One of Technical Finishes’ most successful products, Skimplaster, which was developed shortly after the chief executive, Mike Grose, founded the company 20 years ago, is enjoying almost unprecedented popularity at the moment as a result of Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale’s ongoing programme to improve some 40 000 houses countrywide.
Grose says that Skimplaster, which is a conventional cement based plaster supplied in a ready to mix form, to which are added certain carefully selected ingredients, has two characteristics that make it ideal for any refurbishment or new plaster projects.
These are that it can be applied only 3 to 6 mm thick (by contrast, most plasters are 12 to 15mm thick). It is also easy to apply and people can be taught to apply it in less than a day. These two factors, says Grose, make it far less expensive than other plasters.
While still being able to “breathe” Skimplaster is significantly resistant to moisture penetration which makes it particularly well suited to the slanting rain conditions of the Western Cape and the heavy summer thunderstorm downpours of the Highveld.
Unlike many plasters, it can be applied easily onto old PVA painted surfaces.
Grose says recently the orders for Skimplaster have been so big that the Cape factory had to remain in operation throughout the builders’ break. Much of the Western Cape low cost housing refurbishment orders have been completed but the Eastern Cape work is likely to be ongoing for many months to come.
Grose says most competitive products are imported and prohibitively expensive.
Technical Finishes was founded by Grose, a physics and chemistry graduate from UCT, in 1989. He has now had over 30 years’ experience in finding solutions for common problems in the building industry and, he says, been involved with the development of over 150 construction related products, the best known being Solidkote 2000, Hyseal 210, Smooth ‘n Patch and Floorskim.
“We are always interested to hear from people in the construction industry who have technical finishing problems,” says Grose. “Most of our best products have come about as a result of being confronted by a serious ongoing difficulty which affects many property owners or contractors.”
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