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Plasterer (Exterior) - Working conditions

Kaiwhakapiri Uhi Raima (o Waho)

Working Conditions

Exterior plasterers travel locally between job sites to work on buildings that are being renovated or built. They work outside, but not when it's raining.

Conditions may be dusty and noisy.

Exterior plasterers often work on new housing developments

Equipment

Equipment exterior plasterers may use includes:

cement-based, sand-based or modified plaster
hand tools such as trowels, scrapers, wire brushes and hawks (boards used by plasterers to hold plaster while they are working)
a concrete mixer or power mixer to mix plaster
a mechanical pump to apply plaster
ladders and scaffolding
a vehicle, usually a van.

Joe Tousoon crouching and taking tools out of a bucket

Joe Tousoon selecting tools to use

Exterior plasterer Owen McCarthy holds a trowel and a hawk

Owen McCarthy with his trowel and hawk – the main tools used by exterior plasterers

Hours

Exterior plasterers work regular hours, but may also be required to work weekends and evenings to complete jobs.

Contact with people

Exterior plasterers work independently and in small teams.

They have contact with:

clients
building material suppliers
other building tradespeople such as carpenters.

"You have contact with the client – homeowner or builder – and all the other tradespeople and subcontractors involved in building a house. So you've got to liaise with them as well."

Joe Tousoon - Exterior Plasterer

Previous page - How to get into the job

Next page - Pay and progression

Updated September 2009

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