1 week plastering ?

[markie]

Out of interested, if you know fook all about the plastering trade never mind having tried it before would an 1 week corse make you able to plaster an loft conversion ( 3 bedrooms and a bathroom out ) to a half good standard ? I know what the responce would/should be.

The reason i'm asking is that i'm doing a shell for a young lad, and he's going to do the rest of the conversion, and I mean the rest, including the plastering he's going to spend £400 on a weeks plastering corse so he can save a few bob, I've said a weeks learning won't make you good enough to do the work, why don't you add the £400 towards getting it done by the pro's, but he's having none of it so i've said when you have done your first wall give me a ring so i can have a look

 

[FredFlintstone]

I doubt it. A 1 week course is good to teach you the basics but you then have to practice, practice and practice some more. Oh, then you may need to practice a bit more.

I did a four day course last October which was superb. Taught me all the basics, techniques and tricks etc. However, it can't teach you how plaster works and behaves in the real world. It also can't teach you what you learn from experience.

I'm only just now, within the last month, turning out work which i would say is good. Don't get me wrong, I was producing OK work from the start but it's not work that I would ever have been happy to charge for. I'm now happy and confident that I can charge for the work I do.

I also think that there are some people who have got it and others who haven't. I'm in neither category. I'm a fast learner but I don't have a natural flair for plastering so it took practice to improve my techniques. Some peope will have a natural eye for it and take to it much faster. Others will be useless and will never be able to get their head around it, like my dod for example.

Regards

Fred

 

[brist]

He will learn the basics and be able to do a small wall. Any large areas will not be flat and will ripple .

 

[jimyboy]

Most apprenticeships last 2-4 years so I don't think anyone can learn much in a week

 

[Deluks]

If he (the lad) is on a tight budget, and will be living in this property himself, then I can see his pov. If he plans to sell it any time soon then he's shooting himself in the foot.

 

[Nige F]

Gyproc Easy fill + a pole sander will help him out I had a M8`s son do a room 4 me (B4 my boy started spreading )....and the lad had a bad go with dud plaster.to his credit he re did the lot with easyfil + sanded and made it as good as the work he now does for £££££ and he`s now worth every penny .......that`s a year later.....AND he went on a short course initially cost me £100-all in and he had a good lesson learned ...like I did a few times in the 70`s when an apprentice plumber .....MY boy learned from his Father-in-Law before he retired for free

 

[sanj.varah]

i'm doing a 6 week course at college (2 nights a week for 3 hours).

In my humble opinion, there isn't actually that much to it apart from a few simple things.

1. Good Trowel (Preworn marshalltown etc..)
2. Decent Plaster Thistle Multifinish
3. Don't make more than you can use in 15 mins.

The only real difference between a novice and a pro is the speed at which they do it. I can only do about an 8 ft by 15ft section before my plaster starts to go off but i'm getting faster!

I would certainly give it a go but be prepared to make the large job into smaller sub tasks.

just my 2p worth

sanj

 

[brist]

I assume in college you are aplying on fresh new plasterboard ,but in the real world you will be plastering onto rough render, Blown damaged uneven walls , artex walls etc etc .

 

[noseall]

plastering by nature is repetitive. there are only so many high or low suction backgrounds to conquer before you've seen 'em all.

plastering is all about timing and technique. at first most people are slow, drop a lot on the floor and lack confidence.

once learned though, it is a fairly simple trade to do. scenarios become repetitive and mundane.

float and set plastering does take longer to learn, but with time this too is fairly simple. people tend to leave the backing coat to dry for too long a period of time thus making the skim coat difficult to trowel.

i guess once the poster has done a couple of walls he'll start to get the hang of mix consistency and technique, but i'm not saying he can go out and earn money doing it!

get yourself a labourer and you'd be surprised how much less difficult the trade is.

 

[sanj.varah]

I assume in college you are aplying on fresh new plasterboard ,but in the real world you will be plastering onto rough render, Blown damaged uneven walls , artex walls etc etc .

the walls are breeze block. which we then render and then plaster on top. There are a few walls in there which have had a finish coat put on really badly and then need re-skimming.

 

[Bowness72]

I would say let the lad do it because it wil be good practice and if he does want to sell it at some point he could always get a pro in to reskim it in a few years prior to selling when he might have more cash. I went on a two day course and found out enough to do a few diy jobs for myself and family/friends who were all happy with the work (apparently) although I accept it wasn't perfect especially when light is shining on the walls at certain angles. All in all, he hasn't got anything to lose really as plaster is quite cheap anyway.