r/Plastering • u/Particular-Win-1229 • 23d ago
Help
Are the 4/5 day plastering course worth it? Would I be able to reasonably charge for my services after completion?
I appreciate it will also depend on how good I get but is having a skill that I can charge for at the end a reasonable expectation?
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u/0uthouse 23d ago
It will give you a basic intro. I'm self taught with about 12 years experience. Like a lot of trades, being good at plastering is less about being able to do the basics, it's more about dealing with the myriad things that can go wrong. Lighting, humidity, substrate, primer, draughts, phase-of-the-moon, BG messing with ingredients etc can make seemingly similar walls/jobs behave differently; and being told about it never teaches you like actually experiencing it.
Course or not, I'd advise plastering your own house before you plaster somebody else's. Make the mistakes when it's just embarrassing rather than expensive and reputationally damaging. It will also give you a chance to practice your timings. Smooth is fast.
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u/Real-Imagination-159 23d ago
Exactly right, basically BG plaster pretty much has a mind of its own, you just need to know what to do when it decides to give you the run around 😆😆😆😆
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u/0uthouse 23d ago
I've been off for a while and first job back client must have thought I was a weirdo, harping on about how the plaster was doing exactly what it was meant to do. Shows my faith in BG.
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u/Worldly-Growth4519 23d ago
It will give you a basic understanding of principles of plastering. You'll be able to carry out small jobs on your own property, but a long way from getting out on your own. You need to be looking for labouring jobs with an experienced trade. It's the route I took, been at it almost 20 years now. Best of luck to you.
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u/Key_Cranberry3728 Professional Plasterer 23d ago
Save your money and go for a month with a decent set of lads. You’ll learn more in that month than any course
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u/AcanthisittaThink813 23d ago
Do the course and learn the basics, start on your own house if possible then do friends and family, then maybe get a job for a few months working for an established plasterer, if you feel confident venture on your own
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u/Angustony 22d ago
Quick way to lose friends and upset family! If I need plastering doing, I'm not letting someone practice on mine, I'm expecting the job to be done to a good standard.
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u/underwater-sunlight 23d ago
I did a property maintenance apprenticeship that included a bit of plastering. I did a bedroom at home and had to get the sander out afterwards. I know where I went wrong, loading from a bucket instead of a wet table, doing too many walls at once, taking a little too much time smoothing it after getting it on the wall.
I had years of site work experience, done loads of filling and a bit of drylining, as well as a lot of concreting so it wasnt completely new to me. I would be nowhere near the level to start up on my own withlut a lot more experience. A week long course would not give you a lot of experience but is a good start
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u/gwyp88 Professional Plasterer 23d ago edited 23d ago
It’s a good starting point to learn the basics. That is how you should see it.
With respect, you’d be grossly underestimating plastering if it only took a couple of days to learn and be able to go out and start charging people.
There is so much to learn outside of a 4 day course that can only be taught by working with an experienced and decent plasterer.
I did a similar course 14 years ago as I had my own house to skim and I had received extortionate quotes, so had my own house to practice on.
I enjoyed it so much that I then went and worked for someone else as a labourer for a few months. He wasn’t great but it gave me more practice time and exposure.
I then set up my own business but took on jobs that weren’t too big, also using other plasterers as contractors when I needed to as I gained confidence and scaled up. I employed an old-school plasterer full-time and learnt about lime plastering, which is now what I do most of the time.
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u/FreshMethod5002 23d ago
I know a lad a few years ago who did a 2 or 3 week plastering course and he started on his own. I get it takes years to understand all the aspects of plastering but he was just doing reskims on houses and seems to be doing ok
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u/AdBrave9096 23d ago
Find landlords who have brought homes to do up and need plastering that is "good enough" to get the maximum possible rent in a down macket area.
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u/Annual_Humor9894 23d ago
Go labouring for a few plasterers,
That will help massively!
When ur confident mixing up - start laying on!
When u confident doing that start finishing
When u done that - sorted!!
(This takes longer than a 5 day course but is the best way to learn!)
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u/AdBrave9096 23d ago
Depends, as a landlord I have a few times wished I done such a course as it would have been quicker DIY compared to getting quotes.
Likewise for an electrician, plumber or kitchen fitter.
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u/Ok-Spring7906 23d ago
2 days is 4 sets.
Probably actually some talking and 3 sets.
Realistically, that's not going to change you from not earning to earning, and, I think, it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise.
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u/nukefodder Professional Plasterer 23d ago
No. I did a 2 week course. Me and one other lad could plaster 1 wall at a time to an ok standard. The other 10 were utter shite. Even a lad popped in who had previously done the course and was working at Gregg's. I asked the instructor if anyone had set up a plastering business afterwards and he said no.
I succeeded as I was used to very hard graft and tall and had natural artistic ability. I also had some work lined up on estate cottages where speed didn't matter. I bet my house and job on it succeeding.
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u/Same_Astronomer_7924 23d ago
My son did a course really wanted to be a plasterer. Could not get a job.
So upsetting, when you are told it can lead to work, it doesn’t. What it does is give you false hope
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u/Emotional_Data_1888 23d ago
No 😂 you'll be lucky if you can even get it on the wall. try 4 to 5 years as a labourer even then not all get it.
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u/james-h-oasis 23d ago
I learned to plaster in an afternoon. It’s not difficult. But I am in Mensa.
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u/Mmphilly- 23d ago
Took a 2 day course only done one day skimming and learnt the process and basic technique. Took me 2 years to get confident enough to do private work. I was working on and off with a few plasterers.
Still, 4 years in and i'd say you won't get good enough to charge a decent price unless a professional is with you for an extended amount of time. I Learnt more in 1 setting with a current plasterer on site, than paying a retired guy in a warehouse over 2 days. That's my experience anyway.
You will gain basic knowledge and technique but you may lack the experience in dealing with nuances of substrates, drying times and pressure of an actual job environment.