How to make an arch with your own hands: types of arches, necessary materials and tools for installation. Step-by-step instructions for installing a plasterboard arch with your own hands How to make an arch from a profile

A plasterboard arch is an architectural element that allows you to create an arched ceiling in the wall, doorway or partition. Most often, arches are door arches, because they are the easiest to make. However, if partitions are created, then they often use curved ceilings for a decorative effect.

Such designs are created to bring some kind of novelty to a boring interior. Therefore, you can see them in the most different rooms apartments. In some cases they are of an applied nature. For example, plasterboard arches in the kitchen allow you to throw out unnecessary doors and not steal space from yourself.

We prepare materials and tools

Making plasterboard arches with your own hands is impossible without certain tools and materials. During work you simply cannot do without the following tools:

The profile will be trimmed using metal scissors. After this, it can be given any desired shape;
A screwdriver with a bat speeds up and simplifies installation using self-tapping screws. You can do everything with a shaped screwdriver, but with a screwdriver it’s much faster and easier. It also doesn’t hurt to get a special bit that will allow you to drive self-tapping screws into desired depth to “drown” the caps. The device will especially appeal to beginners who find it difficult to apply the correct force when working with self-tapping screws;
a hammer drill or a drill will be needed to attach the frame to the walls;
a level, tape measure and pencil are used to correctly mark the future arch and apply guidelines for work on the wall;
A wallpaper knife is needed to cut plasterboard. It’s a good idea to make a gypsum board arch with your own hands using a jigsaw. But the tool may not be accessible to most, so you will have to cut the sheets with a regular knife.

To fasten profiles and drywall, you will need dowels with self-tapping screws. As for the profiles themselves, a rack profile of 60*27mm and a guide of 28*27mm are usually used (other profiles can be used). You also cannot do without a perforated reinforcing corner. Instead, you can use fiberglass mesh. More will be needed Decoration Materials and myself plasterboard sheet. I would like to talk about it and its flexibility in more detail.

Which drywall to choose and how to bend it

There is a special arched plasterboard 6 mm thick. It is quite possible and even necessary to use it to create arches. However, there are several points that may prompt the use of conventional wall gypsum board 12.5 mm thick. Although arched material is twice as thin as wall material, it is twice as expensive. If only one or two arches are made, then very little wall gypsum board will be required, and you will have to buy a whole sheet.

Arched drywall is easy to bend with your own hands

At the same time, wall plasterboard is probably already used in apartment renovations, since the question of making an arch has arisen. That's why this material at hand. But it is too thick to bend properly. There is a way to bend drywall for an arch.

If, while bending a sheet of arched gypsum plasterboard, it begins to crack slightly, then this is a signal that it is time to stop. A little more effort and it will simply crack.

The dry method involves bending the gypsum board with my own hands to the desired radius. If this is an arched gypsum plaster, then it easily gives in and bends. The wall sheet does not lend itself to this procedure at all, so it is bent using a wet method.

Table of bending radii of drywall
Sheet thickness	Minimum dry bend radius	Minimum wet bend radius
6.5 mm	100 cm	30 cm
8 mm	155 cm	38 cm
9.5 mm	200 cm	50 cm
12.5 mm	275 cm	100 cm

To create beautiful arches it must be bent correctly from drywall. To do this, a frame is created for the entire sheet. It should be a curved frame with the same radius as the arch. A sheet of wall plasterboard is placed on the floor and from it back side many holes are made with a needle roller. Then it is moistened for ten minutes with a wet roller. Then the sheet is transferred to the frame and carefully bent on both sides. You need to moisten it carefully so that the sheet does not become completely soaked.

A wet sheet gives in easily, but there is no need to rush. When the gypsum board completely rests on the frame, you will need to fix it in this position overnight. During this time it will dry and take new uniform. More details about this process and other subtleties of bending gypsum boards can be seen in the video.

You don't have to bother with the whole sheet. If there are one or two arches, then you just need to cut the gypsum board strips to the specified size and bend only them. This is much simpler, and the frame for bending will then be used for work on the same sheet.

Simple and accessible step-by-step instructions

Before you make your own plasterboard arch, you need to prepare. Everything that may be required for this has been described above. The design has been chosen, the tools and materials have been sorted out. Therefore, you can proceed directly to the process itself. There are several ways to create an arched opening from plasterboard. Now we will consider the simplest and most accessible of them.

Do-it-yourself plasterboard arch: step-by-step instructions.

We attach a U-shaped profile to the doorway. You should get two letters P. The profile is attached inside the opening to the walls (to the height of the arch) and to its upper part. A drill and dowels will help with this process.
We cut the sheet of drywall into rectangles according to the size of the opening and profile. We fasten it to the profile with screws, closing top part passage. You just need to attach it for a while.

With a gypsum board thickness of 12.5 mm, we deepen the profile into the opening by this thickness during fastening. Then the drywall attached to it will be flush with the wall.

Draw an arc on the attached rectangle. This will then serve as a guide for the arch. How to draw an arch on drywall? Very simple. You need to measure the center of the sheet horizontally and attach a small piece of profile to it so that it dangles freely. So we will get some kind of compass with which we can draw a semicircle.
When the outline is drawn, it's time to cut out the arc. A jigsaw is ideal for this purpose. But you can also use various saws and a hacksaw. This kind of interior arch is made with your own hands from plasterboard, also using a knife. But the procedure is difficult and there will be many defects. In any case, the sheet will have to be removed to cut the arc. Then you can use sandpaper to smooth out the edges.

The profile must be completely hidden behind the drywall

We do the same for the second side of the doorway. In this case, the second sheet can already be made according to the first, which will greatly simplify drawing the arc. When the two sheets are attached to the frame, you will need to check them for evenness so that there are no height differences. You may have to raise and lower these sheets a little to even out the height. Let's make a plasterboard arch with our own hands next.
Now you need to take the guide profile and cut its sides perpendicular to the back in increments of 5 cm. Only the base of the profile (its back), along which it will bend, remains untouched. The profile is bent in an arc and attached to both sheets of drywall with inside. You will have to wear gloves to avoid cutting your hands. You also need to be careful not to hit your finger with a self-tapping screw when making a plasterboard arch. The cut profile will bend greatly during installation. It is advisable to deepen the back of the profile by a centimeter so that further fastening of the gypsum board to it is flush.
To make the structure more rigid, jumpers need to be inserted into it. After this step, the frame for the plasterboard arch will be ready. For jumpers, a rack profile is used, from which stiffeners are made. They are attached to general design metal screws.

Stiffening ribs can be installed every 20-30 cm

Now all that remains is to secure the drywall along the arch to completely cover the structure. Previously, we discussed how to bend gypsum boards. Door arches made of plasterboard using this method are made quite quickly.

Other methods

The above method may not be to everyone's liking. There are other options for making an arch from plasterboard. Many will not want to work locally, because they prefer to spend preparatory work. There are advantages to cutting an arch from plasterboard and making the frame in advance.

With this method, arches are marked and cut out on sheets of drywall before attaching them to the frame. You need to calculate the width of the arch, and then the center on the sheet of drywall prepared for it. You can draw a semicircle using a regular cord, one end of which is held in the center of the sheet, and a loop is made on the other. A pencil is inserted into this loop, the lace is pulled tight and an arc is drawn.

Another way to properly make a plasterboard arch is to use a plastic strip. It bends and creates an arc. The arch on the gypsum board is drawn along this arc. But this method requires two people to work together. If you use your imagination, you can easily figure out how to cut an arch from drywall. Some even take a sheet of drywall, make many cuts on it and break it in all these places. As a result, the arc is not straight, but broken.

When there are two pieces of drywall for the outer parts of the arch, and they have already been cut along the contour, then you can proceed to creating the frame. All required dimensions has already. It is created according to the same principle as described in the step-by-step instructions, but now we can use an arched profile for drywall. There is no need to cut it, because it bends as you like.

Using an arched profile greatly simplifies and speeds up work

The creation of the frame has already been written earlier. It is attached to a U-shaped base, and jumpers are inserted into it. Then the entire structure is sheathed with prepared gypsum board. If the profile is arched, then inserting the lintels into it is very simple.

Stacked arch without profile

How to make a plasterboard arch into a doorway without a profile? Is this even possible? Yes, it's real. And we are not talking about some wooden blocks to which gypsum boards are hemmed. The essence of the typesetting method is that with the help of pieces of plasterboard, the necessary curvature is created in the doorway.

In the selected corner, the longest piece of plasterboard is attached to the putty. Then a shorter piece is attached to it. Then even shorter and even shorter and so on. For greater reliability, PVA is added to the putty and diluted with water as needed. To know how long the pieces should be, lay them out on the table and see if the desired curvature is achieved. Here's how to assemble a plasterboard arch without the help of a profile. If you just need to round the corners a little, then this method is ideal. For more complex structures it won't fit.

Excess putty is removed immediately, otherwise when it dries, it will be difficult to remove. Also, for better adhesion, it is advisable to prime all pieces of drywall.

You will need to place washers under the screw heads to prevent the drywall from breaking through.

To ensure that the plates do not fall off, they are periodically attached with self-tapping screws. There can be more than ten such pieces at each corner. When the entire structure is dry, it is puttied in such a way as to smooth out all the corners from the plates. Now you know how to make an arch from gypsum board without a profile.

Finishing an arched doorway

Regardless of the chosen method for creating an arched opening, the arch on the plasterboard wall must be brought into divine form. To do this, the screw heads and existing joints between the sheets are puttied. A special corner must be attached to the joints of the corner sheets. It will make the structure more reliable and the corner edge itself more durable. Usually such reinforcing corners are attached to putty, but not in this case.

The corner can be plastic or metal

For greater reliability, the corner is attached to the opening using a stapler or small screws. Then this corner will be plastered. Here's how to make a drywall archway stronger so the corners never get chipped. Instead of a corner, a fiberglass reinforcing mesh can be used. It can be used to cover not only joints, but also the transition points from gypsum plasterboard to the wall.

The entire arch is puttied together with the corners. For this purpose the usual gypsum putty. You can choose acrylic putty. It is sold ready-made, but gypsum will have to be diluted with water. The procedure will need to be repeated 2-3 times to get the most smooth and even surface possible. The first layer roughly evens everything out, and the second layer completely levels it out. A beginner may not be able to create a smooth surface and will need to putty everything a third time. Nothing wrong with that.

No one should have any problems with how to putty a plasterboard arch. If the surface comes out rough and with tubercles, then you can take sandpaper and sand it. Then you will definitely be able to achieve a smooth base for further finishing.

You will need several spatulas for finishing.

How to finish a plasterboard arch? Typically, traditional wallpaper and paint are used for finishing. If you choose wallpaper, you will need to cut a strip for the inside of the arch and stick it on, protruding slightly beyond the edges. Then this protrusion is carefully cut off with a knife. The front parts of the opening are also covered with wallpaper that protrudes beyond the plane. Then they are also carefully cut with a knife. With this option, it will seem that the wallpaper was glued overlapping.

There shouldn’t be any difficulties with how to paint a plasterboard arch. Brush, roller, paint and off you go. It is extremely rare that finishing is done using tiles. Sometimes, for greater decorativeness, arches are trimmed with wood.

For registration doorways All kinds of arches are often used in the house. They have many advantages:

they save space in the room, which is occupied by opening and closing doors;
visually unite the space of the apartment, providing easy passage between rooms;
visually zone separate rooms without the help of doors, if the design concept requires it;
make an apartment or house elegant, giving it an elegant and original look.

Basic forms of arches used in residential premises

There are different design options for the doorway, which depend on technical features both rooms, which will be separated by an arch. In particular, the determining criteria when choosing the shape of the arch are the height of the ceiling and the width of the doorway. Because some types of arches are only for high rooms, and to create others, an expansion of the opening is required. Before making an arch in the doorway, you need to carefully take all the necessary measurements, since the success of the entire process of the upcoming installation will depend on this.

The most common types of arches are:

Classic (with the correct arc radius equal to half the width of the doorway).
In the Art Nouveau style (having a truncated arc radius that exceeds the width of the doorway).
Romance (arcs rectangular shape with rounded corners).
“Portal” arches (arches of a simple rectangular shape, repeating the shape of the doorway).
Arches in the shape of an ellipse, dome, trapezoid and other arches of non-standard shape.
Semi-arches (arches formed by a small part of a circle of large radius).

Any arch made with your own hands or with the help of specialists is made of: brick, stone, natural wood, plywood, chipboard or fibreboard, MDF, plastic, plasterboard.

Arches made of brick, stone, concrete

Such arches in the interior look beautiful and solid, especially in the corridor or hallway, but installing an arch from these materials is not an easy task. In addition, this design is quite heavy, and this must be taken into account. Making an arch from stone or brick often requires increasing the size of the doorway, and this is sometimes problematic.

There are three main types of brick arches:

Full, or regular (bricks are laid out in the form of a semicircle, the height of which is half the width of the doorway);
Wedge-shaped (bricks in a special way, tightly laid in a wedge);
Luchkovaya (bricks are laid along a truncated arc).

Making an ordinary brick arch is the simplest of the three described, and a wedge arch is the most difficult. However, the masonry technology in all three cases is very similar, but it requires certain skills. Therefore, before you do door arch made of brick, it is advisable to thoroughly study the process in theory and watch the corresponding video.

In general, installation interior arch made of brick includes the following steps:

design and production of a template for the arch of the future arch;
installation of a manufactured template;
laying bricks in accordance with the chosen arch shape;
fixation of the made structure;
deleting a template;
final finishing of the finished arch.

It is highly advisable to take into account the experience of others and not allow typical mistakes when making a brick arch in the hallway, living room or other room:

It is important to calculate the proportions of the future arch as accurately as possible, since failure to comply with them leads to uneven distribution of weight. As a result, cracks may appear or collapse may occur.
It is important to remove the template in time. If it is left, the wood swells and installation does not occur correctly. To avoid this, the template is covered with construction film before installation.
You cannot use metal to make a template: the lack of necessary elasticity prevents correct installation and uniform load distribution, which can result in cracks.

DIY arch made of wood

Wooden arches look great in any part of the house, especially in the hallway, immediately declaring the solidity, good taste and high status of their owners. Manufacturing process wooden arch It’s not easy, it requires attention and some skills. Before installing such an arch, you need to decide what shape it will have by looking at the corresponding photos and videos.

So, for a hallway, kitchen or living room in a high-tech or minimalist style, wooden “portal” arches are perfect. It is easier to make than other forms, but with all its simplicity it makes the room sophisticated and elegant. Installing a simple square or rectangular arch does not require any special skills: you can connect its straight parts using staples or special glue.

Features of installation of wooden arches

Rounded wooden arches are created by joining individual small pieces together with glue or metal staples.

The process of installing a wooden arch begins with careful preparation of the place for it: the wall must be cleaned, leveled, then the opening must be given the desired shape depending on the chosen shape of the arch. The size of the doorway should ultimately match the parameters of the arch.

Installation of wooden arches requires great care - both the structure itself and the part of the wall into which it is installed need to be treated with care. The arch should fit into the opening exactly, without voids along the edge, without peeking out or hiding behind the edges of the wall.

At the end of installation finishing finished arch. It is usually coated with paint or varnish to preserve its original appearance and disguise irregularities, chips and dents.

How to make a semi-arch or arch from fiberboard or chipboard

Sheet materials such as fiberboard, chipboard or plywood are easy to install, and they cost much less than natural wood. In addition, they are easy to decorate as desired. Chipboard or fibreboard are indispensable if you want to create non-standard design arches and save money at the same time. In addition, it is easy to install built-in lamps into an arch made of these materials - such an arch, in particular in the hallway, will look very impressive.

How to make an arch in an apartment from plasterboard

The easiest way is to make an arch yourself from drywall. Making an arch from this material does not require special knowledge, and even not very to an experienced master. In this way, it is good to make, for example, an arch leading from the hallway to the kitchen, since wooden arches are more difficult to install and require special care in this zone.

Installation of a plasterboard arch - main steps

Before you make an arch with your own hands, you need to choose a project for the future arch and draw its life-size template.
Installation metal profile

The best type of profile for this is in the shape of the letter "P". In addition to the guide profile, you need special scissors and a hole punch for working on metal.

First of all, the required profile length is calculated, depending on the size of the selected arch. On the measured and cut piece of profile, cuts are made at a distance of about 1 cm from each other (this will help give it the desired shape). Then, by bending the profile, the arch frame is obtained.

Preparing drywall.

It is carefully bent to the shape of the frame. There are several ways to do this - to choose the optimal one, it is better to watch the corresponding video.

Preparing the opening surface

Here you first need to level the wall, then strengthen the metal profile on both sides of the opening. Next, you need to attach the previously curved part of the profile to the straight profile installed in the opening. And then assemble all parts of the arch structure and attach them using self-tapping screws.

Finishing the finished arch in the kitchen, hallway, living room or other room of the house

This stage includes processing with a perforated corner, sealing seams and joints of the structure, puttying the arch and grinding its surfaces. Only after this the arch in the hallway or other part of the apartment can be decorated to your liking.

An easy way to increase space small apartment and clean the house. It is not always possible to move or dismantle walls, and this event is quite costly and labor-intensive. Opening with removed door It doesn’t look very aesthetically pleasing, so it needs to be designed in a new way.

The most popular way to do this is to design an arch. With the help of this element it is possible to separate long corridor into separate zones: this eliminates simplified geometry.

Such an architectural element can be installed in any part of the home - in, or in the living room. It will add individuality and originality to the house, making it different from standard apartments.

Making an arch with your own hands is quite possible.

This will require certain tools, materials and detailed description process.

Tools:

pencil, tape measure, ;
metal scissors;
bucket;
sharp knife;
grout float;
respirator, gloves and goggles.

You can build it wherever you please, in any area of your home. But in order for such an element to fit perfectly into the design, you need doorway no lower than 2.5 meters. It will look great in any interior, but is most suitable as alternatives kitchen door or for long corridor.

Most arches significantly reduce the doorway, which in some cases is significant drawback. You can check in advance exactly how the chosen type of arch will fit into the existing doorway. To do this, a blank is cut out of cardboard or paper and attached above the door.

When the metal profiles are firmly fixed to the wall surface, proceed to the installation of sheets.

It will be more convenient to use an electric one with torque. If the material thickness is 12.5 mm, 3.5 x 35 screws will be required, and for 9.5 mm sheets smaller screws will be sufficient.

Finished with plasterboard in the same way back side arched frame.

When screwing in the screws with a screwdriver, you should make sure that their heads are in the same plane with the surface of the material. If they are wrapped deeper, the resulting depressions will need to be covered.

To securely fix plasterboard parts to the frame, self-tapping screws must be placed at least every 15 cm.

Further, to enhance the rigidity of the structure, it is necessary to secure a curved metal profile along the edge of the arch. To do this, a piece of metal profile is cut to the size of the arc. Are used . Since the edges of the material are sharp, it is better to protect your hands with thick gloves.

How to bend a metal profile?

You need to make small cuts along its side edges, at a distance of about 10 cm from each other. With their help, it is easier to bend the profile as we require. The more you need to bend it, the more such notches will be required.

The profile, which has taken the shape of an arched arc, is fixed at its ends in the lower parts of the previously installed metal frame. Then the walls of the arch are carefully attached with self-tapping screws to a curved metal guide. This is an important part of the work that deserves close attention.

The frame is considered complete only after perpendicular short profile strips are installed, connecting the two walls of the arch. Such special jumpers are located at several points.

Installation for a plasterboard arch on a wooden frame

To work you will need wooden blocks And . How thick should the bars be? From the width of the opening to be finished, you need to subtract the width and to obtain the desired value. A curved line of an arched arc is outlined on the plywood, along which the workpiece is cut out with a jigsaw.

It (the plywood arch) must be reinforced, the role of which is played by wooden blocks fixed to the plywood with 50 mm self-tapping screws. Next, it should be secured in the opening with long self-tapping screws, with a step size of 15 cm. The second wall of the plywood arch is mounted in the same manner. After these measures, the plywood is sheathed with plasterboard using special self-tapping screws.

When the frame is completed and the side arched walls are installed, you need to secure the lower section of the arch - the arched one. The length and width of the arc are measured, and a piece of drywall is cut out using the resulting dimensions. Next you need to bend it - what is the easiest way to do this? You can use the following trick.

On one side of the part, parallel cuts are made every 10 cm, for which the top paper layer is cut with a sharp knife. It is important that these cuts are located strictly perpendicular to the edges of the part, but parallel to each other.

If you want to bend the sheet just a little, then just slightly moisten it.

The resulting element is applied to the bottom of the arch with cuts up, gradually and carefully giving it the required shape. To avoid damaging the material, when bending drywall, you should not apply great effort. It is important to align the edges of the plasterboard rectangle with the arcs of the arch. It is fixed with self-tapping screws, first at the top of the arch, then to its edges.

When the installation of the plasterboard arch is completed, you should move on to the smaller elements of the structure. Maybe somewhere the panel is not cut perfectly straight, there are nicks and tears. Using a sharp knife, the edge is carefully leveled. It is advisable to carry out all work wearing protective gloves.

Only then will the arch appear before us in all its completeness. What is required? All joints and edges of drywall should be covered with fiberglass mesh or paper tape. Next, several layers are applied (at least three), and thorough sanding is carried out. sandpaper different grain sizes. These procedures are not complicated; they can be done with your own hands.

An acrylic composition will be required for interior work. But for seams it is better to use a different type of putty, more reliable and durable. This is necessary to prevent the formation of cracks and flaws at the joints. The putty is mixed well, only after that you can begin to apply it to the joints between the opening and the drywall. This is done with a special rectangular spatula. The screw caps are also covered with the compound.

All surface defects (holes, tears, dents) are filled with putty and leveled. It should be perfect smooth surface, located on the same level with other parts of the arch and wall. Then it is much more difficult to correct such errors.

Next, to hide irregularities and prevent cracking, the joints and edges are glued over. To do this you can take paper tape or fiberglass mesh - both materials work great. Then layers of putty are applied, which are sanded after complete drying. After applying the last, third layer, we wait about twelve hours for it to dry: it will become dazzling white. After finishing sanding with fine-grained sandpaper, a smooth and even surface is obtained, which is ready for subsequent painting.

Often the builder is faced with the task of building an arched ceiling, arranging a domed roof or an original “humpbacked” bridge over a pond, which is becoming an increasingly popular small architectural form. At the same time, in most cases, masters do not bother themselves with complex calculations, using two quantities that are known even to a seventh grader. These values are the width of the span, subsequently covered by the arch, and the height of the rise of the arch, which is calculated by determining the distance between an imaginary horizontal line drawn between the points at which the arch is supported and the highest point of the arch. According to experts, these values are not enough to build a reliable arch with high performance characteristics. The main role in the design of an arched ceiling is given to the choice of materials from which the arch will be constructed, and the associated calculation of the arch, the correctness of which determines its subsequent performance characteristics. By following these recommendations, you can design a reliable arched ceiling, which will be an excellent solution and will not only diversify the design of the apartment, but will also become an excellent decoration landscape design garden Specialists in this field will easily carry out everything necessary calculations, but what to do if it is not possible to use their services and you have to do all the work yourself? In this case, use our recommendations that will help you cope with the task as efficiently as possible.

Arch systems from a professional's point of view

From the point of view of engineering specialists, arched structures are systems of a broken or curved nature, the supporting elements of which are subject to vertical loads, leading to inclined reactions directed into the opening. The horizontal component of such a support reaction is the thrust, which indicates that arched systems are thrust structures. This is their main difference from beams, which experience only normal mechanical stress. IN modern construction arches are used as main load-bearing structures structures for various purposes, be it household, industrial or agricultural buildings, with a span of 12 to 70 m. As for foreign construction, in this industry the design of arched spans is even more developed, which makes it possible to construct arches up to 100 m high or more.

Classification of arches: main varieties

According to static circuit , distinguish hingeless , double-hinged And three-hinged arches ;

Also, the supporting ends of the arch can be connected by a horizontally located rod that takes up the horizontal load and is called puff . The calculation of an arch with a tie is somewhat different from the calculation of a two-hinged arch or a three-hinged arch without a tie.

Each of these types has its own advantages and disadvantages, and therefore the choice of design is made by a design engineer who will calculate the three-hinged arch taking into account the strength requirements for it, the materials used for its construction, and the architectural tasks assigned for one design or another.

In accordance with the support scheme, there are arches with tightening And arches without tightening . If the former perceive the thrust, then the thrust of the latter is transmitted to the supports. The tightening is made from profile steel or reinforcement. If the arch will be used in aggressive environments that promote metal corrosion, it is permissible to use glued wood ties.

According to the form they are distinguished:

Triangular arches consisting of straight semi-arches. Calculating a triangular arch is not difficult, and you can do it yourself;

Pentagonal arches;
Segmental arches, the axes of the semi-arches are located on a common circumference;
Pointed arches, consisting of several semi-arches, the axes of which are located on two circles;

How to calculate a three-hinged arch with a tightening: recommendations from experts

If you are planning to install a small arch, calculation and design will not cause you any particular difficulties, since it is preferable to use sheets for their production building material huge sizes, such as plywood, plasterboard or OSB boards. The largest indicators of their length and width are 250 and 120 cm, respectively, which allows you to simply draw an arch on a sheet of material and cut out at least two component parts of the load-bearing beams. Finally, such arches are sheathed with sheet material, after which we can assume that the arch is ready. Despite the speed and simplicity of installing arches using this method, it also has its own disadvantages, including a large number of material wasted on waste, the decorative nature of the finished arch and the inability of the structure to bear the load.

The arrangement of arched structures becomes significantly more complicated if the master is faced with the task of installing an arch over a large clearance (up to several meters) or an arch that can withstand the highest loads. Due to the fact that it is difficult to find materials on the construction market whose dimensions allow the installation of such an arch, it is designed as a stacked structure consisting of several parts. In this regard, the master is faced with the task of accurately calculating the arch and determining the dimensions of its parts.

As mentioned earlier, arches are distinguished according to parameters such as shape, size and height, and before implementing a project for calculating a wooden arch, it is necessary to clearly understand the design and approximate dimensions of the desired arch. Taking into account these parameters, it is easier to decide on the choice of materials for its installation and subsequent calculations.

Amateurs, when they hear the phrase “arch calculation,” are often frightened, but the calculations in this case are simple and are based on the use school formulas from geometry. In addition, to facilitate calculations, it is necessary to draw the outline of the arch on a slightly reduced scale on graph paper. After this, an arch template is made in actual size, having which, you will be able to carry out further calculations most effectively, since you will be able to attach a so-called copy of the arch to the place of its installation and evaluate the correctness of the calculations made. To make a template, you can use thick cardboard, plywood or a sheet of fiberboard.

Arched structures occupy a vast niche in architecture, and their use is a very broad topic that cannot be covered in one article. In this material, we will look at making an arch in an apartment or private house, since a traditional rectangular opening, designed in the form of an arch, will become an exclusive detail of the apartment’s interior, distinguishing it from other apartments.

Let's consider an example of calculating a three-hinged arch:

In most cases, regardless of the experience of the master, he knows three parameters of the arch, including the width of the span covered by the arch, the height of the arch, and the depth (width) of the wall. The master is faced with the task of calculating the parameters of the arch parts, assembling them into a single arched structure and firmly securing it.

Method number 1 - empirical

Although any calculation of an arch begins with calculating the radius of its circumference, an arch does not always represent an arc of a circle. There are situations when the arch consists of two arches (this applies to arches made in gothic style) or are characterized by asymmetrical outlines. In this case, each arc of the arch is calculated separately. But, let's return to calculating the circumference of the arch. It is more convenient to produce it on paper, while reducing the size, on a scale, for example, 1: 50. Having prepared the paper and a compass, draw a doorway on a sheet taking into account the scale and draw an axis of symmetry dividing the opening in half. After this, the axis of the compass must be changed by placing the leg with the needle directly on the axis of symmetry. Next, you need to draw several arcs and, having chosen the most optimal one, remove the rest using an eraser.

To demonstrate this example more clearly, let’s draw the arc of an arch:

where R is the radius of the circumference of the arch, and L represents half the chord of the arch, while the size of the chord corresponds to the length of the arch clearance. As for H, this indicator reflects the height of the arch.

Method number 2 - mathematical

To carry out a mathematical calculation of the radius of the circle of an arch, use the Pythagorean theorem, according to which:

R= L2 + (R2 - H2)

R= L2 + (R - H)2

Having expanded the binomial, we transform the expression into the form:

R2 = L2 + R2 - 2HR + H2

Subtract R from both sides and get:

L2 + H2 - 2HR = 0

Let's move the term with R beyond the equal sign:

2RH = L2 + H2

And finally, we get the desired R:

R = (L2 + H2)/ 2H

Important! Formula for calculating the radius of an arch's circumference: R = (L2 + H2)/ 2H , where R is the radius of the arch circumference, H is the height of the arch, L is half the chord of the arch (the length of the arch clearance).

Due to the fact that the arch consists of several parts, for the manufacture of which you will have to use a board of a certain width, we will calculate the dimensions of the part that can be made from a board with specific dimensions. To do this, it is necessary to solve the inverse problem. Taking into account the known radius of the arch and the height of its rise (in this case, this is the width of the board), we will calculate the maximum possible length of the part that can be made from a board with a certain width, that is, we will calculate the length of the arch. Due to the fact that we already know certain relationships from previous calculations, we derive the following formula:

L2 = 2RH - H2

HR-H2

To properly make an arch, you need to prepare several more details, taking into account the fact that they will have to be joined during the installation process. The joining method is selected depending on the purpose of the arch. It is practiced to use overhead parts along the “cheeks” of the arch and join two arches, taking into account the shift by half the part.

In the process of calculating the parts, it is necessary to take into account which side of the arch, depending on its location in relation to the parts, interests us most (internal or external). Simply put, we need to understand how the load-bearing parts of the arch will be located in relation to the arch itself. For example, when installing a domed roof, the load-bearing parts of the arched structure will be located below the arch, and when installing an arched vault - above. Situations arise when it is necessary to arrange a double-sided arch. In the latter case, the calculation of the arch parts will be based on the smallest rounding.

If during operation the arch will bear high loads, it is necessary to strengthen it with the help of various beams and tie rods installed between the arch nodes. Thus, you can equip a load-bearing truss that can withstand increased loads.

If you decide to arrange an arch in the Gothic style, you need to determine the radius of curvature of the arch at the ends as accurately as possible. In this case, you will make your task easier by using an empirical method for calculating an arch, with which you will experimentally select the rounding point of the arch, then from this point downwards draw a line running parallel to the wall, measure the resulting distance and draw a line of the same length on the other side. Then the leg of the compass is placed on this line, the distance (radius) is determined and, moving down or up parallel to the line, the point is determined where the line of the wall and the arc of the arch will close through the second (smaller) arc. On the second side of the drawing you need to do the same.

To make your task easier and calculate the arch as efficiently as possible, you can make several drawings and choose the most suitable one. As you already understand, the given examples of arch calculation are far from the only ones, and there are other methods of calculation, but the empirical method clearly shows you what the arch will look like after installation. In addition, during the calculation process, you can easily adjust the drawing until you achieve the desired result.

Having made the drawing and made sure that it is correct, you need to make an arch template, using which you can easily install any arched structure.

A few words about choosing material for the arch

To make an arch you can use various materials, including metal (the calculation of a metal arch is done slightly differently), as well as brick and concrete, but the simplest and cheapest way is to make an arch from plasterboard. Due to the fact that an arch made of brick and concrete will be very heavy, it is necessary to install reinforcement cage. The reinforcement is easy to bend, and you can easily weld a frame from it. After this, using a hammer drill, you need to drill holes in the walls, drive pins into them and weld the arched frame to them.

Making an arch from plasterboard is much easier and faster, however finished design will be less durable than its brick or concrete counterparts. To do this, it is necessary to make a frame from tin profiles, cover them with plasterboard on the sides, and use segments to cover the internal opening (to make them, the plasterboard is cut on one side, bent and finally secured with self-tapping screws). The resulting edges must be smoothed with putty.

Calculation of a brick arch: main points

To calculate a brick arch, it is also necessary to make a template from fiberboard, the quality of which largely determines the performance characteristics and appearance future brick arch. First of all, it is necessary to calculate the dimensions of the template, which will require knowledge of the width of the arched opening. For example, the width of the arched opening is 15,000 mm.

Since the width of the template should be 5 mm less, it means it will be 1495 mm. Even if the template swells from moisture, you can easily dismantle it at the final stages of work. The height of the template should correspond to the height of the arch; in our case, let it be 168 mm. Since it is recommended to lay a whole face brick at the top of the arch, it is necessary to calculate the number of bricks. Since the height of one row is about 72 mm (brick height + joint height), and total number there are 4 rows, the arched height is 72*4 - 120 = 168mm. (120mm is the height of the brick laid on edge).

In conclusion

Most often, the installation of arched structures is carried out for decorative design premises, regardless of its purpose. This could be a house, an apartment, or an office.

Often, an arch is used to decorate the doorway between the kitchen and living room. However, arch installation can also be used in larger types of construction. If you plan to decorate using an arch interior decoration premises, experts recommend making an arched structure from plasterboard, as it is much cheaper, simpler and less labor-intensive. At the same time, the finished structure is in no way inferior to arches made of brick or wood. In order not to be disappointed in the beauty and correctness of the arch, experts recommend approaching the installation of the arched structure with due care and calculating the arch, which can be done in several ways. In our article we have offered you the two most common and effective ways arch calculations, using which you can build a reliable and aesthetically attractive arch.