Why Are Plasterers So Expensive?
If you look through the likes of Facebook and Twitter, you will constantly see that the general public asks why are plasterers so expensive…. relentlessly!!!
I have never liked the word expensive because as a word that means different things to different people. To some, it means cheap, whilst, for others, it can be steeper in terms of cost. It is all relative, so let us get that out of the way and start looking at why are plasterers so expensive.
Not Everybody Can Plaster
Plastering is one of those skills that is very hard to try. Unlike other trades like painting, decorating or even carpentry, most people can have a go; if they take their time, they can get good results. With plastering being a wet trade, you don’t really have time, and if it does not go well, you will have a lot more work to try and put it right.
Plastering is more of an art and a craft
You can show someone how to plaster; some people can pick it up, while others are hopeless. If someone does not have it, it can be tough for them to become a good plasterer. Many “plasterers” out there should really give it up as they are not very good but get away with it well enough often enough.
Plastering takes a special kind of attention to detail, high-end plasterers have a knack for that sixth sense of perfection and can turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, and they do it so well that it looks effortless.
A plastering apprenticeship is very hard to find these days, takes a long time, and covers everything from float and set, rendering to running cornices and floor screeding. That plasterer you said was too expensive probably spent as much time at college as a doctor would spend in med school or a lawyer spent as a barrister, and then when they leave college, they still have to work their way up the ranks.
The Long-Term Health Problems
Plastering is a brutal trade on the body, and many old plasterers will always recommend that their children not become plasterers because it destroys the body. If you take a look at The Plasterers Forum and see all the posts about plasterers’ health, it will make you appreciate the sacrifice that plasterers make.
The main problems a plasterer will have is in their shoulders, elbows, and knees. I currently have a shoulder in agony, and although I have had a few years off the tools now, it often reminds me of the years I spent plastering.
Even if you wear a dust mask, the exposure to dust still manages to get into your lungs, especially the removal of old ceilings. We have all been exposed to asbestos, and I know of plasterers that have breathing problems now because it was not widely known that there is asbestos in artex.
The Cost of Running a Business
Why are plasterers so expensive? We are trying to run a business, and running a business is a costly undertaking, and it only gets worse the busier you get. Yes, our tool costs are lower than carpenters, and our material cost-to-money ratio is very good, but it is still an increasing cost.
We also have to budget for Van costs, and let’s be honest, our vans will get wrecked, so our resale value will be almost nothing when we finish.
We also need to allow for days off, holidays, everything else that stops us from working, and all the hidden expenses like insurance, accountants and health care.
Plasterers don’t have a long working life
When I started plastering, I was advised to look after my body as best I could and be prepared to invest in more than just plastering because plasterers don’t make old bones.
If you think that the current retirement age is 67 years old and believe that most plasterers would have started plastering from, say, 17 years old (often younger), that’s 50 years of torture on your body.
I know a few old plasterers but not many, and that alone should be a warning to any young plasterer.
Plastering is hard, unforgiving work, and I look at plastering like smoking cigarettes and that every single bag of plaster or every single shovel full of sand is knocking minutes off your life.
So why are plasterers so expensive?
Plasterers are skilled workers who put their bodies through hell to produce a finish that most people cannot achieve. Plasterers may make it look easy, but it’s taken years of dedication, learning, and refining to get that bad of dust to be that smooth flat surface that painters dream of painting.
That’s why plasterers are so expensive because they are worth it.
If you think I am wrong about this post, please comment below, and I will gladly ignore them.
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100% right 33 years plastering taping & rough casting @ only 50 years old for last 15 years been in pain every single day and every day I still get up and goto work . Only now do i work till my body tells me enough is enough normally finished by 2 pm suffer in silence . When I was younger worked 72 hrs a week those days are long gone the mind’s willing but the body’s reluctant . Not many plasters reach retirement most are in the bone yard long before 65 years old and the one who do make it are crippled by then with no quality of life left in them .
I am 55 arthritis in both knees right shoulder and elbow never not sore
65 this year currently waiting for 2 x knee replacement, now using a stick to walk but really enjoyed plastering.
At 19 I was rodding stucco behind a Thompson pump in Riyadh.in some of the most oppressing conditions. Most of the 2 years I was there I white coated. Kite Inc. of Indianapolis was the contractor. I was lucky enough to start when I did to be experienced in 3 coat work using long tools. It’s very physically demanding but it provided more than I imagined. It’s very satisfying work, especially ornamental. It’s the oldest craft and will continue
Well said buddy couldn’t put it better my self ,been plastering 40 years now nearly every part of my body hurts at some point or another ,still love it and still smashing it out most younger fells to shame still , spread the love
Been plasterering 30+years I think you need to look after your body ,I still hit the gym every day,think back in the day the men smoked and drank too much and this plus the hard work wrecked their body’s..
Yes totally agreed , iv been 42 years dong it and im now having to take all kinds of pain killers just to get through the day ,its tough heavy work,it is a skill and if you want to be the best you have to work hard at it .
The problem has always been there is always someone cheaper, iv often thought there should have been a code of conduct amongst tradesmen proper trades men that is, on a minimum price. Hats of you all you guys especially old school guys who are one still alive lol and still doing great work !
Got to agree with the previous comments, started in 66, very fortunate as have been very lucky with my health and can still do a reasonable days work. Due to present rising inflation and limited pension I’m considering doing 2 or 3 days a week. It appears a number of plasterers out there are not time served taught whole range of skills to be a master.