Plastering Course - Fred Flinstone

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Fred Flinstone,
how was the plastering course in stockport?
ive booked on a 2 day plastering course in bedford which costs £280!

http://www.plasteringworkshop.co.uk/

i looked at the stockport website and i see the 4 day course is the same price, also they give you £50 of tools!
im now thinking of cancelling and going for the stocport course.
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Hi AndyBill,

Plastering course was great.

As I've mentioned in previous threads, I didn't go into it expecting to be a world class plasterer in four days, I just expected to come out of it knowing the techniques used etc which I would be able to put into use for practicing and DIY.

I would say that these courses are great for anyone with the same attitude as me but aren't for anyone who goes into it expecting to be a pro plasterer at the end of the course.

It taught me a lot but over the four days I do feel I could have been taught more if the instructor / student ratio was smaller. There were eight students and one instructor. This was adequate but I'm sure with a smaller group there would have been greater opportunity for me to question more and be guided more.

I thought that, at £280 for four days, the course was reasonable value for money. The course you've identified does seem expensive given that it's only two days but then it might be worth checking out how many students they have per instructor. I'm sure a two day course will teach you what you need to know to go and start learning on your own but it doesn't give any instructed practice time really.

I was surprised by every students ability at the end of the course. I'm fortunate enough to be a quick learner and have good practical abilities. There were some people on the course who, on the first day I thought "they'll never be able to grasp this" from looking at their inability to take in the information being given and their inability to co-ordinate things. However, by the end of the four days, everyone had completed some mighty fine work.

The other thing you'd have to factor in is travel / accommodation costs. Isn't Bedford down South? Do you live near the course? There's another course in Dartford, Kent. I've obviously not been on that course but I think it's something like £350 or £400 for five days.

When are you thinking of doing the course? I'm going back for the advanced skimming course, possibly on March 19th.

Regards

Fred
 
Oh, one other thing. The tools are all very well and good but don't whichever course you choose, don't be swayed by the lure of free tools.

Buckets are cheap enough, the trowels provided are only really good for applying bonding / browning (you'll still need to invest £30 - £40 in a decent finishing trowel), stanley knives and tape measures are cheap too if you don't alreasy own them (which most people do) and the guaging and bucket trowels are cheap enough to buy too.

Basically, choose course content over freebies.

There's no harm in phoning of visiting the course provider and questioning them to determine whether you think they're suitable.

Good luck and let us know what you decide and how you get on.

Fred
 
Thanks for that Fred,
the course in Bedford is nearer to me and they say that theres a max of 5 per course,
what do you think of the content below?
did you cover dot & dab?

Day 1
The various types of plasters and their suitability are discussed and hawk/ trowel control is practised. Following a demonstration, you then apply a backing coat of sand/cement to the breeze block wall in your bay. Following lunch (provided), the afternoon session starts with a skimming demonstration, before you PVA and apply a skim finish to the plasterboard wall in your bay. During the day patching techniques are demonstrated and practised.

Day 1 ends with a skimming demonstration
Day 2 commences with a quick recap on skimming technques after which you apply a skim finish to a wall in your bay. We then move onto ceilings which are demonstrated and practised. Lunch, followed by. Students applying a skim finish to the backing coat they applied the previous day. The course is completed with a questions & answers session.




yes i see what you mean about the tools , i suppose there cheap enough to buy

yes i will let you know how i get on.

cheers
Andy
 
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Andy,

We covered Dot n Dab yes. We didn't however cover skimming over a base coat of sand and cement.

We did a sand and cement render but didn't skim it when finished.

However, we covered patch repairs in a solid wall, patch repairs in a dry lined wall, dot n dab walls, affix ceiling boards, skim ceiling, skim walls, artex ceiling, covering up artex, re-skimming walls. It included doing a window reveal too.

The areas covered were relatively small compared to real world work but like I say, it's to teach the basics. The advanced skimming course I want to do will enable me to cover larger areas under instruction thus improving my quality and speed over large areas.

The course you're doing seems to cover each thing once, the psoex course covered most things twice.

Your course is nice and honest though. None of them promise you'll be a pro plasterer following the course but yours does point out that you won't be a pro once finished.

Regards

Fred.
 
Fred,

if you can skim over a backing plaster then you wont have a problem skimming over Sand & Cement.

Sand & Cement Render is mainly for outdoor use (except for tanking purposes) thats probably why they didnt show you how to skim over it. The only reason people are now bringing it indoors is cost.

A bag of sand is about £1.00 and cement about £3.00 therefore if you do a 4/1 mix or even 5/1 then its cost you £7.00 or £8.00 respectively.

If you were to price up bonding to cover the same area as the sand/cement (at least double) then its becomes pretty obvious why people will opt for the latter.

You need a few mates now who have got a little over excited with the wall paper scraper to let you come in and practice on their walls :)

I knew a guy many years ago who was an apprentice decorator, He stripped one of his spare bedrooms and kept practicing, papering the ceiling and walls then he would strip and start again with different products.

Nothing to stop you doing the same if you have a spare room :) Practice makes perfect as the old saying goes. Good luck.
 
Hi - I did the 2 day course in Bedford and it was very good. I have since skimmed 4 ceilings, my brothers cellar which was dry lined, a kitchen ceiling for my sister and some backing and walls in my kitchen. I've been very pleased with the results. I also bought off ebay some Goldtrowel DVDs which were pretty good.

I initially tried a cheap trowel and then was convinced by a spread friend of mine that I should invest in a 'worn in' Marshalltown. What a difference. My advice is get a decent trowel.

I have also had my spread in to do some work because, 1) you will be much slower than a pro 2) you won't be able to tackle large areas on your own due to the speed and 3) there are situations where you need to know what to do and you won't have the experience.

But it has given me confidence and I know what I'm capable of and for repairing holes or skimming board, my results are as good as I have seen. Would I do work for anyone outside the family though - no.
 
Cheers diyisfree.

I've got plenty of practice space - believe me!

This is just PART of ONE of the many rooms in my house that I'm in the process of fully renovating!

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04_FrenchWindows_1.jpg


The images don't tell the full story. The walls you see are part of my dining kitchen - approximately 21' x 10'. The plaster was completely shot around most of the room so I've taken the lot off. Before re-boarding I've added new ring mains etc. I've dot n dabbed half of the room now and will be doing the rest at the weekend after BCO have inspected the first fix of wiring (possible small problem in that I've already covered up the wiring in the dining room with plasterboard but hopefully the BCO won't make me take it down to inspect the cable run - it's fairly obvious where it goes).

Like I say - one room of many in which to practice. I've only completed two rooms in the entire so far!

Regards

Fred.
 
I have also been on the two day plastering course in Bedford and thought it was worthwhile. Another benefit of the course in Bedford is that if you have any problems afterwards you can e:mail or phone them and they will give you further advice. Obviously I cant say whether it is better than any other though as thats the only one ive been on.
 
Hiya Porker ,
what would you class as large areas?

Also what size trowel would you recommend?
i have seen Marshalltown trowels on screwfix
13"x5" and also 14"x5" ??

And did you cover any dot&dab ?

cheers


Porker said:
I have also had my spread in to do some work because, 1) you will be much slower than a pro 2) you won't be able to tackle large areas on your own due to the speed and 3) there are situations where you need to know what to do and you won't have the experience.
 
diyisfree , Hi,
did you cover any drylining on the bedford course?

Also could i keep practising skimming a spare wall at home or would i have to hack off the skim each time and start again?

Also can you skim over artex?

cheers

diyisfree said:
Nothing to stop you doing the same if you have a spare room :) Practice makes perfect as the old saying goes. Good luck.[/quote]
 
You could just keep re-skimming without hacking off. You'll have to hack it off at some point though or you're room will become noticeably smaller!

Artex - You have to scrape off the spikes and then cover over. I've done it before and applied a thin bonding coat before skimming.

I got me a Marshalltown finishing trowel, pre-worn, and it's excellent. A big difference over the standard trowels.

I went for the 14" one (I was tempted by the 20" one but figured I'd start small) and got it from my local Beesley & Fildes for £26 inc VAT. It was priced at £38 but he gave me a huge discount on it - possibly because I'd been asking about trade accounts and bulk discounts on materials.

Always worth asking for discounts though, the worst they can say is no.

Regards

Fred.
 
FredFlintstone said:
I PVA everything me - except new plasterboard. I only do that if it's been sitting round for a while.


Do you PVA brickwork before dot&dab too?


Fred, do you think i should get a decent trowel before i go on the course or use theirs on the course?

also can you skim over emulsioned walls?
 

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