Plasterboard Installation / Ceilings

Well then. You have become brave and decided well i can save some money here if i sheet my 12m lounge room ceiling myself. But your probably wondering well what do i need to do to install it correctly. Well here is some simple advice i hope helps you along the way. Firstly you need to measure you room and work out all the sheets you need to get, remembering the biggest plasterboard sheet size you can get is 6m long.

Once you have worked out how many sheets you need, you will then need to think about labour, as in how many friends you will need to get it done. If you have a plasterboard sheet lifter like the one pictured below, then you can get away with sheeting your ceiling with you and your mate. If you do not have one of these machines then the minimum you will need is 3 people, but 4 is recommended. You can how ever hire out these sheet lifters for around $50 a day so that is not bad value really compared to your mates wanting a carton of beer each and a free barbie.

Now to the sheeting part. Usually you will start against a back wall, never in the middle, sometimes you have too, but usually against a back wall. If your finish is a square set finish it is advised to take of the 50ml recess on the edge of the first sheet when you start, thus making your first sheet 1150ml wide and not the regular 1200ml. If it is cornice then you do not need to worry, as the cornice will cover the recessed edge. Before you throw up your first sheet you need to glue it with a product called Stud Adhesive. You can see some i installed on the ceilings below. Now the stud adhesive is placed on at 200ml, 400ml, leave the centre then 800ml and 1000ml. Look at the picture below to get a better understanding. The reason we do not glue the centre is because that is where we will be screwing the sheet, 2 x 25ml screws either side of the 600ml line. If i was to put glue there and then screw in the same place it would cause problems because as the glue drys it pulls the sheet harder to the battens and will pull the head of the screw through the paper faced plasterboard.

Now also if your room is longer then 6m you will need a butt join, that is where the ends of 2 sheets meet together in a ceiling or wall. Now as you can see, my example sheet below stops halfway between 2 metal ceiling battens(these battens are installed at 450ml centres for 10ml sheet and 600ml centres for 13ml sheet), the reason for this is so the ceiling can be backed blocked (will explain this in a later post) so it pitches up where the join meets. This allows the tradesman to trowel the butt join back to a flat level later. You will have to measure the plasterboard to make sure it does stop between 2 battens because it does not always work out that a full 6m will land in that position.

Now once its glued and cut to the right size you can throw the sheet up making sure you screw with 25ml screws for 10ml or 32ml screws for 13ml sheet, both ends of the sheet on each batten and 2 in the centre on either side of the 600ml line. Now this is the way its done in Hobart, Devonport and Burnie, but in Launceston it is screwed another way, but this way is fine, less sanding later.

Just one last thing. When sheeting ceilings that are bigger than 6m long, make sure that butt joins are staggered at LEAST 600ml apart from the previous sheet, you can have them inline if there is a 1200 sheet between them but sheets next to each other must be staggered minimum 600ml to make it easier to hide the joins when trowelling.

Ok, now you know how to throw up 6m long plasterboard sheets, enjoy and have fun with it, it is heavy work but it is not impossible for you to do on your own and save yourself 1000’s of dollars in the process. #plasterboard

Regards

Phillip Cordwell

http://www.philthecracks.com

note: photos below were taken at Sorell Springs near Oatlands at a sheep station cottage called Brooklands. Hi Jack 🙂