Gypsum sealing of seams. Choosing putty for sealing joints on drywall

When making renovations indoors, it is important to choose the right inexpensive material and use it correctly. Craftsmen often use plasterboard to decorate walls. Unlike other materials, its installation will not take much time, and it itself can have any shape.

People who have never done repair work will be pleased by the fact that installing drywall is not as difficult as it seems at first glance: you can handle it even without experience. We understand the intricacies of sealing drywall seams.

Peculiarities

By doing installation work When installing drywall, there will be seams in any case. Their width depends on many factors. You even have to take into account how the plasterboard sheets will change under the influence of temperature conditions. To prevent the seams from being noticeable, they must be sealed with putty..

If the work is done incorrectly, after a certain period of time small cracks may appear at the seams between the drywall. If you skip this step, the surface will turn out uneven, and the sheets will deteriorate in the future. They will be exposed high humidity and stand the test of time. After drywall sheets are covered with paint or other materials, stains may appear near the seams or the wallpaper may swell.

What to seal it with?

To seal holes between sheets of drywall, you need to choose high-quality putty and the tools that will be used to apply it. First you need to choose a spatula. It’s worth choosing the one that is easiest to work with. The choice depends on the master.

Both a narrow and a wide spatula are suitable for working with putty (the main thing is that its blade is flexible enough). You can check this by simultaneously bending the blade and handle. They should not break or crack.

In addition to the spatula, you may need:

  • paint brush;
  • sandpaper;
  • Sander;
  • a drill with a special “mixer” attachment for preparing the mixture.

The choice of putty plays an important role. It depends on what the further decoration of the walls will be. The modern construction market offers many varieties of this material, among which you can buy cheap and expensive raw materials that differ in purpose and quality.

If the walls are simply painted, you need to use simple putty for seams. It will be enough to ensure that the walls are of high quality and visually attractive. If the walls are being prepared for wallpapering, any starting or finishing mixture. It doesn't have to be expensive.

You can take a simple plaster base from quality manufacturer. The main component of such plaster is gypsum, which allows the walls to breathe.

The only drawback gypsum putty is the fact that it sets quickly. Because of this, you have to work quickly, having time to apply a new layer.

To work with seams, you may need paper tapes, sickle tapes or reinforced mesh, with the help of which it is easier to glue transverse as well as longitudinal seams. Paper tape with a groove in the middle will make it easier to work with the inner corners of the seams.

To prevent bubbles from forming under the paper layer, you need to purchase a special tape with micro-perforation. Serpyanka tape is often used for longitudinal joints.

It stretches well, but in terms of strength it cannot be compared with adhesive tape. Although it has an advantage: it is easy to glue. If the master makes a mistake, it can be easily peeled off without leaving visible marks on the surface.

To work, you need to purchase a high-quality primer that will strengthen the surface and also prevent moisture from getting into the connectors between the joints.

Process technology

The process of sealing drywall joints can be divided into several stages, which even a novice master can handle. It is important for inexperienced repairmen to remember to adhere to the rules. This is special important point, since even minor violations can lead to bad result. There is no need to rush, it is important to do everything step by step.

Preparation of materials

No process can be completed without careful preparation. This also applies to sealing seams. Initially, you need to know what the joints between plasterboard sheets should be. The gap can be left small (approximately 1 - 2 mm). This is enough to ensure that the surface does not further deform during shrinkage of the structure. In this case, only the seam will crack, and the sheets themselves will remain intact. On end gypsum boards, the gap must be made larger, expanding the distance between the sheets to 2 mm.

Next you need to clean the surface of the drywall from dust, cut off all the irregularities special knife. You can wipe the surface with a sponge or cleaning cloth. This will take a little time. Then you will need to check the screw heads. This must be done so that when working with putty you do not get dirty when the spatula bounces on the screw. To do this, you need to run your hand over the attachment points. Protruding caps must be tightened using a screwdriver or screwdriver.

Then you need to apply a layer of strengthening primer. If it is a concentrate, it is worth diluting it with water in accordance with the proportions indicated on the package. You just need to mix the finished primer, after which you can immediately cover the seams with it. Apply it at a distance of no more than 15 cm from the joint.

The treated area is clearly visible on the drywall, so the process is perfectly controlled.

Sealing seams

Having prepared all surfaces, as well as purchasing necessary materials and tools, you can start sealing the cracks. Previously, this process was very labor-intensive; it was necessary to apply the solution and embed the sickle tape in it. With the development of technology and the emergence of new building materials, the situation has changed in better side. Now the serpyanka has a self-adhesive layer: this is already enough to significantly simplify the work.

The edge of the tape is easy to pick up and peel off. At this stage, you cannot rush, so as not to ruin all the work. You need to slowly unscrew the layer of tape, pressing it against the joints of the drywall or the opening between the sheet and the floor. When finished, just cut the tape with a special knife.

After finishing work with the tape, you need to prepare the putty using a drill with a special attachment. The consistency of the solution should resemble thick sour cream. Next, using a spatula, fill the entire space of the seams between the gypsum board sheets. Moving the spatula across the joint, you need to cover the seam, while pressing the solution into it. All this is repeated until all the suture grooves are filled. To level the plane of the joints with the chamfer, putty is applied in a strip of 150 mm on each side.

To strengthen the corners, you need to use a serpyanka mesh, the width of which is 100 mm. This will prevent cracks from appearing in the most difficult areas. To ensure that working with corners does not take a lot of time, and the result is perfect, it is necessary to carry out the work using an angle spatula. Having cut a piece of mesh to the required length, you need to fold it in half and attach it to the corner, then apply the solution to both sides and stretch it with a spatula. In this way, the internal corners of the ceiling are also sealed. For sealing external ones use metal corners, secured with self-tapping screws.

When the surface is completely dry, it needs to be leveled using sandpaper. or special grinder. If after sanding unevenness is noticeable, more thorough surface treatment, including leveling, is necessary. This process is repeated until all problem areas will not disappear from sight. Then the drywall is primed using a special deep penetration compound.

After the primer has dried, the plasterboard base can be considered ready for wallpapering or painting.

Having studied all the stages of sealing seams, you can do them yourself. You should not rely solely on your own strengths and do everything at random. When sealing seams, you need to listen to the advice of experts. No matter how well all the work is done, problems may arise due to high load on the walls or sudden changes in weather. There is no need to worry about this.

However, to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to remember that When the temperature changes, any material can deform. In the case of drywall, this leads to cracks. Therefore, you need to fill the seams as carefully as possible. The end joints must be chamfered: this will better strengthen the plasterboard structure.

Priming must be carried out using an acrylic mixture (required for interior work), since façade primer contains many harmful substances. Its layer contains antifungal components. They save the walls from the appearance of fungus or mold in the room. It is recommended to use a composition with greater penetrating ability. When this product dries, it forms a crystal lattice on the surface, due to which the subsequent layer of material applied to the drywall will adhere well to the base.

Drywall today is a fairly popular building material, because with its help you can create almost any structure and shape. It is especially advantageous because it is quite easy and quick to install. Some difficulties can only be caused by sealing the seams between sheets of this material. But still, this procedure is not too complicated, it is quite accessible to do it yourself without the involvement of professionals. The main thing you need to pay attention to is compliance with the work technology, because mistakes made will inevitably lead to the appearance of cracks at the joints.

Necessary conditions for performing work

Before you start sealing the joints between the sheets, you need to comply with a certain temperature regime and humidity conditions. The temperature in the room where repairs are being carried out should not be below 10 degrees. And all wet work must be completed by this time.

An important condition is compliance constant temperature indoors after sealing joints. It is also necessary to avoid possible drafts during work and until the putty has dried.

Advice. Before sealing joints, it is advisable to make sure that all sheets of material are rigidly fastened to the base, otherwise the layer of putty at the seam will quickly collapse. If necessary, it is better to tighten the heads of the screws securing the drywall so that they do not protrude on the surface.

How to seal seams: choosing a tool and putty

To seal seams at the joints of sheets, it is necessary to prepare the following tools and materials:

  • spatula - one familiar to the hand with a flexible blade, or two - narrow and wide;
  • reinforcing mesh - can be replaced with ordinary paper tape;
  • edge plane or drywall knife;
  • putty.

Required Tools

It matters right choice putties for sealing joints. Many people use this type of work finishing putty, which is not always true. Here everything depends on the further finishing of the walls and ceiling, what exactly this surface is being prepared for - for painting or. A putty specifically designed for sealing joints is best, especially if you plan to paint the walls or ceiling. If the surface will be covered with wallpaper in the future, you can use either the finishing or starting wallpaper.

Attention! You should not save on reinforcing the seams between plasterboard slabs. Joints sealed without the use of special reinforcing mesh or tape may subsequently crack.

How to seal joints in drywall with your own hands

First, you need to clean the joints from dust with a slightly damp cloth or using a vacuum cleaner. The plasterboard slabs themselves may have a special thinning along the edge, which is filled with putty and facilitates the process of leveling the surface. If there is no thinning on the edge, the edges of the sheets of material must be cut with a plane or knife at an angle of 45 degrees. Then this place can be primed so that the putty adheres better to the surface of the material and allowed to dry.

First, treat the edge of the drywall

The seam sealing process itself must be performed in the following sequence:


Advice. If the first time it was not possible to lay the reinforcing tape evenly, it is better not to correct it, but to completely remove it and do everything again.

Sealing the seams of drywall sheets at the corners

Corner gaps at the junction of plates are sealed slightly differently than ordinary seams between sheets of material. When filling them with putty mixture you must:

  • first apply a little putty to both surfaces, leveling alternately on both sides;
  • folding the reinforcement tape in half, lay it along the corner seam, fixing it with pressure and removing excess putty mixture;

Working with a fillet weld

  • after the putty mixture has dried, sand the treated surface to remove any unevenness with coarse sandpaper;
  • Apply a thin final layer of putty on top with a slightly wider coverage of the surface and carefully level it to a uniform structure.

If the length of the seams for sealing exceeds 3 m, it is better to divide them into sections for work, performing each separately. By doing this, you can get neater joints. And to quickly understand how to properly seal seams in drywall, you can watch a video on this topic that will help you visualize all the stages of this work.

Installation of reinforcing tape

As you can see, the process of sealing drywall seams does not present any particular difficulties. You can easily handle this work yourself. But if you have doubts about your abilities, then it is better, of course, to turn to the help of professionals or at least get advice from those who have already done such work with their own hands.

Sealing drywall seams: video

Sealing drywall seams with your own hands: photo







Sheathing a metal frame with plasterboard is not the end of the repair work. After covering, you need to seal the drywall seams yourself. To do this, you don’t need to make an effort, draw drawings and follow precise measurements. But, following the step-by-step instructions is necessary.

Stages of sealing seams between sheets of drywall

To seal seams in a plasterboard structure you will need:

  1. Spatula. These tools should be of different sizes.
  2. Mixer and drill attachment.
  3. Set of brushes, .
  4. Grout (sandpaper).
  5. and a set of blades.

Materials also needed:

  1. Putty “Start”, “Finish”.
  2. Acrylic primer mixture.
  3. for sealing drywall seams, the price ranges from 16 to 30 rubles.
  4. Reinforcing tape for corners.
  5. Semin putty.
  6. Plaster Rotband Knauf.

Having collected everything you need, you can start sealing the seams. You need to make sure everything is in place.

Putty for sealing drywall joints should be chosen carefully. There are different ones for different purposes, for wallpaper - cheap and ordinary "Finish", for painting it's worth buying - based on gypsum. Semin putty is most suitable for sealing joints.

Preparatory work

Before sealing the seams, you should prepare the surface; the process of sealing plasterboard seams on the ceiling will be a little more difficult, and also follow generally accepted recommendations from craftsmen:


Surface preparation


Must be durable, especially on the ceiling. If the sheet is loose, then it should be strengthened before. After the work done. This is done using a brush. You can use a roller, but there is no guarantee that the soil mixture will get into the chamfer and all the material will be processed. The joint boundaries should be primed with a resolution of approximately 15 cm in both directions. The video shows a master class on sealing drywall joints.

Sealing seams

In order to start sealing the seams, you need to prepare a putty mixture. It must be mixed to a certain consistency. After diluting and kneading, the mixture should stand for a while, after which the mixture should be stirred again. Don't use too much putty. She freezes. It’s better if there isn’t enough, mix in an additional portion. Now:


When working with paper tape, the technology for sealing seams is different than sealing drywall seams with sickle. Paper is cheaper than mesh, but it is practical, does not tear or stretch (price 16 rubles). A 1 meter long tape is soaked in boiling water. The first layer of putty must dry completely. It must be brought to a smooth state. Afterwards, the paper wrung out from the water is applied to a layer of PVA, which is applied to a layer of putty. The top of the tape should also be coated with glue. You need to smooth the tape with a spatula. The seam at the joint of the sheets will be thin and practical, serving to seal the surface.


Example of a fillet weld

Corner seams are made in the same way. Here you need to be very careful when working with the solution. There is no need to apply a lot of it, then you will have to work for a long time to get a smooth surface. After the work has been done with the seams and corners, the entire surface of the plasterboard product is leveled with finishing putty.

This should be done using a spatula and a thin layer of mortar. Evenness is measured using a level.

Perfect evenness cannot be achieved with wet putty. After drying, excess stripes, grains, and bumps are removed with a mesh or sandpaper. If necessary, apply more Finish in some places. Allow time to dry after each application. The surface under the wallpaper should be covered with Rotband Knauf plaster. It is of high quality and serves as the basis for further decoration.

Pay attention to the video: how to seal seams on drywall.


When the surface is perfect, it should be coated with a primer. It is better to do this with a roller; the corners are primed with a brush. Everything should dry again. Now, for or other decoration. When working with drywall, you should follow the algorithm of actions, then the product with your own hands will turn out to be of high quality and beautiful, which will highlight the interior of the room and decorate the home.

How successfully you cope with such a task as sealing drywall joints depends on the stability of the future structure and its appearance. If you process the seam incorrectly, then over time:

  • cracks or a fine mesh of them will appear in this place;
  • service life will be significantly reduced;
  • the finishing coating will be damaged, and this will certainly entail additional costs Money.

And if the sealing of drywall seams is carried out using technology and using quality materials, then you will never have to spend your family budget on remodeling final repairs in the apartment.

Drywall joints can be treated using many methods. We will tell you the most popular and correct ones. Those that are carried out according to approved technological processes, in accordance with GOSTs, methods and building regulations. Their list is given at the end of the article.

It doesn’t matter whether you need to seal the joints of the drywall that is mounted on metal frame, or glued to flat wall. It is important to follow the process.

Conditions for carrying out work on sealing butt joints

In order to save your earned money, effort and time, several requirements should be met before starting work:

  1. The surface to be treated must be cleaned.
  2. The width of the reinforcing tape must correspond to the dimensions of the seam.
  3. All fastener heads should be recessed into the sheet so that they do not stick out.
  4. GCR on the surface, and especially at the joints, should not have peeling. The presence of such a flaw indicates that you need to cut off the paper to the very base and carefully clean this place with sandpaper.
  5. Check the reliability of fastening of the sheets and the quality of installation of the frame.
  6. Create a favorable indoor microclimate:
  • the humidity should be normal, since in other conditions the gypsum board will change its linear dimensions;
  • the temperature should be maintained at least +10 °C, and this indicator must be maintained for the entire period of work and during drying finishing putty(V winter time temperature indicators should be within +13 – +20 °C);
  • drafts, sudden heating of the room or cooling are unacceptable during the work process.

Sealing seams with serpyanka

Fiberglass mesh, professionals call it serpyanka, is made with adhesive layer. It is designed for sealing butt joints plasterboard sheets, gluing seams, cracks on repaired surfaces. Serpyanka absorbs moisture well. After interaction with the putty and final drying, it gives a single, strong, reinforced plane.

The mesh characteristics are given in this table.

Let's look at how to seal the seams on your own plasterboard construction using fiberglass mesh. It is not worth mentioning once again that the surface must be cleaned not only of dirt, but also of dust. The indoor microclimate should not be disturbed. The process itself will consist of the following stages:

  1. Unstitching.
  2. Primer of joints.
  3. Surface putty.
  4. Fiberglass mesh sticker.
  5. Repeated putty.
  6. Grinding of butt joints.
  7. Cleaning the surface from dirt and dust.

The end joints for any type of seam sealing must necessarily have a chamfer. For this purpose it is used special device- edge plane. This tool will chamfer at an angle of 22.5° by 2/3 of the sheet thickness, which is quite enough for this type of work. Using a plane is much more convenient, and the process is much faster.

It is also permissible to use a knife in this procedure. True, he chamfers at an angle of 45 degrees. But this is quite enough for high-quality performance, you just need to work more carefully and take your time. It doesn’t matter what you use to make the cut - whatever tool you have, use it.

It is imperative to chamfer the cut of drywall. This will be necessary so that putty can be placed in the resulting recess. This procedure will significantly strengthen the structure of the partition or wall.

If you do not do this, then when puttying, you will get a bump on the cut, which will have to be leveled with a thicker layer of finishing putty. And this will lead to more spending building material and rising costs of work. If the layer is thin, then during operation the seam will crack, since the technology for sealing plasterboard seams was initially violated.

The slightest deviation from the technology leads to the formation of cracks on the surface finishing and entails unforeseen expenses in impressive amounts.

Experienced specialists in such circumstances say that the stingy pays twice. And, unfortunately, in practice this is a very common case of technology violation.

Primer of joints

Now you should start priming the joints. To do this, we need a special composition bearing the same name. It can be bought in specialized stores. The primer composition is well absorbed into the material, an invisible film is formed, which has excellent connecting properties and adheres to surfaces. This water-soluble mixture impregnates only upper layer drywall and does not penetrate inside.

During subsequent surface treatment, the cardboard itself will draw water from the solution or glue, thereby worsening the adhesion quality of the material. And the primer layer will prevent this process, since the film does not allow moisture to pass through, does not allow dust to get onto the surface being treated, and even has antifungal components.

The layer thickness must be at least 0.03 mm, and it can be applied:

  • with a regular brush;
  • maklovitsa - a special brush;
  • roller;
  • garden sprayer.

For ease of use, the solution can be poured into a cuvette. And if the volume of the primer container you are using is small, use it by dipping the brush directly into it.

Manufacturers offer us three types of primer composition:

  1. Phenolic mixture. Mainly suitable for working with wood and metal. But it can also be used as the first layer of primer for a plasterboard structure.
  2. Alkyd mixture. Not suitable for drywall. This composition causes deformation of the cardboard layer of the sheet. The paper peels off, resulting in bubbles, which then burst and hang in rags on the surface. It is clear that there is no need to talk about any durability of the clean finish.
  3. Acrylic (universal) mixture. Ideal for drywall, used both before and after puttying.

When choosing a primer mixture, pay attention to one of the parameters - it must be for interior work. The facade mixture contains harmful substances, which are prohibited for use in residential premises.

GCR treated with a special primer mixture lasts longer and does not lose its aesthetic appearance and properties. In addition, the putty lays more evenly on the primed surface.

Seam putty

This type of work is required to level the surface. According to our method, we will do this twice, then the joint between the sheets will become even, smooth and with good adhesive properties.

To work, we need dry or powder putty. It is diluted strictly according to the instructions just before application to the surface. You cannot prepare the composition for future use in large volumes - it dries quickly and you will have to throw away the unclaimed material, as it will become unsuitable for work.

There are some subtleties here. If you are diluting the mixture in large quantities, say, you will be processing a large volume of surface and you have a lot of workers, then when using a construction mixer for mixing, do not use high speeds. This method involves a lot of additional air in the composition, and its excessive amount has a bad effect on the strength of the final product.

If you are diluting a small volume, then pour the dry powder into the water until islands form on the surface of the water and stir gently. The color of the putty can be beige or gray. This indicator does not affect the strength of the material in any way.

Two spatulas are required for work:

  • wide (25-30 cm),
  • narrow (7-8 cm).

A layer of putty is applied to the joint using a narrow spatula in such a way that the composition can penetrate deep into it; you can drown it a little - press it into the seam. In this case, you should not spare the solution, but you also do not need to show fanaticism. You don’t have to remove the remains for now, because the mesh will then be glued onto them. The excess will be removed at another stage of the work.

Don't forget about the places on the drywall where the screw heads are screwed in - they also need to be puttied.

Processing the joint with fiberglass mesh

After applying the putty solution to the joint, you need to apply tape to the seam. It’s better to measure it in length in advance, but you can do it while you’re working, but this is when you have an assistant nearby. Serpyanka cuts well with scissors. Using a spatula, press it firmly along the entire length to the joint.

The tape must be applied strictly in the center of the seam. If one piece is finished, overlap the next one and continue working.

Using a wide spatula, go over the surface you are working on again and at the same time remove excess putty. Now it takes time for the joints to dry.

Second layer of putty

The covering layer can be applied to the joints when the surface is dry. To do this you will need to wait from 8 to 12 hours. The second pass will remove all the imperfections that were missed earlier and make the seam stronger.

It is necessary to achieve a minimum covering layer - so that the joint cannot be determined by eye.

But if this does not work out, there is a next stage in the technology of work.

Sanding drywall joints

Sanding the areas we need is done with regular sandpaper, an abrasive mesh, which is fixed to a special block, or a special abrasive grater. What to choose - decide for yourself.

Sandpaper is not very convenient to use, but you can stuff it onto a block - and then the work will become much more convenient. The sandpaper constantly becomes clogged with dust during operation, so you have to constantly clean it. You can buy the material in the store in rolls or cut into pieces. An important indicator to purchase this product is the grain size. You can start work with P100-P180, this is a larger option, and finish with P 220-P280.

The abrasive mesh has a perforated structure and passes through the holes most of dust. It is mounted on special holders; the meshes can be changed at your discretion. Stores sell it already cut into pieces. This tool is convenient to work with, although it costs a little more than sandpaper.

Think not only about the material, but also about yourself. The work you want to do with your hands now is very dusty. Therefore you will need:

  • respirator;
  • gloves;
  • special glasses;
  • protective clothing.

The room must have good lighting, otherwise you will not be able to see defects that require correction.

If there are no practical skills in this process, first try sanding the joint small area. This is done in a circular motion. At the same time, do not grab large area and control the pressure. If scratches appear on the surface, change the material number to a smaller one or reduce the pressure. After the work is completed, all dust and dirt will need to be removed.

When working using this technology, you will end up with alternating layers: putty, serpyanka, putty. This combination is made using approved technology and gives a good effect. The joint is flush with the surface of the sheet and is difficult to determine by touch.

Sealing drywall seams with perforated paper tape

Now let's look at how to seal butt joints on gypsum boards using perforated paper tape. In principle, the technology is the same as described above. Having a clean surface and observing the acceptable microclimate in the room, you have to complete the following steps:

  1. Unstitch the seams.
  2. Prime the joints.
  3. Putty them.
  4. Apply perforated paper tape.
  5. Apply a covering layer of putty.
  6. Sand the butt joints.
  7. Clean the surface from dirt and dust.

The first, second and third points are carried out using the same technology as described in the “” section, so the information indicated there will be useful for this type of joint processing. But let’s stop at the fourth point and talk about this material in details.

Processing the joint with perforated paper tape

This material is a strip of paper on which there are:

  • microholes, they are the ones that prevent the tape from swelling and bubbling;
  • marking line in the middle, which serves for convenience and simplification of the work process, especially for finishing internal corners premises.

Perforated paper tape for drywall prevents the appearance of cracks at the joints of the sheets. Her physicochemical characteristics identical to drywall, it reacts to any changes in temperature and humidity in the same way as it does. This means that deformation in seams treated with this material is excluded.

Paper tape is presented to the consumer in rolls, width 52 mm, sold in lengths of 50, 76 and 153 m. Environmentally friendly pure material, which is produced on the basis of cellulose. It is made from especially durable paper, fiberglass reinforced in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Its surface is slightly rough to the touch. This helps with better adhesion to the putty.

The internal structure with microscopic holes prevents the formation of air inclusions during operation. If you tear off a small piece of paper tape, you can see how long the fibers are. This means that it can withstand a high tensile load.

However, it is worth considering that the tape should fit fairly tightly on the layer of putty to the seam, without bends or bubbles. Therefore, the putty solution should not be thick at all. You can also avoid the appearance of bubbles using micro-perforated tape.

According to the technology at the junctions with cut edges you should sculpt a tape that has been previously moistened in water. The process is more labor-intensive than with serpyanka; the installation method differs from the mentioned technology and has some nuances.

The tape itself is not self-adhesive, which means it is applied to a layer of putty. First soak the measured pieces in boiling water for about five minutes. Take one out and squeeze out excess water. To do this, the material must be passed between the large and index fingers any hand, thereby removing excess moisture from it.

Adjust the tape to the center of the joint and, in a taut position, lightly press it into the putty. Adjacent ends should overlap. Carefully use a spatula to go along the tape - from the center to both ends alternately.

Apply some force to ensure proper adhesion, but be careful not to overdo it as you might squeeze the putty layer out from under the tape. A layer of 1.5-2 mm should remain under its middle part, and 0.8 mm under the edges. Now you can use a spatula to remove excess mortar along the longitudinal edges.

Then you need to wait until the joints dry, putty them a second time and leave them again for 8-12 hours. Do not forget - the necessary microclimate must be maintained in the room.

After the seams have dried, you need to sand their surface. How to do this and with what is described in the “” section, in the “” subsection.

The need to perform these works

The work described above is, of course, labor-intensive, and you have to spend a certain amount of money on it family budget. But nothing can be done. After all, puttying drywall seams is as necessary as metallic profile and its high-quality installation.

Forgetting to putty the seam or deciding to save on it preparatory stage money, you will one day find in your apartment small crack, which will increase in size. No matter how rigidly the frame is installed and the sheets are securely fastened, under the influence of vibrations and unexpected shocks, the gypsum board joints will “play.” Which will certainly lead to their cracking and loss of dried putty, since the owner did not use reinforcing tape.

Violation of any of the existing technologies leads to poor quality work, and subsequently to a shorter service life of all materials involved. Which is fraught with additional costs of money and time.

Sealing drywall seams is a necessary operation when finishing with plasterboard. These days, most apartment owners in multi-storey buildings do not leave balconies and loggias open, as they did before. They glass them, fortunately modern technologies allow you to do this quickly, efficiently and inexpensively, and perform exterior and interior decoration.

As a result, the loggia or balcony turns into another closed room, which everyone uses at their own discretion. Someone is making another room there. Someone's workshop. And someone winter Garden. But anyway the walls glazed balcony require finishing.

For interior decoration use different material. Both plastic and wood. I have seen how some owners use ceramic tiles when finishing balconies. One of the most popular finishing materials is drywall. Which has many advantages over other finishing materials.

Firstly, it doesn’t matter at all what condition the wall is in or how smooth its surface is. The technology for installing drywall is such that it is very easy to level out all the unevenness of the wall.

Secondly, it is enough to mount just one sheet to cover a large area of ​​the wall.

Thirdly, between the wall and the drywall there is small space, where you can lay any insulation.

Well, fourthly, any type of paint can be applied to the surface of drywall. decorative finishing. Just paint it. Or wallpaper. Apply decorative plaster.

Information: the only thing that drywall does not like is dampness and humidity.

When installing drywall sheets, as a rule, no difficulties arise. A frame made of metal or wood is attached to the wall. Insulation is laid between the slats and sheets of drywall are attached to the frame using self-tapping screws.

And here one interesting point arises that I would like to dwell on separately. After the sheets of drywall are installed, there is a seam between them. And if any kind of complex design, then there will be many such seams.

Before you begin to putty the plasterboard, it is necessary that the drywall seams be sealed. If you putty the seams just like that, together with the plane of the sheet, then in the future the putty will simply come off at the seams, and the surface will not look uniform.

Tool

I love it construction work impossible to do without special tool. And sealing seams in gypsum boards is no exception. You will need:

  • putty bucket
  • drill
  • mixer
  • set of spatulas;
  • grater
  • set of mesh for grater
  • roller
  • cuvette

Materials you will need:

  • deep penetration primer
  • putty
  • paper tape for seams
  • mesh for reinforcement

Preliminary preparation of seams

Sealing technology seams between sheets of drywall are not difficult. But there are certain subtleties here too.

If you look at the ends of the drywall sheets, you will definitely notice that they are different. The factory seam usually has a round shape. Sometimes the shape can be flat, but in any case, the seams of the drywall are pressed into the depth of the sheet. And ordinary sections, not processed at the factory, are not covered with cardboard and are not pressed in.

So, we don’t touch those factory seams that are covered with cardboard. And we process the sections on which the gypsum located inside the sheet is visible. You need to do it this way: take a sharp stationery knife and at an angle 45 degrees The upper edges of the gypsum board are cut off. It turns out the joint between the factory seam and the seam with the groove that you cut out.

Let's start sealing the seams. putty

The first step is to prime the plasterboard very carefully using a roller. Both the seams and the entire surface of the sheets. While the primer dries, you need to prepare the putty. Today, a great variety of putties are produced. But the most common and popular are:

  • Knauf Fugenfuller
  • KREISEL
  • Vetonit Gyproc Siliote
  • SEMIN CE 86

In principle, there is practically no difference between them. But as experience with plasterboard shows, it has proven itself best putty for sealing seams SEMIN CE 86. In principle, you can use any - they are all good.

The putty should be poured into a bucket and, using a mixer, brought to the desired condition, adding water. It should look like thick sour cream. The drill speed must be minimal, otherwise the reinforcing additives will be destroyed. This will significantly reduce the strength of the putty. It should be remembered that you cannot mix old and new putties. The old one should be worked out, and only then the new putty should be mixed.

Well, after the putty is prepared, it begins DIY seam sealing. To do this, apply the solution across the seam. Don’t just apply it, but kind of rub it deep into the seam. The mixture should fill it to its entire thickness. There should be an excess thickness of the mixture on the surface so that it does not dry out quickly and can be worked with. In this way, fill the seam along its entire length. If the seam length is long, then sealing drywall seams is divided into several stages.

Reinforcement

If you simply apply putty into the seam, it will not stick there. As the putty dries, it will decrease in volume and simply fall out of the seam. To prevent this from happening, the seam should be reinforced. For this purpose, a special paper tape for seams or reinforcing fiberglass mesh.

When purchasing reinforcing mesh, it should be checked for quality. This is done like this: you should pull the mesh to stretch it, see how the cells move, break the mesh, and iron it on top with your hand. If the mesh has not burst or become frayed, then it is a high-quality mesh. To make it convenient to work with the mesh, it is already wound at the factory into rolls with different thickness and length.

So, apply mesh or paper on top of the generously applied putty in the seam. Then, with a strong movement of the spatula, we rub it into the solution that was applied earlier. Thus, the mesh ends up in the middle of the solution layer, and reinforces it, preventing it from shrinking when drying. After the mesh is recessed into the seam, excess putty is removed with a wide spatula.

If a thickening appears at the seam site, then you should use a spatula to “pull out” the seam to a distance 30 cm V different sides. All. The putty should now be completely dry. After the putty on the seams has completely dried, the surface of the plasterboard sheets is puttied.

Sanding putty

Sanding the areas sealed with putty is the final stage of finishing the balcony with plasterboard. You can use regular sanding sandpaper, but it will be much more convenient to use a special grater in which special meshes with different sizes cells. The work is done efficiently and quickly. We remind you that grouting drywall joints performed only after the solution has completely dried. Grouting is done in a circular motion.

Please note: that during grinding it is very a large number of dust. Therefore, you should take care of the funds personal protection: respirator or cotton-gauze bandage.

After sanding is completed, the surface is again coated with a primer. All. Now you can apply any decorative coating.

Sealing drywall seams photo

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Sealing drywall seams video

We also invite you to watch the video on the topic of our article. This video provides instructions on how to seal drywall seams.

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Discuss the article

To the post “Sealing drywall seams: step-by-step instructions” 8 comments

    Of course, everything that is written here is ideal. But we should not forget about the shrinkage of the house and its ability, so to speak, to “walk” depending on the time of year. No matter how well the joint seam in the drywall sheets is sealed (even using “serpyanka”), it will still make itself felt over time. Therefore, it is better to calculate the plasterboard seams and place them in secluded places on the walls, so that when they appear, they do not attract much attention to themselves.

    Interesting, I always thought that sealing drywall seams was a responsibility experienced craftsman, and not the ordinary man in the street. The instructions are quite simple and you can do everything yourself (of course, if you have the right hands). As for grouting, I didn’t know that it was done exclusively in circular movements, usually it turned out horizontally, it’s worth a try. Thanks for the really practical tips.

    Thank you for the article. The other day I finished finishing the walls with plasterboard in the house for insulation. And so I thought for 3 days what to do with the stitches. Leave it like this or close it up? Now I am sure that it needs to be repaired. Sealing the seams is of course a long and tedious job. but it will be much more reliable. And the heat will be retained better in winter. So it's worth working on it. I hope everything works out.

    The main point is which putty is best to use, the whole result of the work depends on this. Since it would be unpleasant to find cracks on the ceiling after a while. I’ll try to find a putty exactly as recommended here SEMIN CE 86. And for reinforcement it’s probably better to use paper tape for seams. In general, everything is not difficult if you follow the recommendations from the article.