Plasterers...

Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

Right peeps in the new year I'm doing a plastering course with the aim of working towards going self employed at some stage, but idealy I'd like to work with a company first as I'd gain experience and perfect technique.

I'm just looking for ideas, hints, tips and/or anyones opinion who is/are/was/will/might be a plasterer.

Any ( serious ) advice is greatly recieved... Thumbs Up

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Cillit-BANG · World Chat Champion Joined: 05 Oct 2005 Karma :

Be patient. Although it looks easy, it will take time to get it right.

FFIW, it's a great trade to get into and providing you can cope with staring at a pink wall day in day out, there is good money to be made.

Providing you are offering a genuine professional service and can do a perfect job then don't be afraid to charge for it. Local tradesmen don't like to be undercut by the local odd-jobber, so keep your prices at the local going rate. Once proficient you should be looking at charging about £100-£150 depending on lacation per day. Other than a few basic tools there is also very little outlay. You don't even need a van!!

Good luck Thumbs Up

Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

Thanks Cillit and W/T/D... Thumbs Up

As for the 100-150, what's that for, a room-a wall-materials or just for turning up?...lol
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hellkat · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

Do you have CSCS yet?

Quite often these days, lots of sites only want guys who have CSCS certificates. So of course, all the Polish who have been smart enough to register as unemployed when they first got here, have got themselves on those courses and got the certificates, which is why everyone thinks all Polish have all the building jobs. Not completely true.

Woody registered for one of these a few weeks back, and says it was a piece of piss, three day course: mostly bog standard health and safety stuff, with a little "exam" at the end.

Only three guys in his course DIDN'T pass, and that was because their English was TOO atrocious.

So if you haven't got one of these, do that course too. Its only short, and the DSS can give you details of how to get on one.
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Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

No I haven't Hellkat, thanks for the info... Thumbs Up

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Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

How much for the course?
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Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

I was always told by my Father to get a trade as something to fall back on and I always said nah I'll always be in work, but I want to try something new and yeah I now agree with him, only took me the last ten years to realise.

The training centre also work on a ' Buy more than one course and get the others cheaper ' deal, so I'll more than likely do the two plastering and a brick laying course... Thumbs Up

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Whosthedaddy · Super Spammer Joined: 11 Dec 2005 Karma :

Had a go a bricklaying by doing a 17x10 foot pond in the garden of my parents. I had never done anything before bar mixing some cement by hand and its got 40,000 litres of water pressing against it and 9 years later, its still standing and leak free.

I was going to wait for my dad to help, but he came home and I was half finished as I had the day of from Uni Laughing

Really hard work being bent over, but very satisfying when you stand back and admire it.
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greatmoorred · Nearly there... Joined: 13 Jul 2005 Karma :

Nothing wrong with the week long courses, but remember that they cant teach you what to do when the brickwork behind the plaster falls to bits too, or the stud wall is all rotten behind some mouldy old wall.
So its best to let all your friends know what you are doing and offer "mates rates" to plaster their spare bedroom or what have you. Then you can start to get experience with an understanding customer. You will be surprised how many people have little jobs that they havent done due to the £ 120 a day rates.
After that you will just have to be patient, not many building firms will take you on if they know you only did a week long course, so you might have to keep that bit quiet, and offer to do a trial run or something similar.
£150 a day = full skim of decent sized room ( including ceiling ). Or dot and dab/dryline room and bond up cracks holes etc..ready for skim.

gavin · World Chat Champion Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Karma :

i just had some plasterers in on one of my jobs, two 4.5mx2.5m plasterboard walls skimmed in one room, one 6.5x5.5 ceiling, one 5.5x2.5 and two 4.5 x2.5 walls in another room. one and a half days in total, one spread and a boy knocking up one day, two spreads and the boy for the half day.

cost £580, with me supplying the materials.

if the boy is on say £65 a day, then the plasterers are taking £150 each for a days work.

i can plaster, but i dont do it every day so im not that quick. when ive got a lot to do i get people in. there isnt that much to it. its a technique you can learn quite easily, most of which is knowing when to touch it, and when to leave it be!
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Handsome · World Chat Champion Joined: 30 Dec 2005 Karma :

Cheers guys Karma

given...

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daz|n00by · The Internet Joined: 11 May 2004 Karma :

Been a builder for 26 years bricklayer by trade then a plasterer. Learnt all other building as time went by, my slave at the moment is city guilds level 2 and tbh it isn't worth the paper its wrote on, he doesn't even know what scrim cloth is used for! i learnt the hard way on sites then only worked for myself the rest of the time.
Most of today's plastering is now easy due to the fact its mostly only skimming on drylining now and not often do you use browning and undercoats.
If you want to see if you can hack plastering my honest advice is as soon as you get the hang of skimming a wall do a ceiling! that's when you will see that plastering is hard work.
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