Local Traders News » plasterer

Irish Home Incinerated In Oil Tank Fire

Nick — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:00:54 +0000

A family home was burned to the ground, and left in total ruin as 12^th of July bonfire celebrations turned into disaster in the East Mount Area of County Down. The blaze was started when a neighbouring bonfire ignited a number of domestic oil tanks, which set ablaze a neighbouring fence and house. A fire alarm alerted the family, and the local fire service was subsequently contacted.

Two other neighbouring homes were saved from ruin by the proficient actions of the local fire service. Remarkably footage of the incident was caught on a local CCTV system, which may at least be used for insurance purposes. It is believed that Northern Ireland building regulations were not adhered as the oil tanks were clearly not stored in a fire safe environment.

A local builder has estimated the cost of repair to run into tens of thousands for the adjacent properties, whereas the torched house will require practically a complete rebuild. The building is said to be needing a complete re-wiring as cables that connect the property disintegrated in the blaze. The houses next door have extensive damage to the roofs and will possibly need re roofing, plastering will need to be redone in the downstairs bedroom of the house, and gardens will need to be landscaped due to water damage.

County Down Fire Service has received praise for their hard work, as if not for them more homes would be ruined. One local fire-fighter is recovery from minor burns in a local hospital.

Wiltshire School Teaches Trade Skills To Combat Truancy

Liam — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 08:00:54 +0000

Pupils at a school in Marlborough are learning new skills that should help them secure work when they leave school. Equipment that has been donated by local businesses is being used to teach alternative courses that suit some students more. Students are learning skills such as plastering and should be able to plaster walls and ceilings when the course is completed. Other students are learning the basics of laying wall and floor tiles and students have expressed an interest in becoming a tiler when they leave school.

For the children that prefer the outdoors there has been a course in gardening where students have been learning on grow fruit and vegetables, cut grass and prevent weeds. An allotment was created by the students and other pupils on a photography course took photographs of the outdoor growing area.

Local tradesmen have been extremely supportive of the courses and many have donated tools and equipment to help the students complete the jobs they are working on. Items such as paint brushes for the painting course and trowels for the plasterers were warmly received by the students. The main donations from companies though were the hours of expertise and know how.

The courses should go a long way to helping the students find work within a trade when they leave school and are the building blocks for them to become the master crafts men of the future. As a result of the course the students attendance rates have increased.

Plasterer Starts Own Plastering Training School

Sarah — Tue, 04 May 2010 21:24:35 +0000

A plasterer who has been working in the industry for 10 years has started up his own training school in order to help more people get into the trade to help boost the profession.

27 year old Daniel Stewart from Pendle, Lancashire, is currently a self employed plasterer who does plastering work in the local area. He started his plastering training school, which he has called ‘Art of Plastering’, to enable local people to learn the skills involved in plastering by enrolling on 5 day courses in plastering which aim to equip students with the basic skills required to carry out plastering work.

If you were to take the course, you would cover important information such as health and safety, tools and materials and surface preparation, as well as learning practical application and methods such as cutting and fixing plasterboard to fit to walls and ceilings, otherwise referred to as dry lining, and how to achieve a smooth finish to your plastering.

As well as the 5 day plastering course, Art of Plastering also offers a range of other courses, including rendering and pebble dashing courses, 2 day tiling courses and 2 day marble plastering courses. The short courses are aimed at a wide range of people, from DIY enthusiasts looking to increase their skills to carry out more technical home improvements to people already in the trade and looking to add additional plastering skills to their current portfolio, or even those looking to learn a trade to begin their own company.

On completion of the courses being run by Art of Plastering, students will have created a portfolio including photographs of the work they have undertaken over the duration of the plastering, tiling, rendering or pebble dashing course along with a certificate of achievement.

Information about enrolling on the courses offered, as well as price information, is available on the website.

Young Plasterer Wins Bangor College Apprentice of the Year Award

Sarah — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:00:31 +0000

Bangor College has awarded Phil Foulkes, a twenty-three year old plasterer from Llanberis, with the Apprentice of the Year award. He came top out of 200 students at Colleg Menai, however left the college last year after completing the final year of his course.

His tutor at the time, Mike Gashe, commended Phil on his achievement, saying,

“He has proved that you can go forward and has done well for himself.”

Foulkes left school without having achieved any qualifications, however he admits that he wasn’t interested in school. Enrolling on the course at Colleg Menai gave him an opportunity to learn something new and learn the skill of plastering, which he both enjoys and is good at.

After finishing his three year course, Phil went on to start his own plastering business, however he is not the only tradesperson in his family. Phil has 6 brothers and sisters, of whom 2 are joiners and another is a fellow plasterer.

The Apprentice of the Year award isn’t the first that the young plasterer has been awarded. He previously won the National Skillbuild Championship gold medal, which had he not now been too old to enter, Phil would have automatically been eligible for a place in the world plastering championships.

Not to have the wind easily knocked out of his sails, Phil has commented that although his immediate focus is on getting his plastering business running, he has plans to make plastering awards that older plasterers can enter a possibility in the future,

“It was a really nice feeling to win the UK competition, and it’s a pity I can’t compete again. What I’d like to do though is establish the business properly and then maybe arrange a competition for older plasterers myself.”

Calling on a reputable plasterer to complete work on your home can be stressful if you don’t know who to contact, but localtraders.com can put you in touch with a reliable and experienced local tradesman to carry out your plastering and/or screeding work.

Whether you’ve got insurance claims for damaged ceilings or plasterwork after a flood or burst pipe, need a wall replastering after damp treatment or want to replace cornicing and decorative plasterwork in a period property, we have a number of timeserved tradespeople who can provide the solution to all your plastering and screeding needs. Just submit your details today through the enquiry form and a recommended local tradesperson will be in touch.

Choosing the Best Type of Coving and Cornicing

Sarah — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:09:30 +0000

Coving and cornicing can be an attractive way to add the finishing touch to your redecorating project by adding interest to the tops of your walls. Coving is particularly effective in period houses such as Georgian or Victorian properties but can also add interest in a more modern home.

There are a number of different types of coving that you can purchase, each with their own different characteristics, making some more appropriate for your project than others. These are:

Polystyrene coving
Plaster coving
Paper covered plaster coving
Duropolymer coving

It is important that you choose the best type of coving to meet your needs. As budgets often have an impact on the choices made when redecorating or renovating a property, this could be a large factor in choosing the right type of coving for your project.

Polystyrene coving is the cheapest type of coving, but there are a couple of drawbacks from the money you save choosing this over the other types of coving that are on the market. As polystyrene is light, it is easy to fix to the wall and won’t be a problem weight-wise. It is however quite delicate so could easily be damaged, therefore if you are not careful when installing it, you could end up paying out to replace broken pieces of polystyrene coving. As polystyrene is an absorbant material, you will also find it takes more coats of paint to get the desired finish compared to coving made from other materials.

Plaster coving is at the other end of the spectrum in terms of cost, being the most expensive option. It is also often quite heavy therefore you may find you need to use screws to secure it to the wall in addition to using adhesive, but one big plus point is that it does not need so many coats of paint because of the bright white smooth finish plaster coving naturally has. It is often the most attractive option, especially for period properties, as a number of different mouldings are available, including ceiling roses and door surrounds, which can give an excellent coordinated finish overall to your room.

Using paper coated plaster coving can help cut down on the amount of coats of paint required compared to polystyrene, and the coating of paper provides an easier surface for applying paint. Weight is also a consideration with paper coated plaster coving however.

Duropolymer coving is a new product on the market that is lightweight compared to plaster coving and also offers the same benefits that using plaster coving offers in terms of painting and decorative mouldings. This could therefore be the most attractive option for your redecorating project.

Whichever type of coving you decide to go for, it is worth measuring your room prior to settling on the product for you so you can know your budget in advance rather than getting a nasty surprise when the quote comes in. Alternatively, you can speak to a professional plasterer who can advise on the best product to suit your needs.

Decor Disasters – Getting Rid Of Artex From Ceilings Or Walls

Sarah — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:19:29 +0000

Everybody has their own personal views on artex; some people love it some hate it. Whatever your view on artex if you want to remove it then you may have your work cut out. Artex is a wall coating that is hardened and can be sculpted into various patterns and textures. It used to be strengthened by asbestos being added to it which can make it dangerous if not disposed of properly.

There are various ways to remove artex. One option is to remove it with a sander, however this is not advisable as some artex, especially in older houses, can contain asbestos and sanding pushes tiny particles of asbestos into the air which you may then inhale. A safer alternative option is to use a steamer and a scraper and manually remove the artex which is a lot harder than it sounds and could therefore take you a while. Another way to remove artex from your wall is to skim or plaster over it. This can be quite a big job and unless you have plastering experience and for that reason is better left to a professional plasterer like the expert plasterers and screeders that can be found on www.localtraders.com.

If you do want to tackle the DIY plastering job yourself then you will need to follow a few steps. The first is always fill any cracks and remove any loose chips of artex or your plaster may crack and fall off taking you back to square one. Once this is done you will need a good coat of pva glue on the artex, to help the plaster bond to the wall or ceiling. Finally make sure you get at least 2 coats of plaster or more over the artex when skimming to give a good clean smooth coat to your ceiling or wall and once dry you should have a clean smooth surface to paint or paper.

Getting Rid of Artex – Plaster Over or Remove It?

Craig — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:56:42 +0000

A home improvement trend that has definitely left a lasting impression is artexing. We’ve all seen it; many of us probably still have it decorating our ceilings. The question lies in how we get rid of it when we decide this look is no longer what we want for the living room, hallway, dining room or kitchen. There are generally two ways in which you can go about the task; either removing the artex or covering it up, so we’ve provided a guide to each method popularly used to rescue your artexed room.

Plastering Over Artex

Generally it is said that to cover over artex, you first need to remove or knock off any large points as these would protrude through the plaster that would be used to give you a smooth surface. Once the surface is prepared, adding two layers of PVA undercoating is said to give you a firm enough base to plaster onto, and then the actual plastering can begin.

Up to three layers of plaster tend to be used to suitably cover the original textured surface and give a good quality finish. This is a time consuming task that requires skill, and is generally considered not for the untrained due to the amount of prep work and the actual plastering work itself that are involved, so if you are considering plastering over your artexed ceiling, you should consult with a quality and professional time served plasterer.

Removing Artex

Although artex can be sanded down or scraped off your interior walls, this method can be considered dangerous as older artex can contain asbestos. This makes sanding or scraping artex off a wall or ceiling a potential problem for both people living in the house and the tradesman completing the work as the carcinogenic fibres would be released into the air.

Wallpaper removers can be an effective method for removing artex, although this can turn messy as the plaster returns to its original form. If you are planning to scrape or sand your artex, it is essential to seek professional advice, find out when your artex was installed and whether it’s safe to sand it off. Local councils may be able to help with this.

In summary, there are two solutions to your artex nightmare – to plaster over or to remove your artex from the wall or ceiling. Both methods require skill and caution is advised. The best advice we can give you is to speak to local quality plasterers who know their trade, and get quotes on both methods to enable you to make an informed choice. Remember some plasterers may prefer one method over the other, so speak to a few to get a balanced view on how to go about removing or covering that artexed ceiling or wall.