Question for Plasterer

Stevo10

Hi

My main question is if I undertake a 3 day plastering course, will this realistically be enough for me to be able to skim walls and ceilings to a decent standard. I am a DIY'er rather than looking to make a career from it.

Background on my project; I've recently moved into a house which is 30 yr old and the majority of it hasn't been decorated again in that time. There is wallpaper on all of the walls which has been painted several times over the years.

I am looking at some point to remove the paper and I am assuming the walls will probably need skimming before they could be painted.

I would also like to skim the ceilings to cover over the artex.

I would probably start with spare bedrooms after the course to get a bit more experience rather than jumping straight into a living room.

Any advice is appreciated

bryanb

I'm not a plasterer, but I guess it all depends on your aptitude, manual dexterity and ability to learn. Good luck.

southcoastrgi

you can't learn to do anything properly in 3 days but it might give you indication of what to do, however if you do muck it up & need to get a plasterer in then it will prob cost you more to repair your work than if you had just got them in in the first place

MX5huggy

Plastering is the one thing I don't bother with DIY. Any other skill you can take along as you like to get the finish you want but plastering you have to a whole wall/ ceiling at a time and it sets.

LEJC

I must agree with the others who have posted and say that whilst you may pick the principle of plastering up in 3 days it really does take time and practice to achieve the really smooth finish you will only get from a professional...

Out of interest how much is the course..?
We have just had every ceiling and wall plastered it was a 10 day job and cost £1650...I cant honestly imagine taking on a whole house with only 3 days worth of knowledge
but should you continue with your thoughts,and They are brave, I wish you lots of luck!

Stevo10

It's looking like a 3 day course may be a bit optimistic to give enough knowledge and skill to achieve a decent finish.

The 3 day course is £220, which was why it was an appealing option, but not much of a saving if I then have to get someone to fix my mess.

Maybe time to start saving!

C_Mababejive

Why not go on the Golden Trowel course where they guarantee you will earn £35k pa minimum (4 weeks training-cost £2k)

http://www.goldtrowel.co.uk/plastering_courses.html

art_for_arts_sake

I've tried plastering. Professional plasterers more than earn every penny. Unless you have someone able and willing to help you out with mixing and cleaning I wouldn't even go there, it was the hardest work I've ever done in my life and made filling skips with concrete look a doddle. Time is of the essence as MX5huggy points out, not just in applying the stuff but cleaning up after too.

Buellguy

I did a 2 day course as part of my resettlement on leaving the Army and I've done a fair bit of our house (kitchen, 3 ceilings, bit of the living room and patching from where we had the rewiring done). No, the results aren't what a professional plasterer would get but we are happy with them and it's saved a lot of money.
Be aware - IT IS NOT EASY - it is VERY hard physical labour (you don't see many fat plasterers and if you do don't hire them LOL - oh and that advise came from a plasterer), getting the plaster on the wall is about 10% of the work, smoothing it out is the other 90%
What you pay for with plastering isn't the materials (cheap) but the skill (and it takes a hell of a lot)
Have I regretted what we did - no - but it's taken a long time and the results would have been a lot better if we'd got a professional in to do it. Have we enjoyed it - well yes, at times. It's nice to be able to look up and say 'well I did that'.

LEJC

Well done buell....and I absolutely agree with what you say...My husband picks things up quite easily and would have loved to do something like this but again the reality has to set in....it really is no fun living in a house whilst its being plastered,and the dust isnt able to be contained to the area that your working in...so its not always the best diy project to have ongoing in my mind!...for us it was money well spent on a professional.

phill99

Learning to plaster is easy and you will learn the basics in 3 days. However your finishing skills will be pants. You have to keep on practicing and practicing until you can achieve a good quality finish. And that will take months.

The plasterer I use did a 2 week course but spent the next year plastering (for free) hi friends and families houses before he felt confident to do it professionally.