Plastering?

Question

As a single parent I tend to attempt all the diy jobs at home. I am looking into booking onto a introduction to plastering course in Oct at my local college which is one day a week for 6 weeks total of 36 hours. People tell me not to bother as i will not master this within this time scale. I am not looking to do this as a full time career all i want to do is be able to plaster all the walls in my house as they are in a bad state and cannot afford a plasterer. Can someone please advise if i would be wasting my money by doing this course or should i go for it and hope i get some use out of it and will be able to do my walls in my home

Many thanks in advance
Jackie

Answer 1

Plastering is hard work. Try another hobby.

Answer 2

Take the long course as there is more to plastering than slapping bonding on a wall. You have to be aware of plaster acids and what kind of plaster to put on outside walls in what temperature zones, the difference between hard and soft plasters. The physical skill factor can be picked up after a few hours practice and after you have learned how to use the timberwork for leveling. If you ignor these pointers you could end up with a floor piled with plaster and you out of pocket.Good luck.

Answer 3

Jackie

Do you mean Plastering or Drywalling?

Plastering a whole home is a large and difficult job.

You may be further ahead to tackle one room at a time and remove the plaster from the walls and cielings.

Plastering:

Plastered walls are superior to drywalled walls.

You have to install 3/8" lathboard.

Put on a Mud coat and let it cure could takes up to 2 months depending on the humidity.

White coat and finish. has to cure up to 2 months depending on humidity.

You do not want to have either of the coats to dry too fast as it will crack.

Drywalling:

Install Drywall instead. There are 3 main thicknesses of drywall.

3/8" not recommended. Very light, does not stay straight - will look wavy and can be damaged easily.

1/2" better and most commonly used.

5/8" firecode. This wil be closest to Plastering. This does a much better job. Has better sound dampening and is fire rated. It is much heavier than 1/2" and more costly.

As for the course, it will train you how to tackle repairs and you will have an appreciation of what goes into preparing walls and ceilings for finishing

Good Luck..

Answer 4

It would not hurt to go to this college course, However plastering is a trade which takes 3 years to learn.
But if you are determined to do it yourself then go to the college and they should teach you the essentials and the basics, the rest is just practice,practice,practice.
You will find that you will drop lots on the floor - so cover them up well. You will also get frustrated and ratty but in the end hopefully you will be glad you did it.
You will need to buy a percussion drill, a cheap one will do. eg from wickes for £20.00 and a paddle mixer about £6.00
You will need a Gorilla tub (large flexible bucket) £6-10.
A roller and roller tray - £2.00
Unibond PVA - £5.00
A gauging trowel - £2.00
A worn in trowel - (a brand new trowel will not do the job as it needs to be worn in. A new trowel has too many sharp corners and will drag in the plaster.) £30-40
A hawk - £10-15.00
And of course plaster around £5.00 a bag.
A couple of buckets.
You will need to clean your tools regularly as plaster sticks like crazy.
The art to plastering is mastered when your walls are perfectly flat (without any dips or bumps) and they are perfectly smooth (without any rough spots).
I wish you all the luck in the world (you may need it) and don't forget, nothing ventured, nothing gained!!
Have fun

Answer 5

Classes for DIYers is never really a waste. You will take away from the class the parts that interest you the most. And talk to everyone in class, you would be surprised that someone may have a tip or two to share with you!

The biggest tip I can think to share with you is that if your planning on texturing your walls (light/heavy trowel look) then be sure to not put the plaster on thick. When it dries it will crack and look terrible. Which will leave you spending time working on those small cracks. Figure out which size mud blade you want to use for your trowel marks (small, medium, larger, larger). Place a fare amount of plaster on the wall (at least a 3-4 square foot area at a time). And make 1/4 circular motions with the trowel in various positions. Don't try to plan the layout of the trowel marks, it won't look right. Just get in and do it. When your done with each section, stand back and look at it so you can touch up little areas that don't look right!

Answer 6

Good girl ! go for it. yes you will not become a professional plasterer in that time, but you may well learn enough, to carry out the repairs to the walls in your house, as long as you are happy with the result, that's all that matters. you will also save yourself a small fortune.......All power to you.

Answer 7

ive been in the trades industry for nearly 15 years and plastering is hard work! is there not a way you can try it without paying the full price to see if you are going to get the hang of it! it does take time to get acustomed to it- it may end up messy!!!!

Answer 8

DO ITJACKIE! Go for it you will be glad you did! Even if you dont master the process, you will be able to do a job that you will be happy with. It may take you longer than a pro but hey its low cost. Good luck, Swequin

Answer 9

go for it Jackie ..its a great trade ..dirty ..and physically very hard ..of coarse you are not going to learn it all in six weeks .but you will know if you like it or not..nowadays most walls are what we call dotted..you will soon learn what this is and its easier than the original undercoat or browning ..ceilings are hard but you can hire machine to hold the boards in place give it a go !

Answer 10

Go on the course,Learn what you can,Knowledge is power.Best of luck.