2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 22:24
- Where does the installation of drywall on the ceiling begin?
- What is required for a plasterboard ceiling
- Trick: how to do without a laser level
- Work plan
- Scheme and calculations
- Dimensions of gypsum plasterboards
- Important: rules for installing the guide profile
- Markup
- To avoid buying tools
- Installation of profiles and hangers
- Trick: how easy it is to insert the ceiling profile into the guide
- How to save on crabs
- Installation of drywall sheets
- How to attach sheets
- Devices not to hold a drywall sheet
- How to cut drywall sheets
- Final finishing
- Conclusion
Here is an instruction describing the installation of a plasterboard ceiling. It is quite detailed and understandable even for those who have not encountered GCR. All stages are considered - from the project to the rough finish. In addition to standard techniques, you will learn some tricks that can save you time or money. At the beginning of the article, lists of the necessary tools and materials are given, as well as the conditions recommended for such work. Then a brief procedure is given. And from the next section, which is called "Plan and Calculations", begins directly a detailed description of each stage.
Where does the installation of drywall on the ceiling begin?
With wall decoration. The fact is that the correct installation of drywall on the ceiling requires perfectly flat walls. So, before starting the ceiling work, the walls must be prepared for final finishing (plastered and putty). Or at least sheathed with plasterboard.
The future ceiling also needs to be prepared. Remove old trim if it gets in the way. Fix all communications on the ceiling - wires, air ducts, pipes.
The rules for installing a plasterboard ceiling are almost the same as for installing walls. There are difficulties. But in general, the idea is worth it, even if you first encountered GCR. Of course, for the installation of plasterboard ceilings, it is desirable that you have at least a little knowledge of how to handle a power tool and have some physical strength.
What is required for a plasterboard ceiling
You will have to work with long and relatively heavy materials. You will definitely need an assistant.
Of the tools you will need:
- water or laser level;
- pencil;
- marker;
- scissors for metal (a grinder is suitable);
- puncher;
- a hammer;
- knife;
- screwdriver and several PH2 cross bits.
The list should be supplemented with tools and devices that will greatly facilitate your work:
The usual building level will also be useful. If you don't have a hydro level or laser level and nowhere to get them, you can get by with the usual ones.
Trick: how to do without a laser level
- Secure the usual level with electrical tape on a long, perfectly straight bar;
- place the plank on a known horizontal surface;
- if the bubble is not exactly in the middle, slide a thin wedge under the corresponding end of the level. Try to perfectly align the bubble;
- turn the plank 180 °. Make sure that in this position the bubble is exactly in the middle.
So instead of a short and imprecise level, you got a long and precise one.
You will also need tools for finishing. The list will depend on the type of finish, but in any case you need:
- spatulas - narrow and wide;
- a bucket (or other convenient container).
It is desirable to have a drill attachment (mixer) for mixing building mixtures.
An elementary bench will help a lot. Forget stepladders - they are inconvenient to work on. Chip from planks or roll a simple bench from chipboard. Calculate its height so that 10-15 cm remain above your head to the future surface of the ceiling.
List of materials:
- guide profile;
- ceiling profile;
- siblings ("crabs");
- longitudinal connectors (if longitudinal profiles longer than 3 meters are required);
- straight suspensions (for heights up to 20 cm);
- anchor suspensions + rods (for a height over 20 cm);
- dowel-nails with a diameter of 6 mm
- or self-tapping screws for wood for wooden walls and ceilings (black, with a rare thread);
- self-tapping screws with a press washer 4.2 x 13 mm (silver, without a drill head);
- self-tapping screws for drywall (black, with frequent thread pitch)
- and the drywall itself;
- as well as putty;
- primer;
- and serpyanka.
How many materials will you need? To have enough, but no surplus left, you need an accurate calculation. How to do it, read in the section “Scheme and calculations”.
Work plan
We will conditionally divide the installation of hl on the ceiling into five large stages. Further, each section of the article will describe these steps in full detail.
- Scheme and calculations;
- markup;
- installation of profiles and hangers;
- installation of drywall;
- finishing /
By measuring the room and drawing up a diagram, you will get a clear idea of how much materials you need.
The technology of mounting drywall to the ceiling requires accuracy. So that the structure does not skew, it is necessary to apply markings around the perimeter of the room with great accuracy.
We take up the puncher. No less care is required when securing the guide profile around the perimeter. Ceiling profiles are fixed with a screwdriver.
Lift and secure the drywall sheets. A lot of work with a screwdriver.
It remains to putty the ceiling. Here it is - a perfectly flat surface on which it is convenient to apply any finish.
And now the whole course of work with all the details.
Scheme and calculations
So, you already have the walls ready. They are sewn up with drywall, ideally plastered and covered with a layer of putty. Measure every wall in the room. Very high precision is not required here; the main thing is to understand how much materials you need and how to mount drywall on the ceiling (longitudinally or transversely).
Draw a diagram of the room on paper. Draw sheets of drywall on the diagram to see which arrangement will result in less waste.
The sheets should be arranged like brickwork. That is, each next row is shifted relative to the previous one by half the length of the sheet.
Dimensions of gypsum plasterboards
The most common size is 2.5 by 1.2 m. Less common are sheets with a length of 2.7 or 3 m. The usual thickness is 12.5 mm, but lighter 9.5 mm is allowed for the ceiling. Although, according to Knauf technology, it is supposed to lay sheets in 2 layers, which allows you to create a solid structure and get rid of cracks in the ceiling.
Now let's count the number of profiles. The technology of plasterboard ceilings is as follows: first, a guide metal profile is fixed along the perimeter. Ceiling profiles are inserted into it and attached to it. Additionally, the profiles are attached to the ceiling with hangers.
Important: rules for installing the guide profile
There should be no gaps between the sections of the guide profile. In the corner, one profile is inserted into another until it stops. On one plane, the profile segments are joined into a joint. If there is an outside corner, then one of the profile sections should stick out 27mm. Thus, a continuous belt is obtained from the guide profile.
To calculate the number of dowel-nails, be guided by the fastening approximately every 40-50 cm.
Long sections of the ceiling profile are installed exactly every 50 cm. The gypsum boards are placed across them. Thus, the edges of each sheet will lie clearly in the middle of the profile. No edge should be in the air! The edges adjacent to the walls will be attached directly to the guide rail.
Jumpers are inserted across the longitudinal profiles. These are sections of the same ceiling profile, installed in 60 cm increments. The principle is the same: all edges of each sheet of gypsum board must fall into the middle of the profile. The middle of the sheet must also be fixed. Lintel length = 50 cm minus the width of the ceiling profile (60 mm), that is, 44 cm.
The hangers are installed along the entire length of the longitudinal profiles in 60 cm increments.
For clarity, draw all the profiles on your diagram so as not to make a mistake in the calculation. Each intersection of the ceiling profiles is one crab and three self-tapping screws for metal (with a press washer).
Self-tapping screws for drywall are screwed in in 15 cm increments. Just take the total length of all profiles in centimeters and divide it by 15.
Buy the putty at the rate of 1 kg of ready-mixed mixture per 1 m 2, approximately 3 kg per sheet. A kilogram of the finished mixture, not the powder.
Materials are worth buying with a small margin - about 20%. Quickly calculate the required amount of material for the ceiling with an online calculator.
Markup
So, we begin directly with the installation of the ceiling drywall.
Usually drywall on the ceiling is mounted strictly horizontally. Arm yourself with a level and get ready to draw a horizontal line around the entire perimeter of the room. You can limit yourself to short strokes every half a meter. The main thing is that the ends of the marking should converge exactly at the same level.
To avoid buying tools
It makes no sense to buy rather expensive equipment for a one-time job. Tools such as a laser level, hammer drill and screwdriver can be rented.
You can draw a line with a pencil along a long straight bar. A piece of ceiling profile is suitable for this purpose. You can only put marks in the corners, then drive nails into them and pull the lace. But it's even easier to stretch the chalk cord between these marks and slap it on the wall - a flawless, straight and clearly visible line will remain.
According to this marking, a guide profile is to be installed. Remember that the ceiling finish surface will be about an inch lower.
Next, you need to mark the installation locations of the ceiling profiles. Place the marks directly on the wall, just below the track profile attachment line. They should be visible even after installing the gypsum board sheets. Stroke in 50 cm increments for long ceiling profiles, in 60 cm increments for lintels.
It remains to mark the connection points of the longitudinal profile with the jumpers. Draw on metal with a marker. Add strokes every 60 centimeters on the longitudinal profiles. You can do this even before you install them into the guide profiles. Mark the ends with which you started: they should all be on the same side of the room.
Installation of profiles and hangers
Drill the guide profile with a 6 mm drill bit with a pitch of about 40 cm. In principle, you can punch it with a hammer drill directly at the installation site. Hold the profile firmly when drilling through the wall. Make sure that it does not move relative to the marking.
If you have plasterboard walls, then you need to imagine how far the drywall is from the wall. The working part of the dowel (with a notch) must completely sit in the concrete.
On walls longer than 3 m, be sure to “splice” the guide profiles by inserting one into the other. They also need to be joined in the corners. Then install the longitudinal ceiling profiles by inserting their ends into the guide profile.
Trick: how easy it is to insert the ceiling profile into the guide
Use scissors to cut the corners at the ends of the ceiling profile. This will make it much easier to slide it into the guide, especially if you're working alone.
It is best to install the hangers before you fix the longitudinal profiles and install the jumpers. You just need to make sure that the profiles stand exactly in their places: you will be guided by them where to put the suspensions.
For fastening to concrete, a dowel-nail is usually used. You can also take a dowel-wedge - it holds much stronger, but it is also much more difficult to dismantle it.
Concrete floors in old apartments are tricky. It often happens that the drill, having passed a little less than a centimeter, falls into the void. There are several ways to deal with such surprises:
- take a very long dowel-nail;
- attach the suspension in a different place;
- instead of a dowel-nail, drive in a wooden cork and fix the suspension with a self-tapping screw.
It is better to mount a straight suspension not in the extreme holes (which are in the petals), but in the neighboring ones, which are closer to the middle. Fastening to the petals, of course, is more convenient: it is easier to get to them when the frame is already assembled. But this method will allow the ceiling to sag a little.
You can use straight hangers even when the ceiling height from the ceiling is more than 20 cm. You just need to use two instead of one hanger.
But it is much more convenient to use an anchor suspension. The rod of the anchor suspension is attached to the ceiling in the same ways as the direct suspension, through the eyelet, previously bent by 90 ° with pliers. Please note that only the ear itself needs to be folded. The rest of the bar should stay perfectly straight.
Where to install suspensions? Above each of the long ceiling profiles, with a pitch of about 50-60 cm. They must not fall into the junction of the longitudinal and transverse profiles! Be guided by the markings applied earlier.
After nailing straight hangers, bend the legs 90 ° down. Do this carefully - after bending, the legs should remain perfectly straight.
When all hangers are nailed, install the longitudinal profiles along the markings (every 50 cm). Secure them with self-tapping screws through the guide profile, one at each end.
Tightening self-tapping screws without a drill is not so difficult. The main thing is to use a suitable bat (labeled “PH2”). Press down on the self-tapping screw (but without fanaticism) and turn at medium speed. After a second or two, the sharp tip will pierce the metal, and then the self-tapping screw is screwed in without difficulty.
Cut the jumpers. Please note that the length of the outer jumpers will not be 44, but 47 cm. Attach the jumpers with “crabs”.
Crabs snap on top. They have special petals with holes for fastening with screws to the profile. Bend the petals and attach the crab with one self-tapping screw to the long profile. Before doing this, make sure that it has not moved relative to the mark. Twist two more self-tapping screws through the same petals into each jumper.
How to save on crabs
Make the jumpers 6 centimeters longer. Cut off the side shelves 3 cm from each end. Screw the rest, middle, part with a self-tapping screw directly to the long ceiling profile from below. Do not be embarrassed by the fact that the screw cap is sticking out a little: this will not be a serious hindrance to the tight fit of the drywall.
Options for connecting profiles without using a crab in the photo:
With such savings, the rigidity of the frame will suffer somewhat. Of course the ceiling won't collapse; it will just be a little less smooth and durable.
Do not rush to screw straight hangers to the profile. The problem is that profiles with a length of 2 m or more will inevitably sag. Especially if you used an extension cord (longitudinal connector).
Eliminate sagging with a cord pulled tight across all longitudinal profiles:
- screw one self-tapping screw into the guide profile at each end of the room, in the middle of the wall;
- tie a lace to them and pull it properly;
- you can see that the long profiles “lie” on the lace. Before fixing with suspenders, lift them up so that they hang 1-2 millimeters above the lace.
When all suspensions and all jumpers are screwed to the longitudinal profiles, the frame is ready. Moving on to installing drywall on the ceiling.
Video:
Installation of drywall sheets
But first you need to make insulation (if necessary in your case). There are different ways to insulate the ceiling. Perhaps the most convenient is mineral wool insulation. The roll insulation is simply placed on top of the frame. Work with gloves, goggles and a respirator - the dust from mineral wool irritates even the skin, not to mention the mucous membranes.
And now you can screw the GKL sheets. Start at the edge where the whole sheet fits. Place the sheet across the long profiles, close to the walls. If you did everything correctly and accurately, then the edges of the sheet along the entire length will be exactly in the middle of the ceiling profiles.
Screw the sheet to all profiles, both at the edges and in the middle. Along the edge, the screws should go approximately every 15 cm, in other places you can increase the step to 20-25 cm.
How to attach sheets
GKL has a front side and a wrong side. On the front side, the chamfer is rounded along the longitudinal edges of the sheet and there is a slight unevenness. The wrong side is always flat - for a snug fit to the surface.
Screw in self-tapping screws ten millimeters from the edge. At least 15 mm must be removed from the cut edge. Step back at least five centimeters from the corners!
The screw cap must be slightly recessed into the plate surface. Do this carefully: the screw is quite easy to overtighten, especially with a lack of experience. A special drywall bit with a limiter helps a lot in this work.
From the marks on the wall you can see where the profiles go. However, you can draw a drywall sheet in advance, even before you lift it and begin to fasten it. Continue the longitudinal row of sheets, end to end, without gaps. In this work, it is difficult to do without an assistant.
Devices not to hold a drywall sheet
Make a backup. Take a board slightly longer than the ceiling height, screw a piece of board about a meter long across it to make the letter "T" Reinforce with two planks obliquely. Such a device, similar to a mop, is used by craftsmen all over the world when they mount drywall on the ceiling.
Methods for mounting the GKL ceiling without an assistant:
The next row starts from half of the sheet. The technology requires that the seams between the sheets are not crossed crosswise. The correct placement of the slabs resembles brickwork.
How to cut drywall sheets
With a knife. Can be clerical. Mark exactly the middle and cut along the ruler. You probably have a piece of the ceiling profile left - use it as a ruler. The notch may be shallow; just cut through the paper. Place the same profile under the cut, or lay the sheet on the edge of the table and break it. All that remains is to cut the paper from the back.
If you need to cut a very narrow strip, then it is easier to use a hacksaw for wood.
The cut edges must be chamfered additionally. This is necessary for high-quality puttying. Using the same knife, cut off a few millimeters from the front at an angle of about 45 °. Precision is not required at this stage. Do not touch the factory longitudinal edges - they have a chamfer already rounded.
Detailed secrets of working with drywall.
Final finishing
Prime the ceiling with a roller or large brush. Use a small brush to carefully brush over the seams.
After the primer has dried, stick the serpyanka tape. It is glued only to the joint of two factory seams, as well as to the corners. The joints can be putty immediately afterwards.
Mix a small amount of putty. At this stage, it is required to cover only the seams and grooves from the screws. Apply the filler with a narrow trowel, then smooth with a wide one.
According to the technology, it is necessary to putty the seams twice. So you have to wait until the putty dries, then apply a second, thin layer. But before that, be sure to scrape off all the burrs with a spatula (just do not use much effort).
And now, in an amicable way, you need to apply a third, continuous, layer of putty. The result is a smooth white paintable surface. Many people neglect the correct way of painting without glare and stains are then noticeable. More about this
Conclusion
Actually, that's the whole article on how to mount a plasterboard ceiling. Save this page or print it as your cheat sheet on how to install drywall to your ceiling.
Good luck in the repair! In addition, watch a video selection on the installation of gypsum board structures.
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Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=hAgij2orkO0
