Plasterboard Query

vickyb242

Hi,

I am going to try and board the downstairs ceilings of my house myself, to try and save some money on the plasters bill. Please can someone give me an idea on what size plasterboard to buy, is one type better for ceiling boarding?

Thanks

robnye

the biggest boards are 8ft by 4ft and it will be very difficult to put up by yourself, but will require the least amount of boards (and possible price)

also leaves less joins to cover

take a look at local diy store for sizes and prices

you still need to finish it in some way , ie special paper over the joins, in which case less boards equals less joins to cover

wallbash

very difficult to put up by yourself

So rope in a couple of friends , Plasterboard is not 'very' heavy, but they will need to hold it above their heads for some time. But if wearing a soft hat , using your head helps.

Cordless drill is a great help, you will be surprised how many screws it will need.
Are you removing the orig ceiling ( very messy) or just re boarding ?

Trick with screws , get the head of the screw below the surface of the board, but dont break the paper.

vickyb242

Thanks for the advice so far.

Me and my other half, plus one of those holder-up things (you can see how techincial i am) from screw fix.

Just re-boarding, didn't want to take the other ceilings down really. I don't need to baton it out do i? I can just simply re-board it?

Also do those hand held joist finder things from screw fix work?

Thanks

wallbash

Also do those hand held joist finder things from screw fix work?

Not a great fan .
Could you find orig nails , That will tell you where the rafters are.

I don't need to baton it out do i? I can just simply re-board it?

No , just longer screws

vickyb242

Sorry, one last thing? Do i need tapered edge or square edge plasterboard? Is one better than the other to use?

Is it Scrim tape that goes over the gaps?

wallbash

If skimmed use taper.

Check with your plaster guy wether he would perfer to add the scrim himself.

Mutton_Geoff

Ideally you need to cut the board to fit the joins along the lines of the original joists so that the edges of the boards are firmly fixed. You can find the edges of the joists with a battery drill and small bit, just drill a holes and you'll feel where you're meeting wood beneath the existing ceiling. You can get help by lifting the carpets in the room above and looking through gaps in floorboards to measure the joist spacing. That helps downstairs.

Bear in mind the joists may be slightly wonky in alignment so if the house is old, don't assume anything. Once you've got the positions of the joists, mark the centrelines with a chalk line (Screwfix do them, its a retractable string with blue chalk in a box you stretch across the ceiling then pluck the middle like a guitar, it deposits a nice straight blue line on the ceiling for you to measure your boards up to.

Cutting plasterboard is an easy job, simply use a straight edge to score with a Stanley knife, fold backwards with a thump and cut the paper along the back with the knife.

The finished effect of a new flat ceiling is nice but I still might be tempted to get the plasterer just to quote for the whole thing if you've never done it before.

27col

If you do not pick up the joists you are asking for trouble. I speak from hard learned experience. better to take the old ceiling down if you can cope with the mess. If you do go over the old ceiling, then make sure that you use longer screws to cope with the extra thickness. If old ceiling is plaster and lathe then I would definitely pull it down and start again.