How To Become A Plasterer

In this film we're going to talk to you about plastering. There's 2 separate parts of plastering, the course we do here at South Thames is what we called solid plastering, which is what most people consider to be plastering. This includes walls, ceilings, plaster boarding, insulation, screening floors and things like that.

But the other side of plastering is what is sometimes referred to as decorative or fibrous plastering. This includes making cornices, arches, interior and exterior mouldings - things to repair ceilings, repair mouldings and things like that.

If you were out plastering you would do walls and ceilings, and you’d do modern work, which is like plaster finishes. Or you might get asked to repair old buildings. There are quite a lot of calls for that, where you would use older materials and maybe use limes and lime plaster.

You might be asked to repair mouldings, where you'd have to take the existing moulding and copy it and return it.

You also, get quite a lot of guys go and work in the film business. So they will be working on sets. A lot of fellows worked on Harry Potter where they make the scenery. They cast the scenery, they cast it all on benches in a similar way to how we've done today.

To be a plasterer you need to be able to work hard, you can’t worry about getting too dirty. You need to be patient and you also need to have enthusiasm for it. You have to be dedicated.