Hi all,
Ive been plastering since before christmas and even now still struggeling with some jobs ive taken on, although all customers have been very happy with the outcome of my work. i origianally took a 4 day plastering course to help out a guy i used to work for on his jobs mostly to know how to get the right mixes, patch repair when ever he hired a plasterer (so general lacky) etc. unknown to me the week i finished my course the plasterer my boss had hired decided he'd under priced the job we were on an demanded more money, resulting in him walking out on the job. leaving me fresh from a beginners plastering course and put on the spot to finish the job "the job being a old fashioned pub that hadnt seen the light of day in over 20 yrs, suffering from severe damp, crumbled walls back to brick and extremely high ceilings". this resulted with me re-plastering this old pub into 2 new flats stripping all plaster back to brick work and dot and dabbing, all stud work, over boarding ceilings etc so tried to pick it up as quick as i could. the finish of my work was fine just the time taken was not so great.

As of today all my jobs i have taken on have been successful although i still feel there are things i could be doing better, i have only just recently set up my own company and already have been flooded with work due to people recommending me. Im grateful of the work but sometimes reluctant to turn it down due to my lack of experience and worry of keeping on top of bigger jobs. I am quite slow when compared to plasterers i have worked with in the past so i struggle with my time keeping but i charge £65 as a day rate and im never short of work, as i can polish up to a glass finish even though this is frowned upon due to decorating purposes the customers seem to always request it.

so here are my questions!!

1. what price range should i be charging as a day rate concidering my plastering is of a professional standard, although im not the fastest of plasterers and this sometimes holds me back from taking on jobs, should i charge per mr2? do you charge more for reskimming old plaster compared to board? day rate? how do you charge for patch repair? refitting damaged corner beading? how do you charge for prepping walls such as stripping wall paper etc (or would you even concider doing this with being a plasterer?)

2. how do you prep ur old plaster walls for reskimming, dilution of pva/water ratio, how many coats, time before applying plaster. on previous jobs i have found myself almost destroying walls due to the plaster setting like stone while still applying yet in other areas still soaking wet.

3. how do i go about plastering larger walls? the largest ive managed so far was 7ft x 12ft without having to break it up into smaller sections using scrim tape. what routines do you use to do large sections before the plaster has a chance of setting on you?

4. i have a single finishing trowel 14x5 ragni stainless steel i use for applying both coats of plaster and troweling up which i have worn in and i find it brilliant although i find the plaster tends to stick to it during the end of applying the plaster to the wall resulting in it needing more work when flattening out, is this wrong should i be using two separate trowels?

sorry for such a mind boggle of questions but any advice would be greatly appreciated as i wish to be as best as i can, and allot of the time find it frustrating.

Well done for stepping up to the plate. My first plastering job was a loft on £ 50 per day onto board and they weren't too bothered about the finish. That was quite a while back.

Your questions:-

1 You should charge skimming on a meterage rate (£5 ish) unless it is all small areas such as downstairs cloakrooms etc, or patching areas, in which case you should charge on a day rate of at least £ 100 because even if you are slow, it is rare that those type of jobs last for more than a day, so even if it would take an experienced plasterer 3 hours and takes you five hours, the price should end up similar . Prepping walls, you should charge the same day rate. A decorator would charge £ 120 a day if asked to do it and I don't see why you would be any slower at it provided that you know what you are doing and don't spend all day with a steamer wasting time.

2. PVA. guess the suction of the different areas of the wall, then pva 4:1 the most suction, then pva all over with second coat, then third if you need to, leave it to go tacky then put it on in one go. If you are slow, you will need to use more PVA to maximise the working time of the plaster.

3. Larger walls, you just have to work faster. Mix up in a gorilla tub which will take up to 1.5 bags (15sqm.) Make sure you have a hop up to reach the top, working off steps etc will slow you down. Work quickly, put it all on, then go back to where you started and level it out. From what you have said, this is the part you really need to work on. If you are organised, you should be able to do 10sqm easily and will be able to work your way up to larger walls. Ceilings of 25sqm and above are a real fight. Anything more than two bags can be a bit of an effort.

4. Not sure about the last point. Is the plaster starting to stiffen at this point. If so, you are probably taking too long putting it on.

Good luck and keep going.

From a business side I wouldn't tell people your dayrate is so low or you will work for that forever!

For most jobs just quote how much it's going to be. Most clients think people hang things out when on day rate. As you get faster you will find you have made a rod for your own back cos they will tell their friends how much you charge per day making it difficult to charge more.

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My preferred rate if I'm getting a spread in is per m, or fixed price. I would never have any trade on day rate, unless it was extras to the main contract.

And it you polished it up like glass you'd be hacking it off and starting again.

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Im no plasterer but sounds waaay too cheap.£325 a week and you have to take off your fuel,accounts,tax and all those other little overheads.Fuel alone going around pricing up jobs will take a fair bit from your bottom line.

You must aim to do at least 20 metres a day. I would only do less than 30 metres if it is either a small room, has alot of small sections or is not a full day.