Working with trades: Plasterers & decorators

While the guts of your home are more about function than form, the finishes will absolutely need to match up to your expectations in terms of both workmanship and performance. Tim Doherty gives the inside track on how to get the right result

Much like many of the other trades that are likely to be involved in your project, the recognised form of training for a plasterer or decorator is through an approved apprenticeship – whether they specialise in internal or external work. There really is no substitute for learning skilled application techniques from more experienced tradesmen, as this is simply the best way for a professional to get to grips with delivering a wide range of work to the right standard and in a timely fashion.

The regs

With trades such as electrics and plumbing, you can immediately understand why the work needs to be regulated. This may not be quite so obvious when it comes to plastering and decorating, but the results need to be of a certain quality to deliver a safe living environment and ensure you get durable finishes inside and out. External render and decorating, for instance, has a major role to play in protecting your home’s structural fabric. Here are the key building regs that apply to this kind of work:

A crisp, flawless finish is essential for contemporary projects – and the team behind this scheme has achieved just that by using the one-coat Webertherm M1 render. A decorative scraped finish was added after the main spray application

• Part B – Fire Safety for matters relating to internal and external spread of flame

• Part C – Site prepand resistance to contaminates/moisture eg in insulation products and cladding materials

• Part E – Resistance to the passage of sound since plaster has a role to play in acoustic performance

• Regulation 7 – Materials & Workmanship given that these works will form a crucial part of the visible finish

There’s also a whole host of British Standards that apply to mortars, renders and plasters, including BS 5262 (code of practice for external renderings) and BS EN 998-P1 (specification for rendering and plastering mortar) amongst many others. A time-served apprentice will know of these documents and, if need be, how to get hold of one to ensure they’re achieving compliance.