I have been reading on The Plasterers Forum about a few members who have had their vans stolen or their tools stolen and I also get the odd email every now and again asking me what the essential tools are that a plasterer needs to get started and start making a living.
That question is normally from apprentice plasterers or new people to the trade and it is quite a daunting prospect especially if you take a look in the back of any established plasterers van you will see a lot of tools. But don’t panic I have compiled short list of what we think you will need to get started and should see you through.
I decided to ask this question on the forum to see what everybody else thought and if you take a look below you will see what we came up with. The tools are for the average plasterer that would be on site or domestic and not specialising in things like rendering and fibrous work.
So what are the essential plastering tools?
- Hawk or handboard (if you’re from up north)
- Trowel
- Buckets
- Mixer
- Snips
- Hammer
- Stanley knife
- Plastic Float
- Spirit Level
- Straight edge
- Flat brush
- Brush & shovel
- Drill driver
- Dust sheets
- Radio
- Hop up
- Bucket trowel
That pretty much would get you off to a good start…
The other thing is that all tradesmen are probably guilty of this and that is buying tools they don’t really need and being sucked in to clever marketing campaigns. I was a victim of this and this when the Blade Runner was released many many years ago. It looked really good and I thought it would be useful just take a moment to look at the promo video I found…
Those of you that have used the Bladerunner will also understand when I say the magnets are mega strong and they are painful when they snap shut on your fingers.
Well as you can guess I was very wrong and since then I hold judgement on tools and thankfully I am in a position where I no longer need to spend money much money on new tools as I get to test and play with lots before before they are launched and I get sent a lot of tools to me.
As time goes by you will by more and more tools and like me you might get sucked in to some marketing campaigns but overall these are the basics and especially on domestic you will find you will be doing general maintenance as well so tools like impact drivers and crow bars will be come very useful along with chop saws for building stud walls and if you do a lot of plasterboarding then a board lift is a must to save your back when tacking ceilings.
There are lots of tool suppliers online and when it comes to plastering tools I would always recommend Plasterers 1 Stop Shop. They are competitively priced and they look after members of The Plasterers Forum and Plasterers News very well. So make sure you pay them a visit.
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