PLASTERER
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Plasterer Job Description and Duties:

What could Plasterer help You the Homeowner with:
A plasterer is a tradesman who works with building material called plaster, forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been used in building construction for quite a long time.
In process of plastering, comparatively quite a few tools and materials are required, but the workman skilled in the craft will possess a very large variety of tools. The materials the workman used to use are laths, lath nails, lime, sand, hair, plaster of Paris, and a variety of cements, together with various ingredients to form colorful plasters.
Plastering today is not an easy job. There is much more to the plastering that having basic tools as trowel, float and plaster.
There are generally two varieties of plastering materials available now:
-cement-base plaster;
-gypsum-base plaster.
Applying gypsum base cement on gypsum board is the easier when doing the skimming. Skimming is the final plastering step done on a wall. Gypsum-base plastering technique is used in interior plastering because gypsum cannot stand the moisture.
Cement-base plastering technique could be both applied indoors and outdoors. But the cement base plaster is more expensive, but more sturdy material Over the years different plastering techniques have been invented.
The old and tested methods of plastering are still in use today but newer methods in terms of innovative materials or additives are now gaining popularity especially in interior plaster finishes.
Exterior Plastering:
Stucco plaster finishing is still widely used in exterior treatment of walls today. Stucco plaster finish is actually a term applied to all types of exterior plastering whether it be lime or cement. There are four composites under stucco and they are:
-Common stucco plastering - It's plain finish of an exterior wall.
Trowelled stucco finish - This has a very smooth finish achieved by the use of a hand float.
-Rough stucco finish - It is a type of exterior finishing imitating rough stonework. The finish is done by the use of a hand float covered with rough felt. Some specialists prefer to use brushes with stiff bristles for the finish.
-Bastard stucco finish - This surface is like in the common finish but the plaster is laid instead on two coats with a skimming float, cleaned then trowelled.
-Roughcast plaster finish is a coarse finish where pebbles, cement, shells, and sand are mixed with water and then thrown at the wall with a trowel. The idea is to cover the wall evenly with the mixture for a rough but finished look. This finishing used to be a popular exterior finishing at the turn of the 20th century. It s widely used in country homes.
-Modern stucco finish is exterior cement plastering finish. It is a mixture of lime, cement, sand and water in a proportion which is determine by every plasterer individually. Additives are added into the mixture for more flexibility.
-Synthetic stucco finishes. They are called differently by different manufacturers, but they are generally cement-based stucco plastering finishes.
There are three coats for cement-based plastering finish :
-The scratch coat of plaster is the first coat and needs to be scratched for the second finer coat to adhere.
-The brown coat of plaster is finer coat. -The final coat of plaster can be colour coat where the sand and cement are mixed with a coloured component or the final coat could be finished off with an application of paint or any acrylic-based finish.
Interior plastering technique is different from exterior plastering.
There are two types of plastering used for the interior:
-Drywall is a form of sheet rock that is greenish in colour. It is actually a method of constructing interior walls by making use of gypsum boards. The drywall boards are screwed to the wall studs to form the wall. In between the edges of drywall sheets are seams. These seams are covered by a mesh tape after which the screws and the seams are covered with drywall plaster to conceal them for a finished look. The drywall can either be painted on or wallpapered for the final finishing touch.
-Veneer plastering technique- Instead of covering just the seams, the whole wall is plastered with a thin very workable compound. The surface could be ply, drywall or cement. The interior wall material does not really matter as the veneer plastering will cover it anyway. Veneer plastering can be smooth, textured or sponged.
The finishing depends on the owner's preferences or the architect's design. There are different methods of veneer plastering. The most notable are the varied faux finishes that are available in building wholesalers today.
Gaining more popularity is the Venetian plastering where manufacturers claim that your walls will have that authentic "old world" look. Venetian plastering finish is a type of textured plastering that has the colour ingrained in the plaster itself. It is more commonly known as "aged" plaster.
All written above shows how important to employ qualified plastering contractors for a successful finish of Your job.