Plasterboarding ceiling - Tips?

Procrastinator333

Hello,

We are putting plasterboard on the ceiling in our house. We have already ripped out the old plaster & lathe from most of the rooms (they was very heavy bowing - didn't really want to deal with a collapse in future) so we are just left with the ceiling joists. We therefore need to put up some fresh plasterboard. There are 2 rooms where the old ceilings are ok(ish) and we were going to board over rather than rip down first.

We have bought 2 drywall props. They hold 40KG each and are quite easy to put up and down. So I think we have the tools to lift and hold it in place while it is screwed in.

But a few questions:

1) How much does a sheet of 2.4X1.2X12.5mm weigh?
2) Do we need 12.5mm on the ceiling, or should we use 9.5mm?
3) What is the best way to cut plasterboard?
4) After allowing for any ceiling remaining and the depth of the plasterboard, how deep should the screws go in to the joist? E.g. On the ceiling which is bare, if using 12.5mm board, would 45mm screws be sufficient?
5) Any advice on spacings of screws?
6) Are zinc based screws the way to go?

Any thing else to bear in mind or any tips? Once we have ti up, we will be getting a plastere in to skim the lot, but trying to keep the costs down by DIY'ing this part of it.

Thanks!

Procrastinator.

jc808

1) Quite a bit - one person can lift on their own - shoogle it into pisition and screw in - v v difficult. A strong pro can do it all day every day though. 2 man job really.
2) I believe 12.5 is stipulated in building regs - better to be safe than sorry
3) A !!!! saw. (Builders term for an old, blunt saw) Or a pad saw or score the face with a scalpel/ stanley and straight edge, fold along the cut, then cut along the fold, other side. Careful you dont cut your knee/ thigh doing this
4) Use drywall screws
5) About 20cm
6) Use drywall screws (Black, bugle-headed)

Tips:
Dont use a screwdriver, use a drill driver with screw attatchment. DO NOT USE AN IMPACT DRIVER. You WILL go through the board 1 out of two times and those you dont the percussive action of the ID will !!!! the board. Set the torque setting on the drill driver correctly itll go up like a dream.
Get yourself a plasterboard rasp as well.

Procrastinator333

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

Got a drill driver and the props. I will have someone else helping, but I will need to do most of the lifting, they positon the props and then we can screw it in. Will try a couple of those ways of cutting and see what works best.

It is in part about saving cash - had a couple of quotes and the labour element of all the boarding was £500-600. The materials were same price as I can get them for. It is also just about wanting to have done as much as we can ourselves.

Thanks again for taking the time.

jc808

save cash

ring around places to get the best price
negotiate
consider b and q or wickes, they sometimes sell em as a loss leader
get se (straight edge) boards not te (tapered edge) as they are cheaper - you only need te if you are taping/ jpinting - if you are having it plastered the se ones are cheaper (preferable even to the plasterer)

BlueC

Having just done my first ceiling here's some tips from my experience and what we were told by our plasterer....

Don't use huge boards - they are very heavy when trying to lift them above your head and fix them. I'd go for 6' x 3' (1800 x 900) boards and it is still a two people job really. That said, we used fireboard which is a lot heavier than standard board.

Hire a platform off HSS or somewhere. Especially essential if you have high ceilings. Doing it on ladders is making life hard for yourself. We got one of these for £40 per week including delivery and collection from our local HSS: http://www.hss.com/g/80860/Folding-Indoor-Scaffold.html

While you have the joists exposed, throw some insulation up there if there isn't already. It is dirt cheap - space blanket is £3 for 3 rolls in B&Q - and will make a world of difference to the warmth of the house.

Cutting is easy with a stanley (score one side, then bend against the cut) or a blunt saw - if your saw isn't blunt then it soon will be as plasterboard wrecks them!

You MUST use drywall screws. This is an absolute must. As mentioned above they are black and have a specially shaped head to hold the plasterboard.

A driver with a good torque control is essential. You don't want to go through the board with the screws!

Stagger the boards in a kind of brick pattern - this is a must too.

Good luck, its not so difficult and is very rewarding!

Jue_xx

We plasterboarded our dining room ceiling last weekend and it is definately a 2-man job (or 1 man 1 woman job in our case!). The only problem we enountered was that we started off in one corner and had gone half way along one wall before realising the walls weren't straight so a big gap was developing between the boards and the wall, so we had to start again with LOTS of measuring.

Once we got the first couple positioned correctly the rest just flew up. It's easy to cut with a stanley knife and a straight edge.

We also found one of those blue string line things essential for marking the lines for the screws, as once the boards are up it is difficult to remember where the joists are!

The plasterers are coming to do the walls and skim the lot on Monday - I'm very excited, we might actually have our first completed room in the house by christmas!

jc808

Jue_xx wrote: »

We plasterboarded our dining room ceiling last weekend and it is definately a 2-man job (or 1 man 1 woman job in our case!). The only problem we enountered was that we started off in one corner and had gone half way along one wall before realising the walls weren't straight so a big gap was developing between the boards and the wall, so we had to start again with LOTS of measuring.

Once we got the first couple positioned correctly the rest just flew up. It's easy to cut with a stanley knife and a straight edge.

We also found one of those blue string line things essential for marking the lines for the screws, as once the boards are up it is difficult to remember where the joists are!

The plasterers are coming to do the walls and skim the lot on Monday - I'm very excited, we might actually have our first completed room in the house by christmas!

yep, chalk line is essential - be aware not all rooms are square!!!! esp. old houses, youd be surprised how much they are out

mostly_harmless

One other thing, get yourself a pack of drywall bits.

Scewfix part number 75085

They allow you to put the screw in to the perfect depth without breaking the paper on the board but deep enough so that the plasterer's trowel won't catch it. Saves so much time. Doubly so if you're doing a ceiling. You can also get them on ebay.

jc808

mostly_harmless wrote: »

One other thing, get yourself a pack of drywall bits.

Scewfix part number 75085

They allow you to put the screw in to the perfect depth without breaking the paper on the board but deep enough so that the plasterer's trowel won't catch it. Saves so much time. Doubly so if you're doing a ceiling. You can also get them on ebay.

these are good!!!

Al1x

mostly_harmless wrote: »

One other thing, get yourself a pack of drywall bits.

Scewfix part number 75085

They allow you to put the screw in to the perfect depth without breaking the paper on the board but deep enough so that the plasterer's trowel won't catch it. Saves so much time. Doubly so if you're doing a ceiling. You can also get them on ebay.

jc808 wrote: »

these are good!!!

I totally agree! We use these (especially good when you put a fully charged battery in your drill and forget how much power it has... lol)

Procrastinator333

Thanks again! Loads of info! Not got much time now as at work, but will have a better read this eve...