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