How to Repair Plaster for Fun ... or for Profit

When your plaster is damaged and needs repair, or is just plain ugly, what do you do?

The quick way to deal with it is just call in a professional and hope you get a good job for your money. But there is another alternative.

Yes, you can learn to repair your own plaster. By doing that, you gain both the experience of learning a new skill and the thrill of doing a respectable job you can be proud of.

In my years as a plaster repair and renovation specialist, I have seen many homeowners fix their own plaster (with some prior instruction, of course). For some, the one time experience of plaster repair was enough.

But others had more fun and more thrill in the process, and were eager to tackle new challenges. They went on to do occasional plaster repair for friends or relatives. And I believe they had the energy and the ability to go even further, should they have chosen to do it for profit

I got my start in plaster repair and renovation while working as a drywall finisher. When we came across old plaster on a job, we repaired it and beautified it using drywall tools and materials. And it worked great. And my experience with hundreds of clients in the following years taught me two things: it’s not that hard to learn, and there is a huge market out there waiting to be served.

Every city and town across the US and Canada (and probably in the UK as well) has homes and commercial buildings with interiors walls and ceilings covered with gypsum plaster. A high percentage of these are wood framed structures subject to various environmental stresses. Human traffic, holes cut for changes in plumbing and wiring, water leaks, flexing in the framing - all these result in damage to the integrity of these plaster surfaces.

How does someone get into the business of fixing plaster for paying clients?

As already indicated, experience in actually doing plaster repair is essential. If you don’t have your own bad plaster to work on, you can do it as a favor for others. You will need good instruction (see Author's information below), so you can avoid making false starts and unnecessary mistakes. In any case, some mistakes you may make (they are not hard to rectify). That is just part of the learning curve. But if you can follow good directions, you will gain competence a lot faster.

Maybe you know someone who works with old plaster. Offer to tag along as a helper, just for the learning experience. A lot of this is simply gaining skill and speed with the drywall finishing tools you will be using, and with the drywall finishing compounds. For that, you can even learn to do drywall finishing, as prep for doing the plaster repair later.

A good place to focus would be on repairing plaster holes, and on doing skim coating. These can be learned quickly and don’t require lots of tools. Plumbers and electricians routinely make holes in drywall and plaster. Somebody has to follow behind them and repair the damage. These technicians would love to have someone they can call regularly, to finish up their projects with neat repairs.

Paperhangers are another category of tradespeople who are a ready source of work for the plaster repair person. Before they can hang wallpaper, they need to smooth out rough drywall and plaster surfaces first. This usually involves applying skim coats of drywall compound. They may do it themselves, but many don’t like to do it. As a rule, a paperhanger would rather hang paper, not skim coat.

For someone starting out, I would suggest this as a part time thing to begin with. You may decide that for the present, that is fine. But some will go on to do plaster repair as a profession.

And we need ‘em. In my experience, there is always lots of room for good craftspeople. The money is good, and job satisfaction can be a great plus for the committed and conscientious tradesman.

One last point. If you decide to do plaster repair and renovation for profit, you will be engaging in a profession that state governments do regulate.

For the protection of the public, you will most likely need to be licensed and bonded. In my state, you take some classes and then you apply for recognition and pay your fees. Now you are on your way.