plastering training

[Richard C]

My trusted & most favoured finishing trowel is --- a 14 inch, cheapo I bought from B&Q in 2004; not stainless steel & soft grip long gone! A decent pre-worn trowel may help if your a novice but the name alone will never make you a plasterer if you haven’t got what it takes

 

[NickB_99]

Get yourself a note book and keep it in your pocket. Useful in the workshop for noting down things. (Something I should have done)

Hi Daniel

All decent info from scob.
A bit late to see the post, but I would like to add that even tho I only did a hands-on DIY plastering course for 5d, I found making notes as Scob suggested really useful.
Plastering can get a little messy as you're learning (if you're like me!) and I used a small note book to scribble in and I put it back in my pocket to keep clean.

Maybe overkill, but I followed up each night I did the course by writing up notes more fully on my laptop with diagrams (whilst it was all still fresh in my head).

MS-Word has some basic drawing tools built-in which were great for illustration.
I have been glad a few times I'd made those notes and referred back to them a few times.

Good luck with the application.

 

[1john]

keep your eyes peeled for offers on tools, i had a hawk for £5 from CNs, a local tool supplier, it's an aluminium silverline one and my trowel is a tyzack ss one that was on offer two years ago for £20 in b and q, i think the same trowel is about 35 or so now in there, at the time i dont know why i got it but 18 months later i found it very useful

I am almost certain that the college route is the way to go but fortunatly for me I have had the opertunity to watch lots of different plasterers on different jobs to get the jist of it, and I just had a go at it, kind of monkey see monkey do (me being the monkey).

All being said I am only able to skim and use bonding, I am scared to try rendering but the bottom half of our house needs doing before we move in and at £19/sq m to prep and render I may be forced to have a go at it myself but have never seen people rendering before and the walls are quite big compared to internal walls that just get skimmed so I wouldn't know where to start :S

I have rambled on here to much but to sum it up, get involved, have a go, get on a course and keep your eyes peeled for bargain tools!!

 

[scob]

HI Newbee, You have a good approach. Having words pass in front of your eyes is not always the best way of learning. Reviewing what you’ve learned, preferably regularly is a useful way to remember, like you say Newbie.

On the application form it’s important to get it right. You’ll need to collect two or three forms for each course or make photcopies.

As I said, the personal profile bit needs thinking out a bit and its your opportunity to shine.

Invest time in getting the application right, spell check it, and then ask two or three people for an opinion. Remember most application forms have the same layout/format.

Most application usually ask the same questions so when you’ve perfected your application form, photocopy it and keep it save in a folder. You can copy the information from the photocopied form into all the other application forms for other colleges.

Like plastering itself, good preparation pays dividends.

 

[danielrobson]

hi lads i signed up for college yesterday fingers crossed i get in.im watching on ebay a marshalltown gold trowel i see there around £40 i just want the best but its what you feel comftable with i guess and what produces the best job.i havnt got around to going around to companies as my car battery is dead however that will be sorted by tomorrow

 

[roughcaster]

hi lads i signed up for college yesterday fingers crossed i get in.im watching on ebay a marshalltown gold trowel i see there around £40 i just want the best but its what you feel comftable with i guess and what produces the best job.i havnt got around to going around to companies as my car battery is dead however that will be sorted by tomorrow

Good lad Dan, hope you get in,, keep trying.
The trowel i use is a 13" Tyzack s/s,, (£30 to £35), but my other 2 trowels are 11" ones,, a Ragni s/s,, and a Builder Centre cheapo,,, for roughing in work.

 

[danielrobson]

i still have a ragni s/s from my previous job clean too!! on ebay they have gold marshall towns for £32 is that good? free delivery too i just want to have the best at the end of the day this tool is whats going to be making my money.i kno its a toss up between tyzack and mt

OH!!! i rang the college up today and they have told me i have my interview on the 24th of june im praying i get in

 

[scob]

i still have a ragni s/s from my previous job clean too!! on ebay they have gold marshall towns for £32 is that good? free delivery too i just want to have the best at the end of the day this tool is whats going to be making my money.i kno its a toss up between tyzack and mt

OH!!! i rang the college up today and they have told me i have my interview on the 24th of june im praying i get in

Daniel

You don’t want to show up for interview in jeans and trainers. You want smart shoes and trousers, preferably shirt and tie.

Pleased your in the door.

 

[Nige F]

I
I have thought about buying a few plaster boards and setting them up in the garage to have a practice. of.

good idea - my boy did this @ his father in law`s garage - The Old Boy has been plastering for years - they did inside/ outside corners . some without angle beads . and covered the brick walls with a weak lime /sand mix - then scraped it off daily, knocked it back the next day and so on - also I gave him a curved Ceiling/ wall to practice on . -I laid it out with old offcuts of p.board and ran a wood former along it , roughed it in and they spread it nice . Now he`s doing OK -self employed with a gang doing a good run of Council refurbs . Good Luck to you M8

 

[scob]

Good English and maths website for plastering students. There are some online mini tests to assess your level. I think level 2 maths is around GCSE C.

This year on level one plastering at the college I attended 2 out 3 students struggled with basics skills.

http://www.move-on.org.uk/

 

[danielrobson]

Thanks very much fellas - i appreciate the advice. I will certainly be going in dressed nice & smart and I know what you mean Scob about English & Maths. Thanks for the websites, they are really useful.

I have had some feedback from a local guy who is considering taking me on for some unpaid work experience, he apparently mainly does insulated render systems. Any advice?? Is this external work?

Cheers

 

[danielrobson]

nige f i have a garage too i was thinking of trying it on there myself how would you go on with this is breeze block and a weak mix? something like 6-1?

 

[danielrobson]

Hi lads

Just to let you's know i got into college i went for a more informal chat about the corse and it ended up in me having to sit a maths and english test

really appreicate the tips and advice from all of you's

Dan

 

[1john]

well done

 

[trowelmonkey1]

well like Newbie, sorry Dan! been away on holiday.

glad to hear you've made it into college! assuming it's not a full time course is it? if yo can get on with a spread as free or cheap labour that would be a great thing to do along side your course, see how the things you're learning are applied in real life.

i'm only a short course plasterer, full time for 4 weeks, i dearly wished i was in a position to learn in the traditional way as it would have saved me 1 or 2 heart aches along the way but a man of my age with bills to pay etc it was the only way to get into it, started out doing small jobs i knew i could handle and slowly built up, i'm still doing a little of my old job as i always did that self employed but i've got so much plastering work to do now i've all but phased the old job out for good, taken me about 18 months but i feel i'm getting pretty well established now, getting repeat work and referrals from old customers so can't be bad.

i don't advertise anywhere other than a free entry on yell.com which brings in the odd job now and then, have my van sign written which does the same, had some quite cheap but suitably professional business cards printed for about £40, leave 2 or 3 when i quote, you'll be surprised where they end up.

Can't stress how important it is to be punctual and reliable too mate, gets me and keeps me customers, so often i hear 'i've called plasterers for a quote but they don't turn up'

keep reading on this forum, it's been invaluable to me and still is, can't thank enough the boys on here (you know who you are), also the NVQ book scob suggested i have got, it's a great book which will give you a solid foundation of knowledge to base your learning on.

Good luck!