plastering courses

[Greg]

I Don't know if you can all help here, but I do have a basic knowledge of plastering but lack a bit of more formal training and the confidence that comes from that. As a result I'm looking at doing a one/two day plastering course.

Does anyone know of such a course in the south of England (Oxfordshire/Berkshire areas preferably) and has anyone found one of these useful.

The alternative is to do some night classes, but having problems finding anything....

Thanks Greg

[David W.E. Roberts]

Just to cheer you up, our plasterer (and a good one) was bemoaning the lack of apprentices.

Said nobody wanted to go into a job where it was a year or more before you could expect to be able to finish a wall or ceiling properly - you learned by putting the plaster on and having the plasterer tidy up behind you to get the final finish.

So possibly this explains the lack of one/two day courses and night classes :-)

You might find a local plasterer who would use you as a labourer at the weekends in return for some training. AFAIK it makes life a lot easier if two people are putting on a load of plaster and then finishing it before it goes off.

I was half contemplating offering myself as a labourer, but decided I would probably kill myself trying to keep up, and also that I didn't want to commit to weekend working.

Plumbing and electrics seems relatively straightforward in comparison :-(

Cheers Dave R

[Ant Skelton]

Yep, I do:

'em I sent you. Not that they know me, but I plan to attend in the near future and I might get a discount or summat ;)

The one day course comes highly recommended by several acquaintances of mine.

cheers

ant

[jonni_c]

Anyone know of anything like that in Scotland? (Edinburgh)

John

[Andrew Gabriel]

A few years ago I did the 2 day plastering and rendering course at Aldershot Building Centre, part of Farnborough College of Technology...

course was superb. I was useless at plastering before, but by the second morning, all 16 of us on the course were producing better quality plasterwork than the professional plasters I had hired previously. There was a good degree of flexibility to cover specific things people were interested in. I did some pebble-dash. Some others were interested in artexing and partition wall building (both of which they ran separate courses on), and the teacher took us off to those areas of the college and quickly talked through the skills, pointing out the various techniques where some student on the other course was using it.

The snag was there was a year's waiting list. If you were prepared to jump on a course at a days notice, you might get one sooner (that's what I did).

Also, when I did it, there was a 2 day course, 5 day course, and full C&G course. I only see the 2 day course now, so they might not have the same teacher.

[Owain]

"jonni_c" wrote | >

| > The one day course comes highly recommended by several | > acquaintances of mine. | Anyone know of anything like that in Scotland? (Edinburgh)

Telford College promise 5-day courses, no dates mentioned

's Telford College Crewe Toll EDINBURGH EH4 2NZ Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] email: [e-mail]

You could also try contacting

Glasgow College of Building & Printing

60 North Hanover Street GLASGOW G1 2BP Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Hugh McCluggage Phone: [phone] Ext. 4500

for lime / traditional plastering:

Charlestown Workshops At The Scottish Lime Centre Rocks Road CHARLESTOWN Fife KY11 3EN Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] email: [e-mail]

[Steve Wilson]

I've done their one day course and would recommend it. You won't come out a master craftsman, but it's amazing what you can learn in a single day. Regards, Steve

[Danny Burns]

I know not in your area but you could try