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how long do you think it takes to be confident enough to go it alone

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spunky

spunky

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if you started from scratch how long do you think it took you to learn and become proficient in youre job as a plasterer not just skimming
 
3 year app plus a couple of year experience id second 5 year min,
depends what work your doing if them 5 years have been spent on site ,and you want to work domestic might aswell be ten,or if your not very good liasing with general public you aint going to cut it ruining your own business
 
i left after 8, but if i'm honest the last 2 years or so i was just plodding along until i realised that i wasnt going to get anywhere without trying. it helps if youve got a decent teacher aswell. i bet theres some blokes out there that want you plastering asap and then theres blokes who want you as a labourer so keep stringing you along.
 
For me it took me a good while. I learned from her dad. I started off just boarding on timber frame buildings, lovely 15mm soundboards, done that for about 18 months to enable me to get to a level where i was earning enough money to get some saved before going to basically a labourers wage whilst learning how to skim again on new builds. Learned how to mix, tape, bead, clean etc then then when had enough time on me hands was allowed to stand by spot board and practice getting it off handboard to trowel, then small cupboard walls and then built up from there. Stayed on just skimming for about 2 and a half years. From that then went on to learn all aspects of metal ceilings and studs as well as the metsec. Stayed on that for about 18 months and earned some really good money. Then went and learned how to float and skim, render and screed whilst doing a mixture of the others after that whilst doing extensions and stuff like that. So in answer it took me about 7-8 years as i spent a good while on each aspect along the way whilst i got some money in to cover me lifestyle!
 
i think it's essential to work site and domestic. On site you got a rocket up ur arse and are hungry for the metres which primes you for big hits, then domestic is all about customer service, dust sheets and plates of biscuits every hour....you could spend years in each situation but completely fall on ur arse out of ur comfort zone....5 years bout right though, just under becoming a doctor etc :D
 
i was labouring for a good 6-7 months before i even picked up a trowel ..8 months later here i am :)
 
i remember standing over the spot all day practicing taking it off the hawk, i thought 'im finally learning' ;D

until i'd be in the way and get a boot up the arse and told to 'move out the fu.cking way cun't'

ah those were the days.

i always thought the old gaffer made up the word 'improver' aswell, until i saw someone on here use it
 
steve cov said:
i remember standing over the spot all day practicing taking it off the hawk, i thought 'im finally learning' ;D

until i'd be in the way and get a boot up the arse and told to 'move out the fu.cking way cun't'

ah those were the days.

i always thought the old gaffer made up the word 'improver' aswell, until i saw someone on here use it
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lol it reminds me of the bloke who tought me ;)
 
the best spread i know is left handed but his boss wasnt having none of it because of tops and bottoms so he had to learn right handed legend ;D
 
when i told them i was left handed they all said 'never seen a decent left handed plasterer' so i thought right im gonna prove them wrong....


ah well i didnt wanna be any good anyway ;D
 
spunky said:
the best spread i know is left handed but his boss wasnt having none of it because of tops and bottoms so he had to learn right handed legend ;D
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i hate doing tops and bottoms lol not good pratice really
 
flat boy skim said:
spunky said:
the best spread i know is left handed but his boss wasnt having none of it because of tops and bottoms so he had to learn right handed legend ;D
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i hate doing tops and bottoms lol not good pratice really
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Yeah I allways said damp courses should be the middle meter :)
 
Capital spread said:
5 years and lots of clouts round the head with a feather edge oh ! you can't do that any more can you
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too right, the alluminium is shi.t now a days, you'd go through too many edges per labourer!
 
I always tell our lads that when there mixes are sh.it if that was my old man back in the day he would of threw it off the scaffold at you, they dont know how easy they got it nowadays. I remember we had a lad when i was first started and he wouldnt make the tea and the blokes on site grabbed him stripped him off tied him up and put him in the front garden bollock naked i was terrified it was gonna happen to me so i always made the tea when asked ;D
 
plastering is changing the work is not the same , its all skimming now days so it would a lot of years to pick up everything needed to become a decent spread .
 
church said:
plastering is changing the work is not the same , its all skimming now days so it would a lot of years to pick up everything needed to become a decent spread .
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Ha ha - I honestly don't think some of the new boys could float & skim a room, but saying that, I wouldn't like to have been around using lime/ horse hair/ wooden corner beads and all that (german word)e either. Things move on and us older gits need to keep up :D
 
You dont have to keep up these days , they are taking the skill out of everything , youve got to slow down to keep up ;D
 
haha if this was how to make a decent living plastering I would say 2 years... that was me but to become an actual decent spread 5 years is teh right way.... some it never comes.

Danny

Pissed up
 
spunky said:
the best spread i know is left handed but his boss wasnt having none of it because of tops and bottoms so he had to learn right handed legend ;D
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wtf ???i'm a left handed, tops and bottoms wtf is that?
 
barryed said:
When someone does the tops of the walls whilst someone does all the bottoms
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it's easier when there is a leftie and a rightie,not in each others way.

and i don't like other people on my wall :mad: especially right handed people.
 
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