Learning plastering?

[qu1ksilver]

How do you go about learning to plaster? Ive always wanted to be able to do it, and as i'm planning on doing up more property in the coming years I reckon it would be so useful to be able to do the plastering myself. Are there courses? are they expensive? does it take long to learn it? Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[tommyl18]

you can go on a weeks course which will teach you the basics but the thing with plastering isnt so much what you know but the techniques and experience you have at putting it on the wall and being able to control it as it goes off and knowing when to trowel it down but that all comes with practise and it normally takes around 3 years of doing the job to actually master it and do a nice job so by all means do the course and have a go at your house but it will take you a lot more than just your house and a lot of sanding down in the process to get to the stage where it would be acceptable ive been plastering for 6 years and remember how hard the first few years were sand paper was my best friend lol!!

 

[Richard C]

How do you go about learning to plaster? Ive always wanted to be able to do it, and as i'm planning on doing up more property in the coming years I reckon it would be so useful to be able to do the plastering myself.

Property renovation is basically how I got into it. You can start with a basic foundation course but I drifted into it some years ago after often being disappointed with the results I was presented with by many “so called” spreads, some of who really didn’t seem to have a clue but my main reason for gettin ginto it was financial necessity. I started off with a typical DIY disaster & then employed a recommended pro to do the rest while I watched & picked his brains to the point he started to twitch . It can be quiet off putting having your ear constantly bent when you’re trying to work quickly on a job but, luckily, he didn’t mind & never told me to **** off; probably because I was paying him quiet well but you should always ask if they mind first. I then picked up a trowel & just got on with it; one or two problems at first but after I realised where I'd been going wrong to start with, to my amazement I got pretty good pretty quickly. But you never stop learning & there is a big, big difference between skimming a dot & dab/stud plasterboard wall with Multifinish & sympathetically renovating a property with float & set base & finish skim. There is always going to be something that will catch you out but the clever bit is knowing what to do when it does.

Are there courses? are they expensive?

Yes; I’ve never been on one but a couple of regulars on here started that way & say they benefited tremendously from them; cost is around £300 or so but that will only buy you a very basic course. Don’t expect to rush of at the end of it & win Golden Trowel of the year though as it will only teach you the basics, it’s then a question of practice, practice & yet more practice. It can take years of it &, above all else, you’ve got to enjoy doing it; it’s also bloody hard work.

does it take long to learn it?

How long is a piece of string; it depends how quickly you learn & begin to understand how the different materials behave & interact with each other but IMO the biggest factor is going to be weather you have any natural ability or not. You could be a natural & develop the basic skills very quickly or you may need to persevere; some however, will never be any good no matter how long they go at it.

Take a look at this topic & use the search facility for the many others there are; //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=967595#967595

It will give you some idea of what’s involved. Do a bit of self research & come back with specific questions or encouragement if you feel the need.