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Plasterer/Stucco Mason

What They Do

Plasterers and Stucco Masons Career Video

About This Career

Applies interior or exterior plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials. May also set ornamental plaster.

This career is part of the Architecture and Construction cluster Construction pathway.

A person in this career:

  • Covers surfaces such as windows, doors, or sidewalks to protect from splashing.
  • Cleans job sites.
  • Mixes mortar and plaster to desired consistency or directs workers who perform mixing.
  • Sets up scaffolds.
  • Applies coats of plaster or stucco to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings, using trowels, brushes, or spray guns.
  • Determines materials needed to complete the job and places orders accordingly.
  • Applies weatherproof, decorative coverings to exterior surfaces of buildings, such as by troweling or spraying on coats of stucco.
  • Cleans and prepares surfaces for applications of plaster, cement, stucco, or similar materials, such as by drywall taping.
  • Creates decorative textures in finish coat, using brushes or trowels, sand, pebbles, or stones.
  • Applies insulation to building exteriors by installing prefabricated insulation systems over existing walls or by covering the outer wall with insulation board, reinforcing mesh, and a base coat.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
  • Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
  • Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
  • Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
  • Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
  • Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Maintaining a body position that prevents falling when in an unstable position
  • Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
  • Moving the arms, legs and torso together when the whole body is in motion
  • Using muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
  • Seeing clearly up close
  • Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
  • Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
  • Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

  • Regular working hours and limited travel

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Applicator
  • Artisan Plasterer
  • Plaster and Stucco Worker
  • Plaster Applicator
  • Plaster Mechanic
  • Plasterer Journeyman
  • Plastering Contractor

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support