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I taped and textured the walls in a room at our next door neighbors house when I was 15 yrs old. I'd been working for my Dads company since I was 12 in the summer time & on school breaks, I wasn't as confident as the neighbor was in what I was able to do on my own but I think the out come wasn't...

I've seen that happen over here in the states where they might have skimmed the ceiling with drywall compound and then sanded it smooth, then without removing any of the dust they prime the wall / ceiling and then finish paint it. Before you know it the paint is popping off because it's only...

https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/en/products-solutions/products/finishes/plasters.html What part of the US did you move to?

If I built a scaffold like that the State would fine me a ton of money, unless they saw a Mexican working on it. Then they'd just look the other way because it would just be too much paper work going after an illegal and they'd probably have to spend state funds to deport them and all.

You want rough? Had to match this a year ago.

Just about all of my work is residential since I've been on my own. The main things I DON'T miss about working on commercial sites is the theft of tools and equipment. And usual horrible parking and inconvenient places to stage your set up areas. Oh and those asshole megalomaniac job...

I quit 14 years ago. My Grandfather, my best friend, and my Dad all died of lung cancers. Woke me up a bit, + it's nice not having to spend all that money on something that isn't doing you any good.

In the mid 1980's for a year I worked for the Seattle School District on their maintenance crew, there was around 100 people on the crew, electricians, plumbers, brick masons, painters, window/ glass, carpenters, and more. While I was working there they busted the electrican foreman and a couple...

My Brother is in the Union here in Seattle. When he puts in a full week with them they take about $100.00 (66￡)/week from his pay for "working assessments". I quit the union back in 1989. When I joined the union we used to get money for parking downtown, travel pay when you got sent out over 30...

Two weeks ago I priced out a job I didn't particularly wan't also. Almost no plasterers in this area that will do this type of work - a derivative of a Milestone material with a matching color outside on some garden walls. You leave it smooth and then stone grind it by hand the next day. I...

There was a blurb on the news this morning here in Seattle about you guys doing the renovation in Manchester, so it must be big news.

Here in the States my materials supplier switched from Synergy products to Parex almost 2 years ago I was real happy because the Parex products seemed to be a lot better priced. After having problems with the color fastness, plasterers not happy with the workability of the materials, and Parex...

Honey go in the living room and make sure the kids aren't climbing the walls.

My Dad came down with asbestosis (He passed away back in 2000). They used to spray asbestos onto metal pans & beams back in the 1950's & 60's. The attitude back then was "real men" don't need to wear masks. We also used to throw in a shovel full of asbestos with every batch of stucco mud that...

It helps if you build a moat around your house and fill it with hungry alligators, that really messes with those nutty wolves.

In the past when I used to lay on walls, like that, it was generally expected that the average footage a plasterer would get on in a day if there was a hod carrier on the job and the walls were a nice clear go of it would be around 100 sq. yds. which translates to around 85 sq. meters / day. As...

I heard about some people building straw bale homes on the islands around here, never worked on one though. I ought to look into the plastering part of them. It sure is nice to work up in the San Juan Islands...

Like those Aztec Friezes too, are those somewhat hand carved?

Hey Mud, great work!!! I live up here in Washington State. Are you using hemp fibers or fiberglass fibers to reinforce your material?

There's no way that I'd ever do a partnership locked into the same business. I watched my Dad go in a few times with partners and it never ended up well. I had a real-estate partner in an apartment building and I was so glad to get out of that deal. I have good luck co-bidding on jobs with two...

I've had quite a few over the years. Back when I was in my early 20's I had the scaffold scoot apart on me and the planks let loose. I ended up doing a cart wheel in the air and planting my face into a scaffold horse and landing on the pavement. Another time I was spraying fireproofing onto...

OUCH!!!!

Over here (US) in our area we found that a lot of cracking like you have going on was caused by sand that was too rounded off. Our materials supplier found a source that supplied sharper sand and that has helped a lot. A lot of grumbling went on about the sharper sand because it seems to be a...

I bought one of those felt brushes years ago, they were using them for water troweling lime putty finishes where it isn't too bad to have a little extra moisture on the wall. It also kept the wall from getting too shiny so you don't piss off the painters. I never really liked using it for the...

Okay, a long time ago back when I was an employee I worked for a swimming pool company for a time. The bosses son was building an underground house and they had me over there stuccoing the one exposed side of the house. They had 5" ridged foam on the outside that I had to anchor casings & metal...

I used to work weekends and nights, got so my job was getting in the way of my side work. So I quit my job and got all the insurances and my license back when I was 34. Sometimes I don't like all the paper work that I have to do after hours but that goes with the territory. It's nice not having...

The Mineralite finish has a mix thats' real close to my sample too. They want you to acid wash everything on the last go through. My bid is going to specify that most of the plants need to be removed & relocated while I'm redoing their walls, There will still be a lot of landscaping plants in...

Sorry it was two coats…

The difference between Clay Plaster and Venetian Plaster was Venetian has lime in it where as Clay Plaster has the same ingredients except clay is switched for lime. I was surprised that with Venetian you might apply multiple thin layers and you get much the same thing with one slightly thicker...

Also I'm pretty sure that the aggregates aren't any larger than 20/30.

That just might be on the list when I do some samples, I'm a bit worried that I might not have time to work it before I have some dry spots that won't take the aggregate, and there are a lot of chamfered corners that I have to consider, but if I do those after the walls setup it might still be okay.

Im pretty sure that the aggregate was mixed into the finish. I've been thinking that as long as I can get the color to reasonably match and also the coloration of the aggregate close, if I add some acrylic (Acryl 60) I can trowel the mix (white cement , lime, aggregate, color) on and come back...

That might work well if the finish wasn't veneered over existing concrete. Now I know what a bush hammer / needle gun is.

I've spent the better part of the day researching different manufacturers and availible cement colors and possible silica aggregate manufacturers. I am going to need to match the existing finish on quite a few garden retainer walls at a really high end house. I haven't been out to bid on the...

I did some clay plaster a few months ago. If you are familiar with venetian plaster you shouldn't have any problem with clay plaster. Just read up on the manufacturers info, and check material pricing before giving them a bid.

Just out of curiosity I looked up the warranty for Marshalltown UK 8. Guarantee / Warranty Details All of our products carry a manufacturers guarantee (unless otherwise stated) covering both faulty materials and faulty workmanship, it does not cover general wear and tear or damage & does not...

Nice to see people who take such pride in their work.

Does it feel pain when you pierce it with a sharp screw?

The sad thing on that Alaskan job was that their union wouldn't recognize you as a union plasterer unless you moved your card up to their local, then all your benefits got paid into their pension and medical plans and if you didn't put in enough time up there you lost everything that got paid in...

Back in the mid 80's my Dads company took on the largest stucco job ever done in Alaska, eight month long project. It was a large middle school in Anchorage, we had to lath over heavy gauge metal studs and stucco all the outside walls, inside hallway walls & ceilings, and gymnasium walls, and...

Underestimating is your fault unfortunately, but when the architect adds something to the plans you have to be able to add something to the price.

One of the journeyman plasterers (Larry Everett) that worked for my Dad for many years was a Winner in the Plasterers' & Cement Masons Statewide Apprenticeship Competition in California back in the early 1960's. He passed away a few years ago now. My brother and I both were lucky to have spent...

Looks like it took a quick trip through a blast furnace.

My brother who is also a plasterer screwed up his back a week ago and has been off work trying to heal up. Back in the 1980's I really screwed up my back and tore up a disk in L5. I had the option of getting an operation or laying low for a while, I chose not to get cut open . It took about 3...

Back in late 2012 I had a stairway all scheduled in I had been waiting a couple of months for this to happen, then I was finally able to go out and look at it all framed in. This was going to come in real handy because work had been real slow for quite awhile and this was indoors with winter...

A couple of ears ago when I was getting close to renewing my insurances I was asking my broker to shop around for me because they were raising my rates again, I had been getting my coverage through Lloyds of London, they said they couldn't find anybody cheaper than $1,600 a yr (1032.00￡). So...

I'd be happy if that was me over here.

Just for your info. over here in the states I'm paying $160.00 for a required bond and around $1,300.00/yr (840￡) for my liability insurance (2 million) - we have to many lawyers and law suits over here, makes the insurance rates go up.

The business is probably in the hands of "Grandpa Curry" who still thinks the internet is just a new fangled passing fad.

Marshall Town, and Curry http://www.currytool.com/101z.phtml