A plasterboard partition, characteristics of materials, advantages and disadvantages of the design, development of its scheme, installation of the frame and its sheathing, device of the doorway and preliminary surface finishing. The disadvantages of interior drywall partitions include their average strength when compared with similar stone, concrete or wooden structures. In contrast, it is much easier to damage the gypsum board by careless handling.
The material does not tolerate direct contact with water. In case of accidental flooding of the room, part of the plasterboard partitions will have to be changed. On this, perhaps, all the disadvantages of drywall end.
Selection of materials for GKL partitions
The main materials used for the installation of plasterboard partitions are light metal profiles and gypsum board. The profiles that form the frame differ in cross-sectional dimensions and functional purpose:
- Guide profile PN (UD) … Made in the form of a thin-walled channel. Its width can be from 50 to 100 mm, the size of the shelves is 40 mm. These parameters are always indicated in the marking, for example: PN40-75, where 40 is the width of the shelf, and 75 is the profile. The guide profiles fix the uprights of the metal frame of the partition.
- Rack profile PS (CD) … It differs from PN by the presence of special bend locks on the shelves and has a similar marking. Rack profiles are used to stiffen the structure and attach gypsum board (gypsum plasterboard) to them.
- Corner profile … It is used in the design of the outer corners of the partition and protects them from mechanical damage.
- Arched profile … It is used to create openings of any curved shape.
- Beacon profile … It is T-shaped and serves as a guide when aligning walls.
All of the above profiles have a length of 2750-6000 mm and a metal thickness of 0.4-0.55 mm. The last parameter affects the strength, weight and cost of the product.
The gypsum plasterboard with which the frame is sheathed must have a thickness of at least 12.5 mm. In the manufacture of a curved opening in the partition, thin sheets of up to 12.5 mm are used for the convenience of giving the structure the desired shape. Drywall is divided into types:
- Standard GKL … It is the most common material and has a gray color and blue markings. It can be ceiling or wall. Ceiling drywall sheets are always thinner.
- Moisture resistant gypsum board … It is used in the manufacture of partitions for the separation of wet rooms. It has a green color and blue markings.
- Fire-resistant gypsum board … It is used for insulation of ventilation shafts or electrical panels. It is gray in color with red markings.
Also on sale is drywall, combining the properties of the last two types. It has a green color and red markings.
When choosing a gypsum board, you should pay attention to its purpose, and not only to the thickness of the products. This will help to significantly increase the durability of the entire structure during its operation.
Creating a drawing of a drywall partition
A working scheme of a plasterboard partition is necessary when planning a structure of the required rigidity and volume, as well as determining the types and quantities of materials required for its manufacture. Complex calculations are not required here.
Before making a plasterboard partition, you first need to draw on paper on a scale a plan of the room indicating its height, length and width, and then mark the line of the future partition on it. After that, a frontal sketch of the wall should be performed and the location of the load-bearing profiles and gypsum boards, arranged in a checkerboard pattern, should be applied to it. At their joints, provision should be made for the installation of horizontal jumpers.
The number of rack profiles, as well as their location, depends on the planned load on the structure. The sheathing of the outer and inner sides of the partition should be done so that the edges of the sheets are located on different profiles.
For example, if on one side of the wall the joints of the sheets are on the third, fifth and seventh racks, then on the other side they should be located on the second, fourth and sixth with a step between the racks of 600 mm. All this must be taken into account when making a drawing of a plasterboard partition for zoning a common room.
Important! The attachment points on the partition of furniture or decor items should be reinforced at the stage of creating the frame with additional profiles.
Installation of a frame for a plasterboard partition
After drawing up the scheme of the plasterboard enclosing structure, counting and choosing the necessary materials, you can start making the metal frame. The toolbox used for this job is not that great. This is a tape measure, a plumb line, a level and a marker, a hammer, a clerical knife, screws, dowels, a screwdriver, metal scissors and a puncher.
According to the layout of the partition, it is necessary to measure the required distance from the nearest wall in several places and draw lines along the ceiling and floor. When connecting their ends on both walls, you get a closed loop. Its sides must be strictly vertical, this must be checked with a plumb line.
Then, on the guide profiles, glue the sealing tape and fix them, guided by the markings made. To do this, it is required to make holes for dowels with a puncher in advance along the lines of the ceiling and floor.
The step of fixing the PN profiles should not be more than 1 m. The size of the dowels depends on the material of the walls. For fastening the profiles to a concrete slab, you can use “Bystromontazh” dowels with a length of 75 mm, and to a wooden floor - ordinary screws 45-50 mm. Cutting profiles to the desired size should be scissors for metal, and in their absence, you can use the "grinder".
To install a plasterboard partition, the first rack should be placed close to the wall. Fastening it to the guide profiles is done using a cutter. It is also advisable to glue the rack over with a sealing tape at the point of abutment to the main structure to increase the heat and sound insulation of the future partition.
After installing the first profile, you need to check its verticality with a level, and then attach the rack to the supporting wall with dowels. For concrete walls, the length should be 75 mm.
Then all other racks should be installed. Their number and pitch depend on the planned load on the partition. With its decorative purpose, the pitch of the profiles can be taken as 1200 mm. If a cabinet hangs on the wall, then the distance between the rack profiles should be 400 mm.
Usually, the posts are mounted under the middle or edges of the sheet, that is, with a step of 600 mm. And only the second post is installed at a distance of 200-500 mm from the extreme profile. This is due to the fact that thinning will be cut off the sheet, making it narrower. At any distance between the vertical profiles, the edges of the gypsum board must always accurately fall on the center of the rack.
On both sides, each rack profile must be attached with a cutter to the guides. In the process of placing the racks, care should be taken that a too narrow piece of drywall sheet does not have to be fastened in the corner of the partition. This can create a problem later in the process and contribute to cracking.
At the locations of the horizontal seams of the gypsum board, jumpers must be installed. To do this, you need to cut off pieces of profile with a length of 100 mm with metal scissors and attach them to the posts at the required height. Then the horizontal profile must be inserted inside and fixed with a cutter. This completes the installation of the frame.
Sheathing the frame of the partition with plasterboard
Installation of the first sheathing sheet should be started by cutting off its thin part lengthwise. Such thinning on the remaining sheets will be necessary to mask the gypsum board joints after their installation and putty. The first sheet must be attached to the frame so that its entire edge coincides with the center of the profile. Then the gypsum board should be fixed with self-tapping screws 25 mm long.
At the edges of the sheet, their attachment pitch should be 150-200 mm, and in the middle part - up to 300 mm. Self-tapping screws should not be screwed into the corners of the sheets, it is better to retreat from them by 5-10 cm. The rest of the sheathing is attached according to the developed scheme.
When installing a drywall partition with your own hands, you need to take into account several rules:
- It is imperative to leave the necessary sheathing deformation gaps: between the gypsum board and the floor - 1 cm, between the gypsum board and the ceiling - 0.5 cm, between adjacent sheets - 2 mm.
- It is recommended to avoid cruciform joints in every possible way, this arrangement of sheets violates the strength of the partition.
- If one side of the structure is sheathed from left to right, then the cladding of the frame on the other side must be done in the reverse order. This will prevent the overlap of the plasterboard seams on the same frame post.
Taking these rules into account, you first need to sheathe one side of the profiles and fill the cavities between the uprights with insulating material of the required thickness. It can be rock wool or foam. If water pipes are placed in the partition, separate insulation should be put on them to prevent the formation of condensation. The electrical wiring here must be laid in advance in a protective corrugated sleeve. After carrying out all these activities, the other side of the frame should be sheathed.
Installation of a doorway in a plasterboard partition
If a plasterboard partition with a door is planned, work should be started from the opening. After fixing the guide profiles, you need to install rack-mount reinforced profiles for it.
It will be easier if you take a beam of the required length and thickness slightly less than the width of the metal rack and insert it into the cavity of the doorway profiles. That is, when installing a partition from a profile w. 100 mm, a bar with a thickness of 95 mm is taken, inserted into the rack and fixed in it with wood screws with a pitch of 150-200 mm.
In the absence of a beam, the racks can be reinforced with a guide profile. To do this, it should be connected to the rack using metal screws. Then, according to the above principle, you need to fix all the other vertical profiles.
Installation of the door lintel between two reinforced uprights is done in this way. At each end of the lintel profile, measure 100 mm and cut only its flanges. Then, at the place of the notch, the profile needs to be bent 90 degrees - that's it, the jumper is ready. It remains to screw it over the opening at the desired height from the floor. When installing a heavy door, the top of the opening should also be reinforced.
Features of finishing plasterboard partitions
After the installation of the partition is completed, it should be prepared for outdoor decoration. The joints of gypsum plasterboard sheets are reinforced with serpyanka tape and sealed with gypsum plaster. The outer corners of the partition must be reinforced with a metal perforated corner, which is fixed with the same mixture. The caps of the screws should be hidden under the putty.
After the putty has dried at the joints, corners and fasteners, the entire surface of the partition must be treated with a primer to ensure adhesion, followed by a layer of finish.
Then a continuous putty is performed on both sides of the partition. To finish it with wallpaper, it is enough to apply a starting layer of a coarse-grained mixture - it will give the surface the required roughness. To prepare the surface for painting, you will need an additional layer of fine-grained finishing putty. The work is carried out with a wide spatula in arched movements.
After the end of this process, it is necessary to wait time for the applied mixture to dry, and then sand the surface. For grouting, special abrasive nets No. 100-150 are used. The resulting gypsum dust can be removed immediately with an industrial vacuum cleaner. In its absence, the respiratory system should be protected with a respirator. The result of the work should be a smooth partition, ready for decoration with any coating.
How to make a drywall partition - watch the video:
In this way, it is possible to make the layout of any standard apartment original with plasterboard partitions, not to mention the possibilities of their use in a private house. Good luck!
