Contractor Gabe Polanik was inspired after seeing Nathan Giffins' work at the World of Concrete 2010.
"I watched and studied his techniques on his online classes, Vertical Artisans," Polanik says. "I bought 60 bags of Tru Pac-V conversion kit. I also ordered the texturing kit from WaltTools, which consists of texturing rollers and skins."
He proceeded to do a sample board in his shop, using Proline's Antique stain for color.
"I was impressed and addicted, but before I could market this type of work I needed to show more," he says. "So during the Thanksgiving Holiday, I tore up my basement carpet, knocked out some niches in my drywall, installed some puck lighting, and basically took some of the ideas from Vertical Artisans website."
The greatest challenge, he says, was flying blind on his first-ever vertical texture.
"A lot of times [the mud] fell on me," Polanik says. "It fell maybe seven times, I was almost in tears."
By himself, he designed and installed the lath and scratch coat, mixed, laid up the mud, carved, and stained the entire project by himself. "I needed to know every aspect of this craft before I have anyone work with me."
