I need some plastering doing on my place. Unfortunately, that is about the one building skill I don't feel competent enough to attempt. Can anyone suggest how/where I could get a short inexpensive crash course in plastering? Funnily enough, I was a plasterer's labourer once, but that's not the same as learning how to plaster.. all it did was teach me how to mix the stuff up.
J
Outside in the garden, or in an unused room inside the house. Place a piece of plasterboard against the wall on top of thick water proof sheet, or propped up in the garden also with a water proof sheet under it. Then get a hawk board to carry your plaster mix on, a float trowel to lift and spread the plaster on the plasterboard and a big paint brush and bucket of water to keep your float clean and clear of any hard objects until you learn to smooth the plaster on the wall (usually called final polishing).
That's how I practiced, and I haven't had complaints from others that I've patched and polished walls for. Thankfully the materials aren't really expensive to practice with.
I agree with Bigwallop that it is something that takes practice. This might also help you to learn the basics
Definitely agree with Jonni. I went on the two day course with these guys and everyone there managed to plaster walls and ceilings to a pretty good standard.
It might seem like a reasonable sum of money (I think it was £280) when I went, but you dont get a lot of a plasterers time for the same money so you can definitely save in the longer term.
TIm
Thanks for the replies thus far. Big Wallop's suggestion is probably a good one, but I'm bewildered by the variety of different plasters on the market - and don't have a clue which one to use for any specific purpose. It's a shame that that 2-day course is at the wrong end of the country for me. Can anyone recommend recent book with step-by step instructions and plenty of technique tips? I also need to learn to plaster with sand+cement because I have some exterior rendering to do too.
JIf the previously posted training center is at the wrong end of the country then you might want to look at these people:
Seri
If they haven't mangled it beyond all recognition & usablility, use Google Groups to search back through this group for a starter.
Andrew Gabriel in particular has posted many excellent replies on this subject - I followed the instructions verbatim for the last & largest bit of plastering that I had to do, and was surprised about how much better the results were than previous attempts.
The
Tim
Ah - can help you on this as I've tried most. I'm sure professionals or others might disagree but don't use anything that doesn't say British Gypsum (or Gyproc) on the label. Have tried most of the others and I'm sure experts can use them well but the BG ones seem to get a better finish easier.
Don't use browning or whatever. Bonding coat is the same price and sticks to anything better without needing a coat of PVA or other measures.
Don't use the 'Universal' final coat. Use the specific one for the job - Topcoat or Board Finish.
And finally where an absolutely top class finish is essential, use a final thin layer of EasyFill.
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