If you are an experienced craftsman, it will not be difficult for you to make a drywall ceiling. So you can save money and gain an important skill if you are doing such work for the first time. Having mastered this business, you can easily install slopes, sheathe walls with drywall or install piers. Drywall is popular today, almost no repair is complete without it.
Expert advice
If before installation you notice that the base surface is in poor condition, it should be restored. It is important to make sure that the base is strong enough. Otherwise, you will need to do less work. When repairs are required, sometimes a primer coat is sufficient. This will strengthen the top layer. If there are cracks, they should be puttied.
Preparation for work
A single-level plasterboard ceiling consists of many elements. This should include guide profiles. You will also have to purchase the main profiles. The first are attached to the wall and are located below the ceiling level. They should run along the perimeter of the room. Carrier profiles are inserted into them, which are also called longitudinal. Between them, you will need to install secondary profiles. Drywall sheets are fixed to these profiles. You can recognize them by their curved edges, stiffening ribs and longitudinal corrugations.
A single-level plasterboard ceiling also consists of straight hangers with a clip, which are called universal. Most often in such works, direct U-shaped suspensions are used, which are attached to the ceiling. The hangers have holes in the side parts. This allows you to screw the profile to them at different heights and adjust it. You should also purchase connecting elements, namely dowels and anchors. With their help, suspensions and crabs are fixed to the ceiling.
Preparation of tools
Single-level plasterboard ceiling can be installed if you have:
- level;
- screwdriver;
- drill;
- roulette;
- paint cord;
- triangle or square;
- line;
- hacksaw;
- planer.
Additional preparations
It is better to use the water level. The drill must have the function of a hammer drill andhave different fittings. It will be needed for drilling and cutting holes for lamps. In addition to the paint cord, you will need a pencil. For the final stage, prepare:
- spatula;
- construction knife;
- reinforcing tape;
- sandpaper;
- putty;
- putty container.
Work algorithm
As soon as all the tools and materials are prepared, installation can begin. At the first stage, you should decide how much the ceiling will be located below the base. A minimum of 10 cm can be sacrificed, a standard lamp will take 9 cm. Markings should be made on the walls around the entire perimeter for the installation of guide profiles. In all corners, for this you need to measure the height of the room.
Having chosen the lowest angle, mark the desired distance from the floor. Along the entire wall, you need to designate a horizontal line using a water level. The line can be beaten off with a masking cord at the marked points. Drill holes for dowels along the wall lines. The distance between them should be 40 cm.
The next step is to screw the guide profiles. When installing a single-level plasterboard ceiling, hangers should be mounted in increments of 70 cm. First, parallel lines should be drawn, making markings. The main profiles in the next step are inserted into the guides. The main profiles are attached to the hangers. After that, they need to be bent. In order to ensureevenness, the cord should be tightened.
You need to fix the secondary ones to the main profiles. They are fixed in those places where the sheets of drywall will be joined together. This will allow you to get a metal grill, which will look like a single-level frame. When installing a single-level plasterboard ceiling, you will need to lay wires for wiring in the next step. It is important to make grooves through which the cable will pass. They should be located in the wall and run from the switch to the ceiling. Once the cable has been routed, it is possible to carry out the wiring in the ceiling, leaving free ends in the places provided. Now you can proceed to the next stage of installing drywall and attaching it to the frame.
Working with sheathing
As soon as the metal frame of a single-level plasterboard ceiling is ready, drywall should be strengthened on it. This procedure is not easy. It can be divided into several stages. The first step is to cut the sheets with a hacksaw. The tool must be special and have fine teeth. You can replace it with a clerical knife.
When installing a single-level plasterboard ceiling, it is better to cut canvases with certain dimensions. As an example, the parameters are 120 x 250 cm. The ends of the sheet should fall on the supporting frame gratings. Sheets should be laid on a flat surface. It could be a table. Along the level of drywall, it is necessary to draw a knife from the front side. The sheet is then shifted to the corner andbreaks down. Then you need to turn it over and cut the cardboard on the other side. After the cut, an edge is formed, it must be processed with a planer. It should not have kinks. All protruding edges must be trimmed with a knife.
Holes are cut out for recessed lights. It is also necessary to take care of where the ceiling sockets will be located. They are measured by determining the location on the sheet. Then you can mark up and make holes with a drill with a nozzle. You can use a hacksaw. If pipes will pass through the drywall, the diameter of the holes for them must be made larger by 10 mm.
Work algorithm
After reviewing the photo of single-level plasterboard ceilings, you can understand which design you like best. But in any case, you need to follow the technology. The next step is to finish. Plates are attached to the frame in a longitudinal or transverse way. In the latter case, the sheets are fastened so that they are perpendicular to the supporting metal profiles. If you choose longitudinal fastening, the sheets will be parallel to the main bearing profiles.
If there are additional gratings, the sheets are fixed from their corner in perpendicular directions. Otherwise, the fastening is carried out from the end or from the center. When installing a single-level plasterboard ceiling with lighting, you will need to screw in the screws, stepping back from the edge of the sheet 10 mm. The screws must be positioned withfront surface of the web perpendicular.
The fastener is deepened so that its head does not pierce the cardboard and does not protrude above the front surface. They should enter the metal frame by about 10 mm. The length of the self-tapping screw should be selected in such a way as to take into account the thickness of the drywall sheathing. The distance from one self-tapping screw to another should be 150 mm or less. The value can be increased by 2 times if the lining is multiple.
In the guide profile, the screws are installed closer to the rear wall. The screw will not be able to bend the profile shelf inward. The cardboard should not be disheveled where the screws will be. If a fastener is deformed or misplaced, it should be removed and a new one installed, 50mm away from the bad attachment point.
Expert Tips
When making a single-level plasterboard ceiling with your own hands, you must place the joints of the sheets on the profile. Plates should not fit right up to the walls. The gap is not recommended to putty. It will be necessary to cover it with a ceiling corner. If the slabs expand, this will avoid deformation of the ceiling.
When slabs are attached to the ceiling, help should be enlisted. Otherwise, props can be used. Plates are placed horizontally. They are adjusted to each other and screwed to the frame with screws. Before installation, the sheets should be left indoors for two days. Then the material will acquire the desired temperature and humidity.
Putting joints
When installing single-level plasterboard suspended ceilings, you will need to putty the joints. You don't need to do this right away. You have to wait 2 days. The joints are then inspected for defects. If necessary, they should be removed. The surface is cleaned of dust. It is better to use reinforcing tape. It is laid in all joints. It will exclude cracking.
If expensive putty is used, only joints should be treated with it, after which it is possible to paint the surface of the spray gun over the fiberglass. When cheap putty is used, the entire ceiling is covered with it, then it is painted with a roller. To begin with, you will need to clean the edges of the seam and moisten the surface. After that, fill the seams with putty, pressing the material with a spatula.
Now you can start applying the main layer of putty. Next, a reinforcing tape is laid and pressed into the material. It is important to exclude the formation of air bubbles. The surface of the tape is covered with a layer of putty. After that, the material is left to dry completely. Joints must be sanded with sandpaper. Next, a layer of putty is applied and another one is a leveling layer. All this is left to dry. Irregularities are removed with sandpaper.
Choice of lighting fixtures
Installation of a layer of a single-level plasterboard ceiling is accompanied by the installation of fixtures. Usually point built-in devices are used. In this case, the lighting can be multi-position. It is better to purchase halogen lamps, the body of which will be metal, brass, glass or thermoplastic.
Single-level and multi-level plasterboard ceilings are often installed, complemented by lamps with different shades. Thus, the body can be matte brass, polished, black chrome, which will make the ceiling even more attractive. If you will be using backlighting in the background, then it is better to purchase fluorescent lamps.
Choosing halogen appliances, you can increase the height of the ceiling. Using halogen lamps, which are warm white light sources, you can get lighting that will not distort the shades in the room. It is better not to touch the glass surface with your hands, as you can leave greasy stains. This will cause the glass of the bulb to melt at the point of contact. It is better to use a cloth glove or a clean cloth.
In closing
Drywall in a short time has turned from a material of little use in repair to one of the most common. False fireplaces, arches and columns are made from it. Today, this material is used for mounting ceilings. It has many advantages, such as relatively light weight.
It can be used to install a ceiling system that will have a unique design. Another plus is that drywall can be used even by a beginner. If he follows all the rules and recommendations, the ceiling will turn out beautiful.
