Installing Gypsum Board Yourself
Installing gypsum board, as an alternative to wall plastering, has its advantages:
- it quickly forms a surface that is almost perfectly flat, which is especially useful when height differences and unevenness are too great for leveling with plaster;
- the work is dry and less dusty;
- gypsum board is a breathable and heat-retaining covering;
- installing walls or ceilings from gypsum board allows creating structures of various shapes – a decorative base for finish decoration and to decorate rooms with unusual layouts, such as a mansard.
At the same time, gypsum board (even though there is also special moisture-resistant type) fears humidity and leaks, and is not suitable for heavy loads (many bookshelves should not be hung).
But despite this, the popularity of gypsum board finishing does not decrease and one of the reasons is the possibility to install a wall from gypsum board by yourself.
Photo 1 — Mansard finished with gypsum board
Installing Gypsum Board on Walls – Technology
There are various methods of installing gypsum board panels, the order of installation with each of these methods differs slightly.
One of the principles of classifying installation methods is the stud framework under gypsum board. Its presence or absence, what to make the stud framework from and how to make it – all of this affects material and labor costs for wall leveling.
Installing Gypsum Board Using Metal Structures
Installing gypsum board using metal structures is the most common method.
Steel profiles guarantee strength of the frame. Mistakes in stud framework installation are one of the reasons for cracks on finish decoration and can lead to removal of gypsum board. Therefore, it is very important to correctly install the profiles.
Step-by-step instruction for installing gypsum board on walls using metal profiles:
Marking for the frame.
With the help of a painter's string on the floor, a line is marked that will be the boundary of the frame. Using a plumb line, level and pencil or the same string, the line is transferred to the ceiling. Vertical lines are marked on walls, along which the uprights will be mounted. The spacing between them should be such that the joints of gypsum board panels during installation fall in the center of upright profiles. Usually, the spacing between profile axes is 600 mm.
Installing guide profiles
Horizontal guide profiles, on the side that will be adjacent to the base, are covered with a special sealant – tape that provides sound insulation. Then, holes are drilled in the base using a drill, into which dowels are inserted, and the profile with insulation is fixed to them with self-tapping screws.
To ensure that guide profiles hold GKL firmly, the spacing between self-tapping screws should be 500-1000 mm, but one segment of the profile must be attached to the base in at least three places.
Fixing suspension brackets
Vertical lines, marked on the walls, are fixed to the wall in the same way as guide profiles, using suspension brackets that will additionally provide stiffness to the structure.
Installing uprights
According to the markings on the walls, vertical uprights are inserted into horizontal guide profiles. It should be remembered that the open side of the upright should face away from the wall or look toward the wall. First, the upright is inserted into the guide profile on the floor, and then on the ceiling. The upright is fixed to the guide profiles and suspension brackets with self-tapping screws.
Installing Gypsum Board
Correct installation of gypsum board panels should be done by several people. Ideally, two people should hold the panel, and a third person – fasten it to the profile with self-tapping screws.
Installation starts from the top, the distance between self-tapping screws should not exceed 25 cm. Joints between gypsum board panels should not continue each other, so the gypsum board panels are installed with a staggered arrangement.
Installation of columns and other complex elements is performed according to the same principles, with the required shape achieved by cutting the profile and gypsum board panel.
Cutting Holes for Sockets, Switches and etc.
Diagram 1 — Installing Gypsum Board Using Metal Profiles — One of the Possible Variants
Using Wooden Studs
Using wooden studs under gypsum board is applied less frequently, as wood fears moisture.
The installation instructions for wooden strips are almost the same as metal profile installation. The frame is marked, then wooden uprights and braces are fixed to the walls with dowels. The frame's flatness is checked.
GKL sheets are mounted the same way as on a profile: their placement rules should be such that joints fall in the center of strips, nobody cancels this rule.
Diagram 2 — Installing Gypsum Board Using Wooden Studs — One of the Possible Variants
How to Glue Gypsum Board
Installing gypsum board with adhesive is the fastest method, but it can only be used on relatively flat surfaces – with a difference of no more than 20 mm.
This method is the most gentle with room space – it takes up less space, GKL sheets fit tightly to the wall.
Marked sheets are mounted on a cleaned and primed wall surface or 10-centimeter strips of gypsum board, using adhesive for gypsum board, for example, Perlfix.
For this purpose, the gypsum board sheets themselves also need to be primed. Adhesive is applied depending on surface relief around the perimeter and in the center of the sheet evenly with a notched trowel or small dollops using any suitable trowel.
For greater reliability, after the adhesive has set, GKL sheets can be secured with plug screws.
Photo 2 — Installing Gypsum Board on Walls Using Adhesive
Installing gypsum board with adhesive is performed after careful marking, identifying unevenness and bulges, determining a common level on which all sheets will be leveled.
There are different variants of how to install gypsum board, in addition to the one described above. What distinguishes them is not only the technology but also the adhesive material. For example, some use installing gypsum board with mounting foam.
Instructions for installing with foam are slightly different from working with adhesive. In this case, GKL sheets are screwed to the wall using long screws, after which mounting foam is injected under them through holes in the sheet.
Video: Installing Gypsum Board by Yourself
Tools, Materials and Accessories for Installing Gypsum Board
Depending on the method of installing gypsum board, the following may be needed:
For marking: level, plumb line, pencil, painter's string, tape measure. It is easy to do marking using such professional tools, more precisely a device like a laser plane builder.
For installation: knife, metal shears, screwdriver, drill, hammer, spatula, hoist, spatula, tools for cutting excess gypsum board edges, cutting holes and etc.
Materials and accessories: GKL with necessary parameters (e.g., moisture-resistant), steel profiles: guide and uprights, metal hangers and connectors for their attachment, wooden strips, dowels, self-tapping screws, screws, washers, adhesive, foam.
It is convenient to use a mounting gun for fixing gypsum board with plug screws, such as a gas construction gun SPIT Pulsa 700P.
Photo 3 — Mounting Gun SPIT Pulsa 700P
Secrets of Installing Gypsum Board
How to Cut Gypsum Board
The answer to the question "how to cut gypsum board" is very simple and predictable: a cutting knife for gypsum board is needed.
How to Cut a Sheet Straight: Use a long ruler as a straightedge, cut paper along it, press one side of the sheet – the gypsum core will break, and cut the paper layer with a knife. Cutting gypsum board in large volumes can be done with a special cutter.
The edges of cut sheets should be made at an angle to increase the joint area, which will later be spackled. For this purpose, a line is marked at a distance of 5 mm from the edge and the excess gypsum board is cut diagonally.
How to Cut Gypsum Board, Video:
Insulation Under Gypsum Board
Frequently, rooms require insulation, especially this applies to balconies or loggias. As insulation under gypsum board, glass wool or mineral wool is usually used. Work with insulation is carried out at the stage when the stud framework is installed, but the gypsum board sheets have not yet been attached.
Wiring Under Gypsum Board
Electrical wiring under gypsum board must be completed before its installation and before insulation. Electrical wiring is installed when the stud framework is in place.
Wiring behind gypsum board should be done in metal conduit or flexible tubing made from non-flammable plastic, according to standards. The full distribution of electrical wiring is done along walls and ceiling, then, during installation of gypsum board sheets, holes are cut for junction boxes and wiring leading to light fixtures. The appropriate wires are pulled through the holes.
Junction boxes can be installed immediately after GKL installation, but installation of sockets, switches, spotlights and chandeliers should wait until all finishing work is completed.
Diagram 3 — Installing Wiring Under Gypsum Board
Joints in Gypsum Board
Sealing joints in gypsum board is an important stage for forming a flat surface. It is important to properly seal the corners and joints of gypsum board so that cracks do not appear on them over time.
For this purpose, the joint is spackled, then an armoring tape for joints is laid over it and another layer of spackle is applied. Angles of door openings and window sills should have corner profiles placed on the spackle. Spackling is also done at places where screws are driven in.
After the spackle has dried, all treated areas should be thoroughly sanded with a sander. If the surface is not flat enough, it is necessary to fully spackle the walls and then sand them with a sander after drying.
Figure 1 — Correctly Sealing Gypsum Board Joints
Finishing Work with Gypsum Board
After performing the above manipulations, a relevant question arises: what to prime gypsum board and is it necessary to prime it. To correctly carry out finishing work, it is UNDOUBTEDLY NECESSARY to prime gypsum board.
If the next stage is painting with water-emulsion paint, then priming can be done with paint diluted with water in a ratio of 3:1. The technology of working with other coverings, such as wallpaper or decorative plaster, requires using special primers recommended by the manufacturer of the final coating.
Processing the gypsum board surface by yourself is simplified due to the very flat surface of the coating.
How to work with gypsum board, painting it, plastering or covering it with wallpaper, can be learned from instructions for the selected finishing materials.
Tiles on Gypsum Board
A special type of finish decoration is laying tiles on gypsum board. In general, gypsum board is an undesirable base for tiles. But if it is used as a base for tiles, then it should be special moisture-resistant gypsum board, laid in two layers and several times primed.
In addition, when mounting gypsum board under tiles, the spacing between upright profiles should be less. Specialists recommend choosing GKLW or GVLW for such purposes instead of GKLV.
Laying tiles on installed gypsum board with sealed joints and prepared corners is performed according to the standard technology of tile laying works.
Tiles on Gypsum Board, Video
$ Installing Gypsum Board: Price
Whether to do such work by yourself or find out their cost and invite specialists – is up to the owners.
Gypsum board installation price in Moscow – on average from 300 rubles per square meter, gypsum board installation price in Kiev – on average from 65 hryvnia per square meter.