Plasterboard is a common material for walls in both commercial and residential settings. Using this technique, you can divide a space quickly and effectively, make niches, or increase sound insulation. Even without a lot of construction experience, anyone can complete this task with the correct approach.
The first step in the process is to mark out the space for the wall. At this point, precise measurements are essential to make sure the wall fits into the area precisely. Plasterboard sheets are carefully affixed to the framework to create a smooth, level surface.
To achieve a seamless finish, the plasterboard is secured and then the joints and screw holes are filled and sanded. At this point, the wall can be finished with paint, wallpaper, or any other decorative finish that goes with the room’s style. You can achieve your desired design for a wall that is both sturdy and professional-looking by following these steps.
Step | Description |
Marking | Start by marking the wall where the plasterboard will be installed. Use a level and a pencil to draw lines for the frame structure. |
Frame Installation | Attach metal or wooden studs along the marked lines. Secure them firmly to the floor and ceiling. |
Plasterboard Mounting | Screw the plasterboard sheets onto the frame. Make sure they are flush and aligned. |
Joint Taping | Apply joint tape over the seams between plasterboard sheets. This strengthens the joints and prevents cracks. |
Applying Putty | Spread putty over the taped joints and screw holes to create a smooth surface. |
Sanding | Sand the dried putty to make the surface even and ready for finishing. |
Finishing | Apply paint or wallpaper to give the wall its final appearance. |
- Choice of materials
- Frame
- Drywall
- Additional materials
- Tools
- Technology
- Frame
- Sheathing
- Putty
- Pre-finishing
- Problems and solutions
- Video on the topic
- USEFUL TIPS.How to sheathe an installation with plasterboard.
- Construction of a plasterboard ceiling. Patch ceiling made of plasterboard. Stages of ceiling construction.
- DIY plasterboard partition video on the KNAUF S111 system
Choice of materials
Let me start by briefly discussing the materials used to construct plasterboard walls in homes and apartments.
Frame
The partition frame can be put together using a galvanized profile or a bar that has a cross-section of at least 40 by 40 mm.
Although the bar is a little less expensive, we highly recommend going with the profile.
This is due to a few factors:
- A bar, unlike a profile, needs to be sorted. You may encounter geometric defects (humps, propellers) and wood defects (falling knots, rot, cross-grain);
- Wood warps when drying. If you purchase material with so-called natural humidity, deformation of the frame when residual moisture evaporates may well lead to cracks in the sheathing;
Note: Seasonal variations in atmospheric humidity—in dry and wet weather—occur the same thing.
- Finally, wood is susceptible to rotting and is a tasty morsel for some insects and mold.
Note from the author: I only use plasterboard when building walls, and I always use a profile frame. In addition, once the partition is completed, you won’t have to worry about the frame warping or cracking in hot or humid weather because the price difference between a bar and the total cost of materials is negligible.
What profiles are required in a home or apartment to construct a plasterboard wall frame?
The U-shaped profile’s walls are 40 millimeters high, and the base’s width (50–100 mm) is dictated by the wall’s strength and soundproofing requirements as well as the diameter of the utilities (water supply, ventilation, sewerage, etc.) that are housed inside the frame.
Drywall
Which one would you pick, GKL, for a drywall wall?
There are three primary types available in stores:
It is easy to figure out from which to assemble the partition:
- Walls in the nursery — white plasterboard;
- Bathroom fencing or shower walls — plasterboard with increased moisture resistance;
- Partition in a wooden house (including those built from sip panels or frame houses) — from gypsum plasterboard, which can delay the spread of fire.
You need wall gypsum board that is 12.5 mm thick for wall cladding. Ideally, the sheet’s length should match or slightly exceed the height of the ceilings (gypsum boards come in 2.5, 2.7, and 3 meter lengths).
For single-layer cladding, the total area of gypsum boards is determined by twice the area of the planned wall plus 10–20% for trimming (more material is needed for complex gypsum board walls).
Reference: The thickness of the sheets of gypsum boards that are supplied is 12.5, 9.5, and 6 millimeters. Not only can gypsum boards be used for walls, as we already know, but they can also be arched (flexible) and ceiling gypsum boards (not meant for heavy operational loads).
The cladding is double-layered if the partition needs to support heavy operational loads—this is important for plasterboard walls in hallways or children’s rooms, for instance. Triple sheathing is an option for fire walls or partitions with penetration protection. In the latter case, galvanized steel sheet placed between plasterboard layers serves as reinforcement.
Additional materials
We will require the following supplies in addition to those for the frame and its sheathing:
To be clear, the primer needs to have the same base if you intend to paint the walls with a dye on a silicate, latex, vinyl acetate, or silicone binder.
Tools
To assemble and pre-finish a plasterboard wall using your hands, the following supplies are needed:
- Plumb line, level, long metal ruler and a pencil for marking;
- A hammer drill with a 6-mm drill for drilling holes in walls, ceilings and floors for mounting guides;
- A hammer and a punch for driving in dowel nails;
- A screwdriver for screwing in screws;
- A knife for cutting drywall;
- A pair of spatulas – 25-30 and 10-12 cm wide;
- A container for mixing gypsum putty with a volume of 5-10 liters. You can use an empty plastic bucket from water-based paint for this purpose;
- Metal shears for cutting profiles.
Note that abrasive cutting should not be done before galvanizing. Because zinc is a low-melting metal that evaporates at 900°C, heating profiles while they are being cut with a grinder partially removes their anti-corrosion layer.
Plasterboard walls are simple to construct and begin with precise marking to guarantee proper placement. The next steps are to install a strong frame, fasten the plasterboard sheets firmly, and then joint and smooth the surfaces to achieve an impeccable finish. This approach is well-liked for both new construction and renovations since it is effective and simple to customize.
Technology
So, how can plasterboard walls be constructed in a hallway or any other space?
Frame
- Mark the position of the partition on the floor;
- Use a plumb line and a ruler to transfer the markings to the ceiling and adjacent walls;
- Align the guide profile with the damper tape pasted and drill holes for fasteners directly through it;
- Fasten the guides with dowel nails;
A hint: this kind of fastener is driven in rather than screwed in, even though the head has slots in it. You can only remove the nail by using the slots if it becomes necessary.
- Mark the position of the racks on the floor and ceiling. Recall that the step between their axes is generally exactly 600 millimeters: this way the edges of adjacent sheets of drywall will be exactly in the middle of the rack;
Advice: after sheathing the frame, apply marks so they are visible. When you attach the drywall, they will assist you in getting the screws into the rack profiles.
- Trim each rack in place, align it according to the previously applied marks and fasten it to the lower and upper guides with 9-millimeter screws (4 per rack).
Be careful not to cut every rack to the same size. Centimeters can be used to measure how different areas of slab floors have different ceiling height distributions.
Sheathing
Plasterboard screws with a 150–200 mm pitch are used to attach each full-size sheet to all frame elements covered by it (including guides) after it has been positioned vertically and aligned in the center of the rack. The author uses a plumb line, which is hung on a self-tapping screw screwed into the top mark, to enter the intermediate rack profile.
The most practical option is to break the extra sheets along the cuts rather than sawing them; this results in a significantly lower amount of dust entering the air.
This is carried out in this manner:
- Cut the sheet from the front side along the ruler to about a third of the thickness;
- Place it with a cut line on the edge of any elevation (table, stack of gypsum boards, etc.).d.);
- Break off the drywall by pressing firmly on the overhanging edge;
- Turn the sheet over and cut through the shell from the back side.
Several pointers for wrapping the frame:
- Use a screwdriver with a special bit for plasterboard: it limits the depth of screwing in the screws. In the absence of such a bit, configure the screwdriver so that the ratchet triggers when the self -tapping screw is immersed. The mounting cap should be drowned about 1 mm below the surface of the GCL;
- Do not screw the fasteners closer to a couple of centimeters from the sheet edge – it can crumble;
- Do not be afraid to leave the gaps between the sheets (primarily with presidean). Their putty will hide;
- After lining the frame on one side, fill it with mineral wool. To cut the plates along the length, use a sharp knife;
- At the same stage, all communications are laid inside the frame;
- Two -layer sheathing is performed with the overlap of all joints of the first layer. Only the second layer of drywall is put off and reinforced.
Putty
First, the seams are widened by cutting a chamfer with a knife from the rectangular edges of the sized sheets. You will be able to fully fill the seams with putty thanks to the jointing.
Subsequently, the joints are sealed using serpyanka adhesive and promptly filled with putty, passing through the fiberglass mesh cells. Once the first layer of putty has dried, the second layer is applied, completely hiding the serpyanka.
The fasteners are also puttied, at least twice; in reality, even putties marketed as being "free of shrinkage" experience some shrinkage during the drying process.
Is priming the seams required prior to puttying?
To put it mildly, it won’t get worse. Dust-free seams, however, do not require priming because the putty sticks flawlessly to the kraft paper’s surface as well as the exposed gypsum cores of the extra sheets.
It is done in two situations:
- Under the wallpaper. They are firmly glued to the plasterboard shell, and when trying to remove the coating during the next repair, you have every chance of tearing off the kraft paper from the gypsum base. A layer of putty will allow you to remove wallpaper without damaging the wall;
- To level the surface at the seams, if they remain visible after puttying. If the factory edges of the PLUK (thinned with roundings) allow you to bring the reinforced seam to the same level with the surface of the sheet, then the rectangular edges of the sheets cut on site do not provide such an opportunity. A millimeter layer of putty will completely hide the seams.
A few puttying subtleties:
- When mixing the putty, pour the gypsum into a container with water, and do not pour water into a container with a dry mixture. The price of failure to comply with this requirement is insoluble lumps on the bottom, which will leave grooves when puttying;
- The manufacturer"s instructions for dosing water and dry gypsum mixture must be strictly followed. Putty that is too liquid will constantly flow off the spatula, and you will not be able to apply a thin layer of putty to the wall if it is too thick;
- When sealing the seams, do not mix more than 1-2 kilograms of dry mixture at a time. Gypsum putty is suitable for work for no more than 45-60 minutes and is used up quite slowly;
- Be sure to wash both the dishes and the spatulas after using up the next portion of gypsum. Otherwise, the set putty from the previous portion will, again, leave grooves in the finish;
- When applying the second layer of putty to the seams and when puttying the entire surface of the gypsum board, use a wide spatula, applying gypsum to it with a narrow one;
- If you find it difficult to apply an even layer of millimeter thickness, putty the wall with two layers “for stripping”. The final coating thickness will be the same.
Pre-finishing
There are three steps in the finishing preparation process:
- The wall is sanded in bright oblique light. The lighting will allow you to see the slightest defects in the putty. You can use a hand float, vibration or disc sander for the job;
Helpful: The author uses sanding meshes instead of sandpaper for sanding. Mesh #120 is used for rough sanding, and mesh #180 is used for fine sanding.
- Then the surface is cleaned of dust. This can be done with a vacuum cleaner (preferably an industrial one, its filters will completely trap gypsum dust) or a regular broom;
- The plasterboard is primed with a penetrating primer using a wide brush or roller (see. DIY plasterboard primer).
Note: after the primer dries, wallpaper can be adhered to right away, but water-dispersion paint painting needs to wait at least two weeks. No matter how many coats of paint are applied, the seams will still be visible in shadow if the gypsum hydration processes in the putty are not finished.
Problems and solutions
How can plasterboard walls in a hall be made completely soundproof?
Create a double partition frame and cover it with two layers, ensuring that there is a minimum gap between the guides and posts. Because the two sides of the sheathing acoustically decouple, this design will offer the highest level of sound insulation.
A wall with a double frame and triple sheathing—the first layer being made of sound-absorbing perforated gypsum board—will be silent without compromising.
How can I construct plasterboard sliding walls with a sliding door?
In the same manner, but with more space between each frame. Above the opening, a beam with a cross-section of at least 100×50 mm is installed as a lintel; this beam must be able to support the weight of the doors.
In addition, when large-diameter communications (sewage or ventilation) must be installed in walls, a double frame with a gap is utilized. Horizontal crossbars are used to connect the frame posts to one another, increasing rigidity.
Is it feasible to increase a wall’s rigidity without making it thicker?
Indeed. The simplest ways to accomplish this are as follows:
- Insert a 5×5 cm bar into the rack profiles;
- Insert the PS profiles into each other and mount them in pairs;
- Reduce the step between the posts to 300 or 400 mm. The main thing is that the width of the gypsum board remains a multiple of this step.
How do I install a door in a gypsum board wall?
When installing the frame, this is done:
- Make a gap in the lower guide for its width;
- Expose one of the posts adjacent to the door and secure it;
- Assemble the door unit and wedge the door leaf in the frame to avoid it rubbing against the jambs in the future;
- Apply a strip of polyurethane foam to the rack and fasten it with screws to the door block set strictly vertically;
- On the opposite side, secure the second rack in the same way and pull it to the guides;
- Connect the racks with a horizontal crossbar.
How can furniture be installed in a hanging configuration on a plasterboard partition?
Install thick plywood or timber mortgages into the frame starting from the side where the cabinets or shelves are fastened.
Plasterboard wall construction is a simple process that anyone can learn with a little perseverance and attention to detail. If you take the right procedures, you can make a wall that is sturdy and smooth and ready for any kind of finish.
Precise marking and thorough planning are essential for success. Investing the time to accurately measure and align everything from the start will save you a great deal of trouble down the road. Plasterboard panel attachment is an easy task once the framework is in place.
Sanding and applying joint compound to the wall after the panels are fastened guarantees a smooth surface. Although this step of the process calls for some dexterity, a steady hand will allow you to achieve a polished appearance.
Plasterboard is a dependable and effective material for both new wall construction and renovations. If you take the proper approach, your project will produce a sleek, contemporary finish that improves any space.