Board size

[Forest Grump]

Hi, I am just about ready for boarding out our extension, so a quick question is what size boards do I need?

Am I right in thinking 9.5mm 1800 x 900 for ceiling & 12.5mm 2400 x 1200 for walls. Also should I use square edge or tapered, what are the pros and cons ?

Going to have a go at dot and dabbing, any tips?

 

[Richard C]

I only ever use full size 2400 x 1200 boards for walls & ceilings & I usually use 12.5mm for the ceilings as well; fixing the ceiling boards is not as difficult as you might think with 2 of you & a couple of home made board props; some can even do it on their own!

Couple of guides here;
http://www.goldtrowel.org/plasterboards.htm

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/PLASTER_BOARDING_A_CEILING.htm

I never use nails to secure the boards, only drywall screws.

Assuming your plastering afterwards use square edge; taper edge boards are meant for use if your not plastering & where the board joints are just taped, filled & sanded flush. Personally, I always advise a plaster skim, more expensive if you can’t plaster but it will look 1000 times better IMO & give a finish that you can paint/paper/re-paper if you wish & it will last.

Dot & dab is fairly straight forward here’s a guide;

http://www.british-gypsum.com/pdf/sb_drilyner_200701.pdf

I use round blobs of adhesive rather than strips, just more of them & you must ensure you provide additional support around the edges of the board. There are also archive posts on the forum about D&D & fixing cieling boards.

 

[morrik27]

9.5 for the ceiling should be fine. If you putting them up on your own using 6X3 boards will make it easier to handle, but if you've got help theres no real reason you couldn't use 8X4.
12.5 on the walls will be easier to work with if you dot/dab them as they are less likely to flex.
If you intend to have them skimed the Square edge is for you. Tapered if your taping the joints only.

When you dot/dab them put two boards on first then give'em a belt with a straight edge or long level across the two, that way you will have a better starting point to get the wall straight as you can work across two boards at at time when linning them all up allong the length of the wall. There's lots of info on this in the forums.