seen in the curved gables so often used in the elizabethan period. At a glance -
Elizabethan Manors
~ Symmetrical layout
~ long gallery
~ formal gardens
~ E plan

Elizabethan E-plan

The courtyard design so previlent during the medieval and Tudor period gave way to an open plan in the more settled Elizabethan period. The gatehouse, if it was used at all, was purely ornamental. The most common manor plan was an E shape, with the vertical line of the E being the main hall, and the shorter horizontal end lines the kitchens and living rooms. The shorter central line was the entry porch. There is likely little truth in the old maxim that the E-plan was a tribute to Elizabeth; it was a natural evolution of the earlier courtyard designs.

On the upper floor of the main hall a new architectural feature made its appearance; the long gallery. Used for entertaining, as a family area, for exercise on dull days, and as a portrait gallery, the long gallery was an almost universal feature of Elizabethan manors. It featured windows on three sides and fireplaces along the fourth, and it usually ran the entire length of the floor.


Elizabethan "classical" chimney

The most important point to note in manor design is that the hall and the living areas had swapped staus; the hall was now lesser used, while the long gallery and other living areas were now the centre of family life. The main entry became the most ostentatious and elaborate part of the manor house; it was here that the wealthy man felt most free to lavish his wealth. Entries were often a curious mix of heraldic pretention and classical columns, profuse carvings and ornate decoration.

The material of choice for those who could afford it was once more stone; brick suffering in popularity as the full influence of the Italian Renaissance began to be felt. Elizabethan chimney stacks reflect this influence; they were often built to resemble classical columns and were square in section, as opposed to the twisting, corckscrew patterns of the Tudor years. These chimneys were often clustered in groups of two or three.

Typical half-timbered Elizabethan house

Windows were generally large, made up of a multitude of small rectangular panes separated by thin mullions. For the first time in centuries windows show no arching, but use a simple dripstone or classical hood moulding.

The smaller Elizabethan houses were less influenced by Renaissance motifs. They continued to evolve slowly from the Tudor style; fireplaces and chimneys were more common, and staircases featured more prominently. Half-timbering was common, particularly in regions where stone was scarce or expensive. The timbers were spaced more widely apart than in Tudor years, allowing more elaborate infill decoration. The overall plan of the small Elizabethan house was simple; a central hall, now floored in halfway to the roof, creating an upper story. On either side of the hall were the living area and the kitchen.

The most common decorative motif of this period is strapwork, used both internally and externally. Carved in low relief, or moulded in plaster, the strapwork creates symmetrical geometric patterns that are the unmistakeable trademark of the Elizabethan era.

Elizabethan strapwork

Other popular decorative touches include moulded plaster panelling, coloured marble (often seen in a black-and-white chequerboard pattern on floors), curvilinear columns, and plaster ceilings moulded in imitation of Gothic fan vaulting.

...

2) PLUMIEY FARM (86039765), house, stands 200 yds. W. of the church. The W. part of the house is of 17th-century origin and has walls partly of cob, partly brick-faced and partly rendered; it is single-storied with a dormer-windowed attic. The E. part is of the late 18th century and two-storied; it has a four-bay S. front of Flemish-bonded brickwork, patterned with blue headers and with a plat-band at first-floor level. Both parts of the house have modern tiled roofs.

Inside, chamfered beams span the ground-floor rooms. The attic chamber of the W. part has a fireplace with a cambered and chamfered timber bressummer. Over this is some 17th-century moulded plaster wall enrichment in which two sprays of acorns and oak leaves flank a central arabesque with tendrils, leaves and seed-pods; above is a fragment of another spray ...

... Nanteos, the Welsh name for Nightingale Brook, was rebuilt in 1739 by Thomas Powell, the MP for Cardiganshire, who was married to the wealthy sister of the then Lord Mayor of London. ... The main hall, with its fine, stone fireplace and moulded plaster wall panels, leads into a stone-flagged hall with a pair of massive Tuscan plaster columns and an elegant dog-leg staircase constructed from oaks from the estate. On the walls are a few portraits of forgotten Powell worthies ... 

... Decorative Plaster Wall Panels:

It's possible to create a classic and classy look affordably using special high-detail moulded plaster wall panels. Looks anywhere from Victorian England to Classical Greece can be created ...

PLASTERWORK: 
PROJECTIONS, MOULDINGS AND DECORATIONS

PUBLISHED SOURCES

... In the nineteenth century the use of wood panelling in smaller houses declined. Loudon Recommended that 'For the plainest description of cottage the walls may be completely finished with one coating of plaster.' In larger rooms the walls might be 'thrown into compartments' by means of applied mouldings or could be plastered in imitation of panelling. Loudon states quite categorically that 'walls and ceilings of "Plain Cottages" are seldom panelled on account of expense other than by painted lines or coloured papers. 34

Elaborate plasterwork is rare in small domestic buildings either on walls or ceilings. On early daubed walls a design was often simply scratched onto the surface. With more elaborate 'pargetting' the first layer of daub was applied to the laths of beech or oak (sometimes identified in accounts as 'sap and heart' suggesting the use of branches) 35 and the relief decoration was achieved in the final coat of plaster. In the seventeenth century, ornamental plasterwork appeared in smaller houses, the focal point of the chimney breast forming one favourite surface and the frieze between the top of the panelling and the ceiling another ...

[34] Loudon

[35] 

[pp. 77, ?]

Examined. 

Examined. Numerous Plates.

ARTICLE III

De la maniere d'employer la Plâtre

LE Plâtre s'employe de trois manieres: la premiere, comme on le sort du four, ou de la plâ-triere, après avoir été grossiérement pulvérisé avec une batte, pour s'en servir dans la construction des fondations, & des gros murs bâtis de moilons ou de libager, ou bien pour ourdir (a) les cloisons, les bâtis de charpente ou tout autre ouvrage de cette espece: la seconde, après l'avoir passé au panier, c'est-à-dire, dans un manequin d'osier clair; celui-ci est propre aux ouvrages de renfor-mis (b), de gobetage (c) & de crépis (d): la troisieme, après l'avoirt passé au sas ou tamis; c'est ainsi que l'on prépare le plâtre destiné pour les enduits (e), les membres d'Architecture & de Sculpture, &c.

Ces trois manieres préparer le plâtre dans la construction, exigent aussi qu'on lui donne des façons différentes, c'est-à-dire qu'il soit gaché plus serré, plus clair, ou tout-à-fait liquide. On le gache serré pour les gros ouvrages, les en-duits, scellements, &c.; on le gache un peu clair pour trainer au calibre des members d"archite-ture, tels que des cadres, des corniches, &c; e enfin l'on y introduit beaucoup d'eau, pour couler, caller, sicher ou jointoyer les pierres. La regle est de ne détremper le plâtre avec de l'eau, ou de ne le gacher qu'à mesure qu'on en a besoin, sans quoi il se sécheroit, se durciroit, & ne pourroit plus s'employer.

__________________________________________________________________

(a) Hourdir, c'est maçonner grossiérement avec du mortier ou du plâtre.

(b) Renformir, c'est réparer des vieux murs.

(c) Gobeter, c'est jetter du plâtre avec la truelle, & le faire entrer avec la main dans les joints du mur.

(d) Crépir, c'est employer du plâtre ou mortier avec un balai, sans passer la main ni la tuelle par dessus.

(e) Enduit, couche de plâtre ou de mortier unie sur un mur de moilon, ou une cloison de charpente ... [pp. 177-178]

MAÇONNERIE DU CORPS DE LOGIS A DROITE ...

Lesdits murs seront construits en moilons, en bonne liaison tant en dedans qu'en dehors & dans leur épaisseur, maçonnés en plâtre, ravalés en dehors & enduits en dedans; les plinthes, les corniches, les corps de refend seront en plâtre ...

Tous les chambranles & bandeaux des portes & croisées avec leurs consoles, de même que les tables, les plinthes, les corniches, & tous les ornements seront faits en plâtre ...

[pp. 488-489]

[Numerous Plates for the 5th Volume]

... PLASTERING.

IN modern practice, PLASTERING, by its recent improvements, occurs in every department of architecture, both internally and externally. It is more particularly applied to the sides of the walls, and the ceilings of the interior parts of buildings, and, also, for stuccoing the external parts of many edifices.
In treating on this subject., we shall divide Plastering under its several heads: as plastering on laths, in its several ways; rendering on brick and stone; and, finally, the finishing to all the several kinds of work of this description; as well as modelling, and casting the several mouldings, both ornamental and plain; stuccoing, and other outside compositions, which are applied upon the exterior of buildings; and, the making and polishing the scagliola, now so much used for columns, and their antae, or pilasters, &c.

Lime forms an essential ingredient in all the operations of this trade. This useful article is vended at the wharfs about London in bags, and varies in its price from thirteen shillings to fifteen shillings per hundred pecks. Most of the lime made use of in London is prepared from chalk, and the greater portion comes from Purfleet, in Kent; but, for stuccoing, and other work, in which strength and durability is required, the lime made at Dorking, in Surrey, is preferred.

The composition, known as PLASTER OF PARIS, is one on which the Plasterer very much depends for giving the precise form and finish to all the better parts of his work; with it he makes all his ornaments and cornices, besides mixing it in his lime to fill up the finishing coat to the wars and ceilings of rooms. ...

A SCREED, in plastering, is a stile formed of lime and hair, about seven or eight inches wide, guaged exactly true. In floated-work, these screeds are made, at every three or four feet distance, vertically round a room, and are prepared perfectly straight by applying the straight-edge to them to make them so; and, when all the screeds are formed, the parts between them are filled up flush with lime and hair, or stuff, and made even with the face of the screeds. The straight-edge is then worked horizontally upon the screeds, to take off all superfluous stuff. The floating is thus finished by adding stuff continually, and applying the rule upon the screeds till it becomes, in every part, quite even with them.

Ceilings are floated in the same manner, by having screeds formed across them, and filling up the intermediate spaces with stuff, and applying the rule as for the walls.

Plastering is good or bad, in proportion to the care taken in this part of the work; hence the most careful workmen aft! generally employed therein.

The SET to the floated work is performed in a similar way to that already described for the laid plastering; but floated plastering, for the best rooms, is performed with more care than is required in an inferior style of work. The setting, for the floated work, is frequently prepared by adding to it about one-sixth of Plaster of Paris, that it may fix more quickly, and have a closer and more compact appearance. This, also, renders it more firm, and better adapted for being whitened, or coloured, when dry. The drier the pricking-up coat of plastering is, the better for the floated stucco-work; but if the floating is too dry before the last coat is put on, there is a probability of its peeling off, or cracking, and thus giving the ceiling an unsightly appearance. These cracks, and other disagreeable appearances in ceilings, may likewise arise from the weakness of the laths, or from too much plastering, or from strong laths and too little plastering. Good floated work, executed by a judicious hand, is very unlikely to crack, and particularly if the lathing be properly attended to ... 

TROWELLED-STUCCO is a very neat kind of work, much used in dining-rooms, vestibules, stair-cases, &c., especially when the walls are to be finished by painting. This kind of stucco requires to be worked upon a floated ground, and the floating should be as dry as possible before the stuccoing is began. When the stucco is made, as before described, it is beaten and tempered with clean water, and is then fit for use. In order to use it, the plasterer is provided with a small float, which is merely a piece of half-inch deal, about nine inches long and three inches wide, planed smooth, and a little rounded away on its lower edge; a handle is fitted to the upper side, to enable the workman to move it with ease. The stucco is spread upon the ground, which has been prepared to receive it, with the largest trowel, and made as even as possible. When a piece, four or five feet square, has been so spread, the plasterer, with a brush; which he holds in his left hand, sprinkles a small part of the stucco with water, and then applies the float, alternately sprinkling and rubbing the face of the stucco, till he reduces the whole to a perfect smooth and even surface. The water has the effect of hardening the face of the stucco; so that, when well floated, it feels to the touch as smooth as glass ...

[pp. 326, 331, 333, 335]

DES RENFORMIS ET RAVALEMENS.

Les murs qui ne sont que hourdés, c'est-à-dire, sans être enduits d'un côté ni d'un autre, sont comprés à deux tiers de murs.

S'ils sont enduits seulement d'un côté, ils sont comptés deux tiers & un sixieme (44).
_______________________________________________________________________

(44) Les murs dont il est ici parlé, sont censés être faits à parement brut, sans ravalement des deux côtés: cela doit s'entendre, dit Ferrieres sur cet article, des murs communs & de commune maçonnerie, & non pas des murs où il y a des croisées & portes de pierre de taille, ni aussi de ceux de grande épaisseur.

Ce sont de ces murs en plâtras de 6, 8 à 10 pouces d'épais-seur qui se comptent comme Légers Ouvrages; par exemple, des jambages de cheminée ou autres de même espece. Si ces murs ne sont que hourdés, ils se comptent aux 2/3 de Légers, & les enduits de chaque côté sont comptés pour 1/6, parcequ'il n'y a point de crépis particulier, & cet enduit est surchargé pour former ensemble le crepis & l'enduit ... [p. 119]

Les Renformis faits contre les vieux murs ...

Si dans ces Revalemens on refait à neuf les plin-thes, entablemens & autres mouloures, elles sont comp-tées à part, outre les Ravalemens; mais on rabat la place des entablemens, plinthes, &c. (46) ...

Sous ce nom on entend encore les crépis & enduits faits sur vieux murs, soit dans l'intérieur des maisons, soit en dehors ... 

On compte ensuite les entablemens, plinthes & autres or-nemens d'Architecture, comme en mur neuf, tel qu'il sera expliqué dans le Chapitre des moulures ... [pp. 120, 122-123]

DES SAILLIES ET MOULURES

On appelle Saillies tous les corps qui sortent hors le nud des murs; comme quand on fait des ordres d'Architecture, où l'on emploie des colonnes & des pilastres, avec toutes les parties qui les composent; ou que l'on ne fait simplement que des corniches, architraves, chambranles, archivoltes, cadres & au-tres ornemens d'Architecture, que l'on peut em-ployer sans faire des ordres complets de colonnes ou pilastres. Les membres qui composent les saillies, s'appellent Moulures; ces moulures peuvent étre considérées séparément par leurs noms particuliers & par leurs figures  ... 

Moulures Simples ... [See Figure 214 where they are illustrated]

Moulures couronnées de filets ... [See Figure 215 where they are illustrated] 

En général, toutes saillies ou moulures d'Architecture, soit en plâtre, soit en pierre de taille, sont pourtournées au nud du mur, soit intérieur, soit extérieur: ... 

Les plâtres, en cette partie, ont un privilege particulier, qui est de comprendre la masse, quelle qu'elle soit, avec les ornemens, qui étant confondus ensemble, sont comptés en nature comme Légers Ouvrages, parceque ces ouvrages sont toujours comptés superficiellement, sans aucune épais-seur, même sous-entendue... 

On fait à présent peu de moulures de plâtre aux manteaux de cheminées des grandes maisons, parce-qu'elles sont la plûpart revêtues de marbre jusqu'à la premiere corniche; on en fait au moins le chambranle avec la tablette, & le reste est de menuiserie; il n'y a ordinairement que la corniche d'enhaut qui soit de plâtre. Pour les maisons ordinaires, on les fait toutes de plâtre, excepté le chambranle qui est de menuise-rie. Les Entrepreneurs prennent soin d'orner les man-teaux de cheminées d'un grand nombre de moulu-res, qui sont très-souvent mal ordonnées & mal exé-cutées ... [pp. 213-215, 227, 236] 

FORME DU DEVIS ...\

MAÇONNERIE ...

Sera faite la quantité de tant de manteaux de che-minées au-dedans lesdits bâtimens, dont les jamba-ges seront hourdés de pierre & plâtre: les gorges seront aussi hourdées avec plâtre & platras, & tous les corps quarrés ou dévoyés desdits manteaux seront de plâtre pur pigeonné à la main, le tout enduit de plâtre au panier par-dedans, & par-dehors de plâtre au sas. Seront faites au surplus toutes les moulures de plâtre, les corniches, cadres, &c. pour orner les-dits manteaux de cheminées, suivant les profils qui en seront donnés par l'Architecte; ...  [pp. 516, 520, 528]

Il y a trois sortes de moulures, des quar-rées, des rondes, & des mixtes; quoique quel-ques-uns n'en admettent que de deux espéces, des quarrées & des rondes ... Listeau ... Filet ... Re-glet, Ourlet ... Bandelette .. Baguette ou Astragale ... Chapelet ... Tore ... Rond-creux ou Nacelle ... Quart-de-rond ... Cavet ou Cimaise ... Doucine droite ... Doucine renversée ... Talon droit ... Talon renversé ... [pp. 18-19]

Des Ornemens

Il faut s'appliquer à placer les ornemens avec choix & avec goût ... [p. 25]

[Numerous plates]

... A mildly eclectic Victorian public interior (below), with an ornate plaster ceiling rose yet modest Classical woodwork. A more unusual example (bottom) of Georgian plasterwork: the decorative baseboards, cornices and door surrounds are different in each room ...

Decorative plaster

Decorative plaster ranges from relatively simple cornices that keep irregularities of domestic walls from clashing too horribly with irregularities in their ceilings to the ornate coffered ceilings of monumental public interiors. In between are mouldings, brackets, columns, pilasters, baseboards, ceiling medallions, even architectural sculpture ...

[p. 175]

Crepir ... Enduire une muraille de mortier, ou de plâtre ...[p. 449]

Enduit ... Est le revêtissement qu'on fait à un mur, avec du plâtre ou du stuc, ou avec mortier de chaux & sable, ou avec mortier de chaux & ciment ... [p. 539]

GOBETER ... Jetter avec la truelle du plâtre gaché, ou du mortier contre un mur, ou sur un lattis, & passer la main dessus, pour le faire entrer dans les joints, afin de l'enduire ensuite. [p. 40]

HOURDIS ... Ouvrage de maçonnerie en plâ-tre ou mortier, grossièrement fait avec moilons ou plâtras ... [p. 92]

Moule ... Est, dans la maçonnerie, un panneau de bois, de fer-blanc, ou de carton découpé suivant un profil, daont les Appareil-leurs se servent pour tracer sur les pierres, les corniches, les archi-traves, bases, & autres ornemens d'architecture, & ensuite les tailler, ou dont se servent les Maçons pour traîner des corniches, &c. en plâtre, le long d'une règle.

_____ Est aussi un creux artiftement travaillé, taillé & façonné, dans lequel on forme par fonte, ou impastation, une figure, un bas-relief, une pièce de canon, des ornemens, &c. soit en bronze, soit en plomb, soit en plâtre, ou autrement ...[pp. 298-299] 

MOULURE ... Est toute saillie au-dehors du nud d'un mur, ou d'un lambris de menuiserie; toute partie saillante, quar-rée ou ronde, droite ou courbe, qui servent d'ornemens en archite-cture, & dont l'assemblage forme les corniches, les imposte, les chambranles, les bases des colonnes & pilastres, &c. tels sont la doucine, le talon, le quart de rond, le larmier, le denticule, le caver, l'astragale, &c. 

_______ en demi-coeur, ou talon à tête; est celle qui est compo-sée d'un talon couronné d'un tore ou d'un astragle.

_______ inclinée; est celle qui est platte par sa face, & penche en arrière par le haut, pour donner plus de saillie apparente à sa partie inférieure, & donner cependant moins de saillie réelle à la cor-niche dont elle fait partie: on en voit de cette manière au petit Ordre Corinthien de l'Eglise des Pères de l'Oratoire, rue Saint-Honoré, à Paris ...  [p. 300]

MUR ... 

_____ crenelé; est celui qui étant construit de moilon ou de bri-que, est ensuite couvert d'un crépi ...  

_____ enduit; est celui qui est construit de moilon ou brique, ravalé ensuite avec mortier ou plâtre dressé à la truelle ... [pp. 304, 306]

OUVRAGE .... On distingue les ouvrages de maçonnerie en gros ouvrages, & menus ou légers ouvrages. Les gros ouvrages sont ceux qui sont faits en pierre de taille ou moilon. Les légers ouvrages sont ceux qui sont faits avec le plâtre, comme les manteaux, tuyaux & souches de chemi-née; les lambris, plafonds, cloisons; les moûlures & saillies; les en-duits, crépis, renformis; les scellemens, les fours, les potages, les contrecoeurs, les âtres, les aires, les carrelages, &c.  ... [p. 355]

PLATRE ... Pieere qu'on tire des entrailles de la terre, qu'on fait cuire dans un four à feu égal & moderé, qu'on reduit ensuite en poudre, & qui étant gâchée avec de l'eau, sert de liason aux ou-vrages de maçonnerie: on l'emploie aussi seul pour les languettes de cheminée, pour les enduits, ravalemens, &c. ...

_____ gros; est le plâtre qu'on emploie tel qu'il est sorti du four, sans avoir été battu ni passé. Il se dit aussi des gravois qui re-stent dans le panier, après l'avoir passé, & dont on se sert pour les renformis & hourdis.

_____ clair; est le plâtre au sas, qui est gâché avec beaucoup d'eau, dont les maçons se servent pour ragréer les moûlures craînées, 

_____ au panier, est celui qu'on a criblé à travers un panier, & dont on se sert pour les crépis.

_____ au sas, ou fin; est celui qu'on a passé à travers un tamis, & dont on se sert pour les enduits, moûlures & ornemens de sculpture ...

_____ serré; est celui qui est gâché avec peu d'eau, & sert pour remplir des crevasses & former les soudures des enduits ...[pp. 453-454] 

PLATRES ... Se dit généralement de tous les légers ouvrages en plâtre d'un bâtiment, comme les enduits, ra-valemens, lambris, corniches, languettes de cheminées, plinthes, scellemens, &c. ...

_____ Se dit aussi, en sculpture, des ouvrages moúlés en plâ-tre dans des creux, comme frises, roses de plafond, coins de corni-ches, masques, festons, bas reliefs, &c. [p. 455]

RAVALEMENT ... Est l'enduit & le crépi qu'on applique sur un mur pour le réparer, ou nettoyement qu'on fait à un mur de pierre de taille, avec la ripe & autres outils. [p. 527]

RAVALER ... Nettoyer un mur de pierre de taille avec la ripe & autres outils, ou faire de nouveaux enduits & crépis sur un mur de moilon, ou sur un pan de bois; ce qui se fait en commençant par le haut, & continuant toujours en descendant. [p. 527]

SAILLIE ... Est toute avance qu'ont les membres, ornemens ou moulures, au-delà du nud des murs, soit sans encor-bellemens, comme les pilastres, les tables, les chambranles, les câ-dres, les plinthes, les archivoltes, les architraves, &c. soit avec encorbellemens, comme les corniches, les balcons, les trompes, les galeries de charpente, les fermes de pignon, &c. ...[p. 594] 

Le Plâtre est un pierre fossile qui pour l'ordinaire est d'une couleur grisâtre ... Fouetter le plâtre, c'est le jetter contre le mur ou contre une cloison avec le balai ... le muid fait trois toises de mur de quinze à seize pouces d'épaisseur, qui est l'épaisseur qu'on y donne ordinairement à Paris . On reblanchit ces murs avec du lait de chaux ... [Volume 1, p. 31]

Les faut crepir tous les murs, même ceux de hourdage & de bauge, afin qu'ils ne dépérissent pas si vîte à l'eau, au soleil & à l'air.

Les enduits dont on couvre les murs se sont avec de la chaux & du ciment ou du sable, ou bien du plâtre ou du stuc, qui servent en même tems à les blanchir ...[Volume 1, p. 57]

REGLES GÉNÉRALES

Pour la bonne construction d'un Bâtiment en Maçonnerie ... [p. 23]

Saillies d'Architecture à l'extérieur des murs de face.

Les sailles en plâtre, à l'extérieur des murs de face adaptées sur des murs, sans observer encorbellement de moilon lors de la construction, sont de nulle valeur; l'on se contenete seulement de mettre quelques rapointissages ou chevillettes, & souvent aucunes; qu'elle disgrace n'en survient-il pas? Ce relief de plâtre plaqué se détache des murs, les eaux plu-viales passent ou filtrent entreiceux, & pourrissent les linteaux des croisées qui sont au derriere; ces différentes saillies se détachent, tombent & tuent ou blessent le public; ainsi, pour la solidité & sûreté, c'est totale-ment à supprimer. Toutes saillies d'Architecture en gé-néral à l'extérieur doivent être faites en pierre, fai-sant parpaing total des murs, quoique la face soit en moilon & même en pans de bois, c'est la meilleure construction, sans avoir égard aux discours frivoles de la Police en bâtimens, qui défend de mettre de la pierre sur du moilon ... [pp. 27-28]  

Murs en Moilon ...

Le mur de dix-huit pouces d'épaisseur, ravalé en plâtre, ne doit être toisé que de seize pouces & demi, observant que les enduits des deux paremens contien-nent dix-huit lignes d'épaisseur, & qu'il n'y a en moilon que l'épaisseur susdite, & que le prix des ravalemens ci-après ext apprécié particuliérement.

Les sailles d'architecture quelconques, pilastres & tables, seront développées en plus valeur en léger, sui-vant les prix ci-après, ainsi qu'il est démontré ci dessus, en pierre ... [p. 41]

Légers ouvrages en Plâtre.

Les plafonds seront à toise superficielle ....

Les saillies des corniches seront mesurées en leur pourtour au milieu d'icelles ...

Les retours ne pouvant se traîner, étant coupés à la main, il sera accordé deux pieds de longueur en plus valeur chaque retour ... [pp. 41-42]

APPRECIATION

Du prix des Ouvrages de maçonnerie, suivant la valeur des matériaux à Paris, en l'année 1781 ... [p. 45]

Détail de la valeur des murs en moilons & plâtre. [Details follow on pp. 66-87] 

Autre détail pour apprécier la saillie en plâtre d'un pilastre d'encoignure en surcharge sur le nu du mur de face de deux pouces de saillie & vingt-quatre pouces de large ...

Il est de la bonne construction, pour ériger ces pilastres, de les construire en leurs saillies enh moilon avec les murs, pour éviter la surcharge du plâtre, laquelle n'existe pas longtemps, ne pouvant se con-solider avec le mur sans liaisons; pour lors cette saillie en moilon est comptée avec le mur de son épaisseur, compris saillie. Etant ainsi construit, il n'est dû à l'Entrepreneur que de six pouces réduits de léger, cha-que pied courant en plus valeur du ravalement, à 7 livres la toise de trente-six pieds de léger ... [pp. 108-109]
    

Of PLASTER ...

That which is found in a hill near Paris, is esteemed the finest, and brought to England chiefly to make busto's, and to take off medals, as well as all kind of statuary works; but there it is used in flooring, and to line the inside of stone walls, instead of common mortar. But the plaster found in this country, being of a coarser sort, is chiefly used to make floors for gentle- gentlemens [sic] houses, and for granaries to keep corn in ... [pp. 118-119]

... the rooms were commonly wainscot-ed quite up to the cieling, and terminated by a cornice; but the later custom is to carry it only up chair high, that is from two to three feet; the rest of the wall is covered with flowered paper, which is very cheap and beautiful, or else it is finished with stucco covered with hangings;  to prevent the paper from being spoiled by the dampness of the wall, it is pasted on thin cloth, and fixed in frames ... [p. 246]