plasterboarding my bathroom

Hi. I'm in the process of putting up new plasterboard (just moved into my first place and old stuff needed ripping out as it contained asbestos). For my bathroom I basically have two options to cover the ceiling. Dimensions of the bathroom are ca 8'3" x 5'1". I have bought Gyproc moisture resistant sheets which are 1200mm x 2700mm (just under 4'x9'). The wooden battens run around the edge of the room, and across the room at approximately 16" intervals. I have read that it is better to install the plasterboard perpendicular to the wooden battens rather than parallel (though I'm not sure why?). If I do this then I will have one join that is the length of the bathroom, which would be better, but it possibly involves getting the plasterboard in to the room through the bathroom window. I probably could do this as it's a ground floor flat and the window opens quite wide. Alternatively I could have 3 more manageable pieces of plasterboard that span the width of the bathroom but would be running parallel to the wooden battens. I should also mention that the wooden battens are not all bang in line, though they are now secure to the ceiling. Most are out a few mm, but there's one in particular that is higher than it should be on one side of the room (maybe a cm or so, it looks like the concrete block above it was not set in place properly as this is out too), and at this point I will not be screwing the board right up to the wooden batten. Any experienced plasterboarders have any comments?

samohtom said:

I have read that it is better to install the plasterboard perpendicular to the wooden battens rather than parallel (though I'm not sure why?).

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Where did you read that & why was it stated as better? There could be reasons for doing it but if the studs are correctly spaced & you have the standard 2.4m or less ceiling height then it’s a load of carp, with standard stud construction there is no merit in it what so ever!

samohtom said:

If I do this then ------------

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It’s not necessary, don’t do it.

However; if your refurbishing your bathroom then please take some time out to read the archive posts in both Plastering & Tiling (I haunt both) + read the tiling sticky before you go any further. It may prevent you making potentially disastrously expensive mistakes in wet areas; come back with specific questions which I’m sure you will have.

Richard C said:

samohtom said:

I have read that it is better to install the plasterboard perpendicular to the wooden battens rather than parallel (though I'm not sure why?).

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Where did you read that & why was it stated as better?

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rich i was taught to always lay boards perpendicular (at a right angle to the joist) and was told it was for strengh

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stevethespreader said:

rich i was taught to always lay boards perpendicular (at a right angle to the joist) and was told it was for strengh

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Ceilings should always be cross boarded but I don’t follow how it can be stronger on stud walls. Unless the horizontal board joints coincide with the noggin line it must surely be weaker as you will have an unsupported board joint & if you position the noggin line to support the horizontal joint, I can't see how one is any stronger than the other, all the board edges are still fully supported. Technical guidance seems to vary; some say it can be boarded either way but British Gypsums own technical documentation shows vertical boarding. This is far easier than fitting horizontal rows, one on top the other, especially if you’re working alone & it's got to be easier to cut boards across 1200mm than 2400mm. I've never boarded horizontally onto stud partitions with a ceiling height of 2.4m or less, I don’t see the point.

As Richard says, on walls by going vertical, every edge is screwed onto a stud.

Micilin said:

As Richard says, on walls by going vertical, every edge is screwed onto a stud.

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hi mich unless im wrong the op is on about boading a ceiling?

stevethespreader said:

Micilin said:

As Richard says, on walls by going vertical, every edge is screwed onto a stud.

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unless im wrong the op is on about boading a ceiling?

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Your right he is, my fault I misread it somehow & messed up ; forget my first post samohtom board across the joists & stagger the joints; it’s stronger as Steve says & reduces the chance of cracking. But the boards must be screwed tight to the battens, you cant just leave it suspended on the screws, use packing if you have to.

I must be going blind or senile, maybe even both.

Thanks for help guys. Things are progressing...today I finished strengthening the timber framing (this is called studwork?) using corner braces (the timbers going across the room weren't connected to the ones going the length of the room, they are now though. I've also put a few corner braces in between the battens going across the room and the main concrete beams/joists - had to buy a really meaty drill for that that could handle drilling 6x40mm into concrete. I've also put back up half of the rockwool, staple gun and polythene to hold in place. I've left the other half as I'm not sure about something - there's a wire running from the light to the pull cord light switch. Previously the insulation was under this, polythened in. I could just do this or I could try and replace the wire with a longer bit so I can run horizontally and vertically along battens to the switch instead. What do you guys think, would it be ok to just put the insulation there under it as before? It's about 50-60mm of rockwool insulation, concrete blocks and beams above.

Thanks again

Tom