We asked 100 plasterers for their top tips…
We love the plastering industry and with over 50 years’ experience under our belts, we’re fairly sure we’ve got some good ideas on the best plastering equipment and techniques to use. But don’t just take it from us. We asked 100 plasterers for their top tips and below are some of the things they came out with:
- Make sure your surface is well prepared before you start, as it doesn’t matter how good a plasterer you are if your surface isn’t prepped.
- Don’t mess about too much with your plaster, it’ll end up looking worse than when you started.
- Use a sponge on multi when doing one coat as it gets the same results as two.
- Give windows and skirting boards a quick wipe and dry after the first flattening.
- Or spend a few minutes at the start running masking tape around them.
- Get your PVA mix right and only skim PVA when dry.
- Fill your beads first and go in the direction they’re going in to avoid sloping.
- When your walls are turning, go over them with a hard dry trowel.
- In between trowel stages make sure you bead up.
- Blend, blend, blend – the more flawless your blending becomes the better the job and practice makes perfect.
- Include fuel costs and waste materials in your pricing, as well as tools and van maintenance.
- Give yourself a good early start.
- Word of mouth recommendations from happy customers are great. Keep it professional.
- Never rush through a job. Be your own worst critic and ensure the work you do is up to scratch.
- Don’t give a specific start date for a job until you’re sure you can make it nearer the time as you risk looking unprofessional if the job before runs on.
- Don’t make promises you can’t keep and always go above and beyond what you say you’ll do.
- Allow a day extra when saying how long a job will take, just in case something unforeseen happens.
- Save what money you can when the going’s good to cover the slow periods.
- Get rid of dirty water before you mix up.
- Wear gloves where you can to protect hands that are in and out of water all day.
- Mix up cement and sand with your drill for spotless results.
- Get your van/tools/equipment tidied up at the end of a job as there’s nothing worse than having to do it at the beginning of a new one.
- Don’t leave your buckets full for the next day as they might leak overnight and never leave the mixer in the dirty water bucket – you’ll hate the mess if it tips over.
- Scrim round the edges of switches and sockets once the fronts are off.
- Price your job based on the most awkward bits and how difficult they’ll be to do, such as pipes and fittings that can’t be removed.
- Keep all screws together in a sealed tub or old drinks bottle and avoid losing them.
- Don’t let your plaster get too dry before you’ve finished with it.
- Always use clean water.
- Health and safety is important – when you take risks and hurt yourself you can say goodbye to your earnings.
- Take responsibility for your own safety.
- Realise your true worth and don’t undersell yourself.
- Keep your tools clean as you go along.
Don’t forget you can order your tools online
And finally, we saved the best until last, which is – save yourself time by ordering your tools online with Gypsumtools and have them delivered to wherever you are in the UK!