Rules for working with drywall. Correct installation of drywall: secrets of the masters

Many of us are sure that drywall is a modern building material that came into use only at the end of the last century. No! In fact similar material has been used for about 200 years. Of course, production technologies have changed during this time, but this does not change the following fact: everyone can master the basic aspects of handling drywall on their own.

As a rule, today no one uses wooden blocks for mounting the frame, U-shaped metal profiles are used instead.

Working with drywall occurs using 4 types of profiles.

  • Guide profiles for creating a frame, also often called PN or UW. They have standard depth 40 mm, and the width can be 50, 75 or 100 mm. Guide profiles are used to create the basis for fastening rack and ceiling profiles.
  • Ceiling guides (PNP or UD) have the same functions as the previous profiles, but are used for installing suspended ceilings.
  • Ceiling profiles (PP or CD) are designed to create a frame and lintels. They are inserted into guides and secured to the ceiling with hangers, crabs, and anchor clamps.
  • Rack profiles (PS or CW) are used when it is necessary to install plasterboard partitions or to create walls. They are fixed into guides.

Basic fasteners for frame profile- self-tapping screws, the length of which is from 9 to 12 mm. There are also rivets and mounting pliers (cutter) for connecting several profiles. The frame is attached to the wall or ceiling using anchors or dowel-nails.

Do not be intimidated by the large set of parts used when installing drywall. This is far from full list what they use professional builders. In addition, do not forget that one-time work only implies the presence of direct hangers, CD and UD, dowel-nails or anchors.

Particular attention should be paid to the tools for installing drywall on walls.


Since you will have to drill holes in profiles, walls and other materials, buy or rent a hammer drill, the impact force of which is 3-5 J. Using a hammer drill, making a hole in concrete is much easier than impact drill. She just can't handle that many holes. In addition, the hammer drill is perfect for mixing various mixtures for putty and installation. For this you need a special mixer attachment.

No less important is cordless screwdriver with a set of special attachments for screwing screws with different types hats

In addition to power tools, hand tools are also used:

  • hammer;
  • metal scissors;
  • screwdriver;
  • stationery knife;
  • markers;
  • laser level or hydraulic level;
  • planer for drywall;
  • pliers.


To attach one frame post with a height of 2.5 m to the wall, use five direct hangers, that is, 1 hanger every 50 cm.

To secure each, two anchors are used; a total of 10 holes need to be drilled. The distance between the posts is 60 cm, so for a wall 6 m long and 2.5 m high you will need 7 frame posts and 70 holes.

How to work with drywall

Working with drywall means, first of all, creating a frame and then covering it. Usually, leveling walls, erecting partitions, arches and niches.

Installing drywall with your own hands is as follows.

    • Step back from the wall at least 3 cm (profile width), and make marks: using a plumb line or laser level draw a line on which the plasterboard wall will be located.
    • Attach the main guide UD profiles to the floor and ceiling. Their edge should follow your line.
    • After this you need to set vertical racks from CD profiles. To do this, they are inserted into the guides and screwed to each other with self-tapping screws.
    • To give rigidity to the CD profiles, they are attached to the wall every 50 cm using hangers, which are fastened to the wall with two dowel nails. The hangers are screwed to the profiles with self-tapping screws, and their corners are bent.

    • The width of a standard sheet of plasterboard is 120 cm, so the distance between the centers of CD profiles is 60 cm.
    • After mounting the frame, insulation, electrical wiring, water pipes or heating pipes.
    • When installing plasterboard sheets on the ceiling, not only direct hangers are used, but also wire ties and “butterflies”, which have special steel “wings” that fix the ties at the required distance from the ceiling.

Types of fasteners for creating a frame
  • assumes that you use special fastenings for this - anchors.
  • Self-tapping screws for installing drywall are screwed in in increments of 25-30 centimeters.

If you need to cut a sheet of drywall, you can very easily do it yourself. To do this, use a utility knife to cut the cardboard and a few millimeters of the gypsum layer, and then break it on the corner of the table. Cut off the second layer of paper after the break.

How to seal sheet joints

After installation is completed, it is necessary. When joining entire sheets, the edges must form the required shape, and when installing cut pieces, a chamfer is cut to ensure a triangular seam.


For filling assembly seam use putty. The joint is reinforced with a painting mesh (serpyanka). Serpyanka is used after filling the seam with putty, then it is puttied clean. To strengthen the corners, you can use reinforcing perforated corners.

If working with drywall requires creating curved structures, you can bend the sheet yourself. To do this, use a spiked roller to make holes in a sheet of cardboard and moisten it generously with water. After 10-15 minutes, the plaster will get wet, and you can give it any shape without any problems.
This technique is often used for and.

Nowadays, not a single apartment renovation can be done without this. practical material like drywall. If you learn how to work with it correctly, you will be able to create amazing designs for hiding communications, creating partitions and zoning rooms.

Tags: Walk-in closet, wardrobe, partition.

Lesson No. 2 - Partition made of gypsum plasterboard (gypsum plasterboard) with shelves. Video tutorial strictly on the technology of constructing frame partitions.

Tags: partition, shelf, frame, gypsum fiber, drywall.

Lesson No. 3 - Three ways to form curved surfaces from plasterboard. Dry and wet bending method on a frame, bending using cuts. Video from Knauf

Tags: wet bending, dry bending, bending according to patterns, bending with cuts.

Lesson No. 4 - Video instructions from Knauf on the construction of a plasterboard partition on a frame made of a rack profile.

Tags: partition, drywall, frame.

Lesson No. 5 - Step-by-step instructions for installing a socket and socket box in a plasterboard wall.

Tags: drywall, socket, socket box, wiring.

Lesson No. 6 - Video on sealing joints of plasterboard sheets on walls and ceilings. Strictly according to technology.

Tags: joints, drywall, putty, finishing.

Lesson No. 7 - Comparison of the strength of a metal profile connection using a cutter and a screwdriver. German test.

Tags: cutter, screwdriver, profile, screw.

Lesson No. 8 - Detailed video instructions for covering walls with plasterboard in a wooden house. Features and nuances when installing a floating frame.

Tags: wooden house, drywall, frame, sheathing.

Lesson #9 - How to seal a doorway using drywall. Detailed video instructions.

Tags: doorway, partition, drywall.

Lesson No. 10 - Video lesson on finishing an attic with plasterboard on a metal frame. Ceiling cladding in a wooden house.

Tags: wooden house, attic, ceiling, drywall, frame.

Lesson No. 11 - Professional recommendations for installing wiring in a wooden house. The nuances of wiring under plasterboard sheathing.

Tags: wooden house, wiring, cladding, drywall.

Lesson No. 12 - Instructions for installing a ceiling in the “Starry Sky” style.

Tags: ceiling, drywall, starry sky

Lesson No. 13 - Video about drywall production technology

Tags: drywall, technology, safety

Lesson No. 14 - Video instructions for applying liquid wallpaper to the wall. Preparation of solution, application technology.

Tags: liquid wallpaper, decoration, walls

Lesson No. 15 - Step-by-step lesson on finishing external and internal corners. Corner putty and drywall finishing

Tags: drywall, joints, corners, putty.

Drywall is one of the most common building materials, which allows you to speed up the repair process, make it easier and more affordable. Using it you can easily level the walls, ceiling, make arches and even lay the floor. But you need to remember that this is a very fragile material, and therefore you need to work with it carefully. Learn about important secrets fast work This article will help you with drywall.

Types and names of profiles

This product is excellent for leveling large uneven areas, installing false walls, and other large-scale structures. If you use it as “dry plaster”, then you need to understand that drywall takes up some space in the room, which can sometimes become very disadvantageous for the owner of the room.

Sheets can be fixed with glue

The adhesive mixture is applied in a thick layer to reverse side drywall in vertical strips using a spatula. If the surface is uneven, the composition is applied in 15 cm lumps along the edges and in the middle of the sheet. It is important to remember that the glue remains functional for 30 minutes after production, so you should not delay laying the sheets. The protruding sheets must be tapped with a rubber hammer.

No additional drilling is required to attach sheets to metal profiles with self-tapping screws

This is true, but you don’t need to do this work manually; a screwdriver or drill is used for this. Self-tapping screws – with fine thread and countersunk head.

Installation of the frame has its own characteristics

Drill or screwdriver

Screwing in self-tapping screws with a drill requires special skills, and it is also not very convenient, especially when it comes to large-scale fastening of sheets. To simplify the work, you can use a special attachment - a bit with a limiter that controls the level of recessing of the self-tapping screw into the surface. For quick fastening of profiles, a pneumatic one is suitable.

The edges of the drywall have a certain shape for high-quality smoothing of joints

Yes, the beveled semicircular edge makes it easier to putty the joints; you can also place reinforcing tape along the edges of the sheet, and it will not create bulges along the bases. But what about transverse joints?

  1. The seams should be located on adjacent panels.
  2. To fix the horizontal edges from the inside, you need to hem a piece of profile across the joint, about 20 cm. You will need 2 of them for one sheet.
  3. It is also necessary to remove the cardboard shell along the width, the place of which will be taken by the reinforcing tape.
  4. The joints are sealed with Fugenfüller or Uniflot putty.

Location of fasteners on the sheet

Along the edge, the screws are placed at a distance of 125 mm, about 20 mm from the end of the sheet. The material is attached to the middle profile in increments of 250 mm; marks must be applied on the front side to indicate the location of the screws. At corners, screws should be secured away from the edge, where greater strength exists.

Drywall should not rest on the floor

In order to avoid subsidence of the structure, it is imperative to leave a gap of about 1 mm between the floor and the plasterboard sheet. It must be placed on the liner using scraps from the same product.

Frame suspended structure the ceiling and walls differ from each other.

In order to avoid mistakes when installing sheets on the ceiling frame structure high demands are made. The product is mounted in increments of 400 mm, each sheet is held by 4 profiles. You cannot save on this so that the platform does not sag over time. To attach the ceiling hangers to the base one, you must use metal dowels or wedges. anchor bolts, but not plastic ones. Use Vernius hangers from Knauf, or attach pieces of the profile rigidly to the ceiling.

The rigidity of a plasterboard partition

You shouldn't skimp on this! To quickly and reliably assemble a frame, you need to use a cutter for a plasterboard profile, which does not leave dents when connecting, does not require marking holes, and makes the edges of the product even and smooth. There is no need to use fasteners.

The frame is sheathed on both sides with plasterboard, and inner part is filled in .

Attention:

  • The profile must be at least 6 mm for better strength and reliability.
  • Screws should be galvanized or stainless steel. They should go into the depth of the sheet by at least 10 mm, into the tree - about 20 mm. It is better to immediately coat the hats with alcohol varnish to avoid corrosion.
  • The type of profile is selected depending on the height of the room and the load on the frame. For a 50 kg structure, you need to install a frame with a thickness of 15 mm.

How to avoid gross violations and damage to material

Lightweight ceiling sheets 9 mm thick cannot be used to form partitions. Even when using them for their intended purpose, you must do the right step profile, without various magnifications (this is necessary to save fastening material).

It is forbidden to refuse soundproofing tape during the construction of partitions. And also save on fiberglass or mineral wool, forming the inner part of the profile.

It is better to fasten drywall with a screwdriver with a function for adjusting the drilling depth.

You can’t sheathe end-to-end concrete walls or brick with plasterboard. The walls must “breathe”, and therefore, you need to leave a gap of 2 mm between the materials. It can be glued with tape or filled with silicone.

The secrets of drywall are that when choosing it you should pay attention to special markings:

  • GH13 – standard;
  • GN113 – moisture resistant;
  • GEK13 – increased strength;
  • GTS9 – moisture and windproof;
  • GN6 – for repair work.

For walls, the optimal sheet thickness will be 12 mm, for the ceiling - 9.5 mm (on the ceiling, to avoid cracks, use plasterboard sheets in 2 layers). It is rational to use two layers when there are serious loads on the structure.

Additional accessories for work

Punching pliers. Cutter.

To make working with the drywall profile more efficient, you can use a special rack to attach the sheet to the structure. And to transfer large sheets from place to place, a construction grab is used, which does not leave dents and is very convenient to use.

For cutting sheets, a regular paint knife is suitable, which is used to trim the edges of the material. To fix plasterboard shelves, it is necessary to use umbrella or butterfly dowels; if the structure is very heavy, then it is important to choose self-tapping screws of the appropriate length to securely fasten the product. But to quickly work with a plasterboard profile you will need.

How to remove a scratch from a sheet

You can use reinforced paper tape, before doing this, widen the damage with a knife and lubricate the hole with putty. Glue the tape on top and press it into the plaster with a spatula. This method will help preserve a damaged sheet of building material.

What needs to be done to correctly bend a sheet of drywall and not damage the product

The secrets to quickly working with drywall are in the following steps:

  1. On outside Make deep cuts into the sheet with a knife, then place the sheet on its edge and bend it.
  2. On inside make many small holes using a needle roller. Then moisten the sheet with water and bend it after a while.

After breaking off, the surface must be sanded with a block or plane.

To make holes in drywall, it is better to use a circular router bit.

Arch profiles

Such profiles help to build any door arch various architectural solutions. To do this, you need to do on the profiles construction knife cuts in 6 mm increments. Next, put it on drywall, trace the structure with a pencil, then cut it out according to the outline. Attach the profile with self-tapping screws using a screwdriver.

How to make working with drywall easier

If the base on which the sheet is mounted is level, it is easy to drill, for example, the inner part wooden house, then you can attach drywall without a casing, directly. In this case, mounting screws, screws, dowels must be of the appropriate length.

If the house is new, then in order to avoid the structure from settling, it is important to use an aluminum frame; complex shapes are best assembled under the supervision of a specialist.

You can attach the sheets using a solution, which will help remove voids and create a smooth surface.

It is better to mix gypsum putty in small portions- for ease of use. There is no need to use high rotary hammer speeds, thereby damaging the quality of the composition. Before hanging the next portion of the mixture, you must thoroughly wash the old solution.

In order to properly attach vertical structures and extend their service life, it is important to screw in the screws at the edges of the sheet at a distance of 20 mm, and in the center - at 30 mm.

These are the simple secrets of installing drywall that professionals advise. They will help not only reduce the installation time of drywall products, but also do the job quickly, firmly and efficiently. But there’s nothing difficult about installing this building material?

Let's look next video“secrets of drywall installation” and create beautiful and reliable architectural masterpieces.
Good luck to you.

Valery, St. Petersburg asks a question:

Hello! I saw a lot of apartments and office premises, lined with plasterboard panels. At first glance, finishing walls and ceilings with plasterboard is not difficult, so I decided to renovate my house using this material. I already have a general idea of ​​how to install the panels correctly, but I am haunted by the secrets of installing drywall, which a novice craftsman may not be familiar with. Will these “little things” not taken into account during repairs turn into problems in the future? I would be grateful if you could tell me how best to mount this material to avoid unpleasant mistakes.

The expert answers:

Hello! Drywall is becoming increasingly popular precisely because of its high technology of installation. finishing material. Of course, when working with him, you need to follow some rules. Having become acquainted with the secrets of installing drywall, you can ensure that after repairs no cracks form and the panels are firmly attached to the frame. You will learn all the secrets as you gain experience, but for now, several basic recommendations for installing gypsum boards will be useful to you.

It should be noted that sheets of material should be installed only on an extremely precisely aligned sheathing, otherwise, when attaching the panels, cracking cannot be avoided, which will affect the strength of the structure. In addition, no loose nodes in the frame are allowed. Such a mistake will have the most fatal impact on ceiling from gypsum board.

Cutting sheets of material is simple, but after cutting the cut edge requires additional processing. The edge should not be perpendicular to the plane of the panel, but form an angle of 45° with it. This can be achieved by passing it with a plane or a construction knife. Grooves at the joints of adjacent panels that widen outward are easier to fill with better quality. It should be added that puttying should be carried out only with sickle tape glued along the seams. In addition, tight joining of adjacent sheets to each other is not allowed. When installing slabs, you need to leave a few mm of gap. There should be 5mm gaps at both the floor and the ceiling. The joints of the transverse edges of the gypsum boards in adjacent rows should not be located on a single line, so install the slabs in a checkerboard pattern. The spread between joints should not be less than 40 cm.

Self-tapping screws must be at least 1 cm longer than the thickness of the drywall. When screwing in, the fastener heads must be slightly recessed into the surface. At the same time, they cannot break through the layer of cardboard. Only screwing in self-tapping screws perpendicular to the plane of the drywall is allowed. If you make a mistake while performing this operation, unscrew the screw and install it 5 cm from the previous hole. Self-tapping screws are screwed in no closer than 10 mm from the edge of the sheet. The fastening pitch on the wall is 25 cm, on the ceiling – 15-17.

Before finishing The drywall must be primed and its surface completely puttied. Finishing layer Putty is applied after sealing seams and holes. Remember that you need to putty at a temperature of 15 to 25°C. During work, drafts in the room must be excluded.

Sometimes it becomes necessary to bend a plasterboard sheet. This operation can be performed using “wet” and “dry” methods. Panels with a thickness of 6.5 to 9.5 mm are most suitable for bending. To saturate the stove with water, you do not need to dip it into a container. To do this, simply apply moisture to the surface with a roller or brush. After this, frequent punctures are made in the plasterboard to 2/3 of its thickness. Finally, the panel is covered for 0.5 hours or 1 hour with a wet cloth. The panel is then shaped using a plywood or OSB template. The sheet is placed on the pattern perpendicular to its plane and fixed on it with self-tapping screws. After drying, the panel retains its given shape.

With the “dry” method, frequent transverse cuts are made in the sheet with a knife. The side inside the bend should remain with the cardboard intact. Breaking the slab along the cut lines and giving it the desired shape, attach the slabs to the frame. Subsequently, the resulting edges on the surface can be smoothed using putty.


In any construction work Technology is always important; it is this that guarantees the quality of construction and the durability of the repair result. But, often, builders make technological mistakes, some from ignorance, and some from inertia. Many builders deliberately violate technology, seemingly with good intentions, trying to speed up the installation process and reduce material costs. Let's look at the main mistakes using the example of working with a metal profile.

1. Violations of frame installation technology

Failure to follow the technology with metal profiles or the profiles not matching their purpose are perhaps the most popular mistakes of builders and everyone who makes repairs with their own hands. This is especially true for profiles for curved ceiling surfaces.

From this photo it can be seen that the master, unfortunately, in principle does not understand how to fix the ceiling profiles (PP 60X27). To fix them, you should always use hangers; the profile should look downwards smooth side, because it is on this base that the sheets of drywall are screwed. The design does not have an additional metal strip along the entire length of the profile (cut along the same curved line from a galvanized sheet), which ensures the rigidity of the entire structure. As a result, this structure will be flimsy, and the fastening of the drywall will be unreliable, which will lead to the appearance of a crack after repair.

2. Errors when cutting profiles

To uniformly cut the profile for the purpose of installing curved structures, you should never use an angle grinder (grinder). At high speed, the metal overheats, and in addition, the galvanization burns out at the cut site, as a result of which in the future this place will be susceptible to corrosion. Cutting work metal profile should only be performed with special metal shears (manual or electric). The smooth profile is cut carefully, strictly observing the integrity of the opposite shelf on which the side sheet of drywall will be attached.

3. Wrong selection of profile

A common mistake among builders of various qualifications is when the structure of the box for partitions is made from ceiling profile, instead of rack-mount (PS 50/50) and guide (PN 50/40).

The stability, reliability and sound insulation of such a structure immediately comes into question.

Using a ceiling profile to frame partitions is a complete divergence from technology. For the construction of partitions or walls, a guide profile 50/40, 75/40 and 100/40 is used (which is fixed to the floor, ceiling and wall), and a rack profile 50/50, 75/50, 100/50.

4. Refusal of suspensions and violation of the frame

During construction suspended ceiling builders are faced with the problem of the foundation - what should the frame be secured to? IN best case scenario this is concrete, but if it is wood or a complex surface obtained experimentally, then this is where problems arise, as in the photo. In this case, builders in some places decided to completely abandon the use of hangers for the frame of a two-level ceiling type P-112.

As a result, the main profile 60/27 is rigidly screwed to the supporting profile without a two-level connector. The supporting profile itself is pressed to the boards, also without hangers. This technology will lead to the fact that, over time, cracks will inevitably form along the surface of the entire plasterboard ceiling. The scheme is also broken frame, - step profiles are chaotic, with a wide indentation of the supporting profile from the wall. If the technology is followed, the supporting profile is fixed from the wall in increments of 10 cm. The suspended ceiling system can only be mounted on special perforated or spring hangers. The profile pitch should be uniform every 50 cm (and in the case of heavy chandeliers - 40 cm).

5. Bending the profile walls

A striking example of incorrect work with the profile is shown in the photo below. The partition is again built from a ceiling profile, in violation of technology. And besides, for the jumpers the profile was simply bent.

And here, the supporting crossbar of the partition opening is made of a rack profile, which is also turned horizontally, and its stiffening ribs are unbent.

This is extremely wrong. By unbending the walls of the profile, the rigidity and integrity of the entire structure is compromised, as the reinforcement is also reduced. Here it was necessary to use a special guide profile for partitions of the appropriate size 50/40, 75/40 or 100/40.

6. Fixing the gypsum board sheet with the wrong side

Some builders consider the question of which side to fix the drywall to be unimportant - the front or the back? The photo shows how, when covering a wall with gypsum board sheets, some of them are sewn back side out. The peculiarity of this plasterboard is that it is moisture resistant and these properties are contained both in the core of the sheet and in its cardboard on the front side, preventing excessive wetting of the sheet in wet rooms, as well as the formation of fungus.

7. Error in attaching drywall sheets

Another popular mistake that leads to the appearance of cracks at the joints of drywall is its improper fixation. It is the installation of drywall sheets in staggered order that will protect against the appearance of cracks. Below you can see how the sheets are screwed to the profile in one row, and in addition from small cuts. This is low quality cladding. Sheets must be taken to the maximum bigger size, and do not join small pieces over an area of ​​1 sq/m.

Even experienced craftsmen It’s worth improving your knowledge, for example, at the KNAUF Training Center. Remember - the reliability and quality of the designs of systems made of gypsum plasterboard and profiles is associated with adherence to technology!