Plastering Courses - Barry's Review

Northwest Plastering Course helps a keen DIY'er to expand his new business.

Plastering Course student Barry Rob told us in his own words about his plastering training at The DIY School in Manchester.

I’d always enjoyed DIY - in fact, I was a serious DIY’ er and had, over the years, done many jobs around the house for myself as well as for family and friends. Then after 25 years of office life I was made redundant! So I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something completely different and make a living doing something that I really enjoyed doing. So I did just that.

In August 2008, I started my own building company, BMR Property Services. During my life I had installed bathrooms, kitchens, done small extensions, paved gardens and driveways, had done some brick and block work, but the one area that I knew I was not competent at was plastering. Sure I had made good small areas but I would not take on skimming anything large and had always admired the skills of those who could get that marble finish to walls or ceilings that had been in a poor state before hand.

I had read about construction courses and those courses that were offering ‘intense’ training over a short space of time. I found the DIY School in Stockport from viewing their web page and liked what I read. There was some great feedback from happy customers who had attended courses they were offering. I signed up for the Essential Plastering Course which seemed like a good investment to me. I duly did the course at the beginning of November and have not looked back since. It really gave me the overview and technique needed to be confident to tackle bigger plastering jobs. And having now gained experience since the course, my plastering is of a standard that is getting me jobs and more importantly, making a living at. The downside now however, is that wherever I go I always look at the standard of the plastering and I can honestly say there are some poor plasterers out there.

The Plastering Course itself was very well structured, covering all the areas that you need to know to begin with. The tutor, Mick, was fab - a great fella and a great teacher. His stories are entertaining and following the course he has been a great reference point. In fact, Mick has actually done a job with me and he is as good as he says he is!

I thought the whole set up at the DIY School was excellent, very professional and friendly. The courses they run are very good at giving you the basics you need to know. I attended the Advanced Plastering Course which was a necessity for me and this course just took what you were taught on the Essential Plastering Course to another level.

Like a lot of people who have attended the DIY School, I am living proof that you can live the dream and make a living doing what you want to do. The school certainly assisted in this process. I’m now a general building contractor doing a wide range of building jobs, from landscape gardening, paving, bathroom and kitchen installations, tiling, plastering and rendering t roofing work and some electrics. The order book is healthy so I must be doing something right. You just can’t beat the feeling when your customer thanks you for a job done well when they are totally satisfied..... and asks you to do something else for them too!