Plastering

[tysfoot]

Ive done a thread before on this but as there a loads more people using the website now ill start a new one

Do any of you do plastering with your tiling

Ive thought of doing a plastering course as almost all walls are a bit rough in places. some are ok to tile on to but some need completly plastering so why not kill two birds with one stone

I think ive lost a few jobs in the past cos i dont do plastering and this week in the local rag right next to my ad is "tiling, plastering also avaliable"

If i was a customer i would hire the guy who does the plastering if i didnt know what was behind those old tiles

What so you think ? Will a 4 day course be enough ? or 8 day intensive course ?

 

[Raja]

as many bows under ur arrow as possible. Education is the only way forward.

 

[tiler burden]

it will take you a couple of years to get to a decent standard. it is far more skill demanding than tiling. using sand and cement takes time to get used to. your skimming will take a couple of months at least to get to a pro standard. even floating out a wall in using a backing coat, setting up screeds and feathering off take real practice, honestly mate its not a 5 day or 10 day trade, ask mark devon if you think i am over exagerating..

if i were you i would advertise cleverly and state, walls plastered prior to tiling. that way, you will target the people need both and not full house re-skims etc..
it is really hard work physically and requires alot of patience. the reason i am getting away from plastering is because i believe there is more money to be made in tling if you target the right clients.

as i have stated previously, the best training centre in the uk is goldtrowel but thats only my opinion..its not always the wise thing to do a bit of everything. if i were you i would be a tiling specialist only and get set up well and organised and target the natural stone market. you have lots of affluent areas around manchester so it shouldnt be hard


ED

 

[jacko]

When you state plastering,do you mean skim a new board?, or hardwall/finish to brickwork/blocks ? very difficult to skim flat, uneven walls,most times better to glue a new board on ,apd prime,and your tiling. plastering for tiling, your only concern is how plumb/flat it is and not to concerned about the finished surface .finding latley clients wanting half tiling with a painted wall above in bathrooms in this case ,over board,and skim . it takes a lot of practise and you need to be doing it often to improve and keep your eye in ,not an easy trade to master ,especially if you only do a few jobs ever so often.

 

[Yorkie]

Totally aree with raja, which is why we have listened to the needs of our students and are now in the final stages of opening up our brand new centre, Diamond Plastering offering a range of courses from 4 and 8 day short courses aimed primarily at assisting Tilers, through to a longer duration course leading to a City and Guilds Qualification.

Our tutors are full A1 Assesors and have more than 20 yrs experience.

(sorry for the shamefull plug )

 

[tysfoot]

Cheers for the replys lads

I would only do plastering prior to tiling. i know plastering is a hard skill and very phsically demanding.
I dont even know hoe to dot and dab so surely the course will come in handy for something.


As i said i will only use this for my tiling and not advertise plastering a seperate

Here is what i would learn on the course,

What you will learn

• Health and safety training, safety wear and correct practice
• How to mix plastering materials (multi finish, board finish, bonding and drywall adhesive)
• How to apply plasterboard to a wooden frame
• How to apply plasterboard to a brick surface using dry wall adhesive (dry lining/dot and dab)
• How to fill and repair an open fireplace using bonding coat
• How to prepare and repair exterior/interior walls using sand and cement
• How to prepare for skimming using scrim tape, skim beads and angle beads
• How to plaster a ceiling
• How to skim around a window
• How to skim on top of bonding
• How to polish final skim
• Advice on employment

During the 2 Day Pure Skimming Course you will learn how to perfect the techniques you have previously acquired and take them to a more advance level using new methods to gain extra fluency and master speed skimming with your trowel.
What you will learn

• How to perfect your skim mix
• How and when to use new speed skimming techniques
• How to skim damaged walls areas back to perfection
• How to skim around obstacles
• How to skim from skirting board up

Do you think this course will teach my how to plaster or get a wall from a bad state into a flat wall for tiling whatever the means from this checklist above

Thanks for your comments

 

[Ric]

plasterboarding dot and bab plus mechanical fixing is something you could do yourself with a bit of practice tys. its amazing what you can do when you have a bit of experience with the trowels.....

 

[tysfoot]

my dad has nicely said he wll pay for the course as its costs me hundreds of pounds to set up as a tiler. thought the plastering may come in handy.

As a freeby will this course show me most things of how to plaster priot to tiling

 

[Ric]

be good if u let us know how useful the course is....may get some people in the mood for it!!!

 

[james]

i can get a really uneven wall back to within about 3mm but i Can't seem to skim, guess it just practise. but i pass on plastering work as alot of friends and 2 of my family plaster.

 

[floydyboy]

Tiler burden is corect plastering is a highly skilled job and no fast track course will get you any where near being a plasterer.i have been a plasterer for 20 years and there is too much to know and learn . there is no way they can teach you the trade in 1,2 or 3 weeks it is impossible.i have an apprentice with me and is on is 3rd year and still can not dash properly [and he is a good 1]IF THE PLASTERING IS NOT RIGHT U GOT PROBLEMS. as most of us will know.:mad2:

 

[bigdaz]

I did a 5 day course and then plastered friends and family's walls for free to build up experience. Once I was happy with my progress I started to advertise and got quite a few jobs in.
the first attempt after the course was a 12x7' wall which took me 12 hours and looked rough. a few months later I could skim an average size room in 8 hours doing my own mixing and I was getting recommendations so guess I cant be too bad. Ceilings can be hard work but not much call for them if you want to plaster as part of your tiling

I have used backing plaster, dot & dab and of course topcoat but never sand and cement although thats what we used on the course so i know the basics of it.

only downside I can see is as well as paying for a new course you'll have to invest hundreds in a new set of tools too

 

[tysfoot]

you all seem really negative about the plastering. thought i might have got different opionions.

Im gonna do it even thought it takes years at least ill have a understnding

Like i said im only gonna use it for tiling so if i can learn dot and dab and putting up plasterboards its something worth doing.

 

[james]

end of the day its only your view that matters.
its a good skill but might be a while till your happy to tile your own plastering.

 

[tysfoot]

like i said im only goin to use the course to plasterboard and dot and dab, surely that doesent take years to master.

 

[floydyboy]

you might be better off if you done a dry lining courseit covers all plasering and it might be cheaper.

 

[tysfoot]

is that what dry lining is (dot and dab and plasterboard)

 

[LM Ceramics]

what floydy said about you cant learn plastering in the 3 weeks i would disagree with that i did a 4 day course at lancashire school of plastering and the tutor told me my plastering was sh*t hot

its just the same with the tiling people go on these 4 day courses and go self employed wheres as i learned tiling as an apprentice.

most of my jobs this year have been plastering and all went very well at the end of the day its down to you i think plastering is one of those trades like tiling
you ve either got it or you havent
----
trust me tysfoot go for the course u ll be suprised what you can learn

 

[tiler burden]

hi tysfoot

if thats all you want to learn then it wont take long.

i'll try and put a time limit on what your looking for..

the drylining will be so easy you'll laugh to you self. i have done a post on it on here somewhere, were i went through it step by step. but if you can tile then you wont have any issues. if you were doing it for say 1 week all day, then you would have all the little tips picked up for doing average size rooms in that period. its all about organisation plastering because you are dealing with the setting times so you have to know what to do and when to do it. theres alot of pressure on because when a wall starts to go off and you are losing it, then theres not much you can do. at least you can scrape the addy off the wall when tiling and go and have a break!!

skimming. i would say it will take 2-3 months to get to a very good standard. and when i say a very good standard, i mean a faultless wall because thats what you should have mate. no cats faces, no water marks just a flat solid smooth wall, so even if you consider yourself good, then 2 months is realistic.

add another 2 months for floating out walls using screeds if you want the walls perfect.

floor screeds in sand and cement, say 1 months practice after you've learned the above and then thats it, you have all you need.

so there you go, i am being positive for you mate. do your course, learn as much as you can practice practice practice and ask me or any of the lads on here who plaster and we'll all try and get you there as fast as possible ;0)

 

[tysfoot]

cheers burden what a good post

 

[billy123]

hiya mate the more you can do the more money you will make.i find that you can do plastering jobs to supplement your tiling jobs. people refer the one stop shop these days,you go for it best of luck mate

 

[tysfoot]

cheers mate, like i said my dad is paying for the course so its not costing me anything and im only doing for better knowledge of getting walls level. not gonna take plastering as a carear

 

[james]

just avoid large areas to plaster to start.

 

[brummie tiler]

Ive tried my hand at plastering now and again. I made the mistake of thinking 'Iam an experianced tiler using a trowel all day, how hard can it be' Not as easy as i had imagined at all!!I dont mind doing it before tiling but wouldnt trust myself to achieve a nice paintable finish.

 

[tiler burden]

knowing what i know,

then i would learn some aspects of plastering because it will compliment your tiling.

my dad was what you call a real old style time served tiler and he could float out walls and swimming pools perfectly in sand and cement. he also was a taught to do floor screeds, to falls, etc. he learned to skim in no time at all. he was a terrazzo layer and served a 7 year apprenticeship in italy. he did stone work, restoration work in turin, naples and rome. there wasnt one aspect of tiling he didnt cover and he was as good a plasterer as you will find due to his tiling trade.
he claimed that if you where a tiler, then you would have far greater appreciation to why a floor or wall needs to be totally flat, therefore it made you a better plasterer than a plasterer, if you know what i mean!!!

unfortunately for me, my dad liked tiling more than kids so i didnt see him much lol

i dont always think its best to too many things because you end up slower than a pro and your real money will come from what you are good at, which on this forum is tiling. yes, be in position to floor screed and flatten/level a wall or maybe skim a bathroom ceiling but, for the rest, sub out and put some money on top and put your real skills into the meterage and quality of laying tiles ;0)