I’ve been in the plastering industry for almost 50 years. I started out as a hod carrier, worked for 18 years as a journeyman plasterer, served as the Executive Director of the Sacramento Valley Bureau for Lath and Plaster, and served on the Northern California Apprenticeship Committee. Although I’m retired from those positions, those positions aren’t retired from me. I still work as a consultant to architects, contractors, the Wall and Ceiling Alliance and the Wall and Ceiling Bureau covering the Northern California area.
Before I talk about quality control, I’ll start with a quick overview of how Portland cement plaster is applied and finished. The application process starts by ensuring you are mixing enough material for the job. The plasterer sets up mud boards so that they can put mud on the hawk, take mud off the hawk with the trowel, and smooth it on the wire lath with enough material and pressure to bed the lath and provide enough material on top of the wire for a superior “scratch coat.”