Plastering courses: learning it the easy way!

There are a large variety of plastering courses present on the internet. You can pick and choose any variety that you find suitable to your unique situation and skills. But out of the huge options you have to specialize in; there is a niche area in plastering courses where you work with heritage decorations on restoration projects. The work is interesting and unique and you have to have special skills to be considered a heritage craftsman. The work pays well and it requires you to work as a team with historians and architects who work at restoring legendary buildings. If you are interested in history and have an artistic bent then this is the niche profession in which you can excel in. Let’s find out the exact requirements of becoming a heritage craftsman plasterer.

Plastering courses to become a heritage craftsman: What do you actually do?
As plaster ages, there are chances that with fire or water damage, the plaster will crack and break. On heritage buildings this can damage the delicate architecture and painting done on interior and exterior surfaces. Several artists of the renaissance period also did paintings on tiny sections of wet plaster. But with age the plaster loses it property to remain stable and it can fall off, or the pigment on the plaster fades.

Specialized plastering courses can teach a novice plasterer how to repair plasterwork in heritage homes, public buildings, churches etc. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn how to repair the delicate aged plaster and get it back to its ancient splendor. Plasterers are taught tricks of the trade in heritage plastering courses like the use of special mixtures of special sand lime and horsehair. This method is not used in modern times but was commonly used in Roman times. The exact method of mixing plaster so that it imitates ancient plaster is a skill which takes a lot of time and effort to learn. This special mixing technique is taught in very select plastering courses and it is used because it allows the easy passage of moisture. The plaster can breathe and although it takes a longer time to dry; it remains stable for a longer period of time.

Where can I learn these specialized plastering courses?
Specialized plastering courses which teach heritage restorations are taught only with select government and private organizations. If you Google it, you will get thousands of options all of which teach several varieties of heritage plastering courses. There are several points you should consider before you sign on for any of these plastering courses and they are-
1. You should be taught the history of plastering and how different techniques were used over the ages.
2. The difference techniques which are used in modern plastering to create decorative effects
3. Preserving ancient plaster while still repairing it to its former glory.
4. Mechanics and constructions details of ancient plastering.
Please remember that along with specialized plastering courses you will also need years of experience before you will be allowed to work on National Treasures in the form of heritage buildings.