Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30655 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-11-27
• Rating: Exempt
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1

Synopsis
Watch and learn how to expertly plaster walls and ceilings withouth previous experience. Includes measuring out, cutting and fixing plaster board to walls and ceilings, taping joints, cutting and fixing angle beads around windows and reveals, preparing surfaces, using bonding and finishing plaster for a flat finish, mixing materials, skimming walls and ceilings and more.

Customer Reviews

Essential basics
At 46 minutes this is not an exhaustive explanation of how to plaster. For a kick off it only tackles skimming walls and ceilings when you've applied plasterboard to stud walling. I was looking for something to psych me into tackling the first of many plastering jobs. I have actually been on a formal plastering course but it's been a long time since I took up the hawk and trowel.

As a lesson in skimming it's very good. There are a few things I'd question- I don't think it would be particularly safe or easy to skim a ceiling balanced on one metal trestle- a series of scaffold boards on pairs of, er well- "'op ups" as they say in Barnsley- a cheaply fabricated double wooden step- would allow you to get the real safe stretch you need. I also query why they suggest you need a drill and paddle to mix multifinish plaster- a very adequate cheap low tech method is to use a dolly- a metal bar with a perforated disk at the end. Hmmm so you offer both tools and 5 day courses on your website do you? Ok then.

Each section starts with a run down of the tools you need. There's also a section on applying beading to get a nice corner finish. While I don't feel that as it confidently states you could tackle most plastering jobs at the end of this video (hmm plastering directly onto brick, stone or concrete is a little more tricky- it's all to do with judging and sealing with the suction of the background material, so your plaster doesn't dry too quickly and craze), it's a reasonable introduction. You can't learn plastering from a book- there is a Zen art to picking the right time to apply the second coat or finish off the plaster. This will at least start you on the path to enlightenment.

Good for overview...but not finer points.
The Ableskills video gives a decent overview of the steps that go into obtaining a professional plaster finish (particularly if you are working with plasterboard walls), but there are far too many details that are simply left out (particularly if you are working with brick, stone, etc. walls). For example, there was no mention of whether or not PVA needed to be used to prepare the walls...or in what circumstances. As an example of techniques that are not fully explained: they show roughly how to mix plaster...but don't show you clearly what consistency you should aim for. For another example, they show the pattern you should ideally follow when plastering...but there is no coverage of how to handle more difficult areas which will inevitably arise. In my case, for example, I wondered whether the skirting boards would need to removed beforehand...and then the additional cost of replacing them. My best guess is that there are probably better ways to learn plastering. If you want an overview of the process or are a very good handyman..the DVD may be ok for you. But if you want to learn the skill of plastering...I'm afraid it doesn't do enough...and is much much shorter than I expected as well. Also...be aware there is no paper based info...only the dvd.

If you try to use the DVD...I would recommend working on a small wall or area to see if plastering is for you. I personally managed most of my plastering job ok--with referencing some other books / websites on plastering...but in the end...looking back...would probably have hired a plasterer.

Many important bits are missed out
This DVD is supposed to be for the DIY plasterer. It didn't do it for me. Like the other reviewers, I missed advice on the problems that DIYers usually meet, in particular:
- How to estimate how much plaster to mix.
- How to judge when the consistency is right.
- How to repair existing plaster on stone and brick work.
- How and when to use PVA bonding.
- How to work in awkward positions and corners.
- How to do areas that are too small for the trowel.
- How to fill and smooth the bits that did not come out quite right.

There should also be advice on starting small and working up to a whole wall/ceiling. I am sure that many first time users (like me) finished up with a bucket full of hard plaster and a couple of square metres of bumpy surface on the wall. It is unfair not to warn people that plastering needs practice, lots of it.