Fermacell - does it save DIYers a professional skim?

[ChrisKingston]

I've got a largeish celing (about 40sqm) for an odd-shaped room to make; there's a noisy flat upstairs too so I'm looking to suspend a ceiling off resilient bars. I was thinking of putting up the bars and two layers of acoustic plasterboard myself, and then getting a professional in to skim skim.

A friend suggested Fermacell though, and they claim that if you use their Fine Surface Treatment you don't need a skim, which would save quite a bit on a ceiling this size. It might make up for the extra material cost (although acoustic plasterboard is also quite a bit more than standard).

I couldn't find much on here about Fermacell, certainly not recent. Does anyone have experience of using it?
- Is the FST stuff really good enough to save you a skim? Even if done by a DIYer?
- How does the soundproofing compare to acoustic plasterboard (I think they're about the same)?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Jackthebiscuit]

I built a house in 1993 using fermacell boards instead of traditional plasterboard,, my first and last project using this product as it proved to be a huge mistake. This product was promoted as a better alternative to plasterboard dry lining systems, which wasn't the case at all.

The problems were many when compared to plasterboard. When the fermacell joints were rubbed down, they remained visible no matter what we did. The issue was that by rubbing down the joints, the board in these areas became 'smoother' than the rest of the board,, so the only way to get some sort of consistency was to sand down the entire face of each board. We did a test area but the process took far to long,, and from memory we ended up installing lining paper to all the walls and ceilings in order to obtain a reasonable surface ready for painting.

The other huge disappointment was in the company themselves. When I contacted them to either get assistance or advice in case we were doing something wrong, their response was pretty dreadful. After many phone calls the 'smiling salesmen' who sold me the product reluctantly did visit the site, but his smile was gone and he was gruff, uninterested, and after a short discussion he 'walked off'. By his attitude I got the impression that I wasn't the only disgruntled customer.

Even if the system did work,, the boards are much heavier than plasterboard's so extra hands are needed from delivery to installation, they are harder to cut, and even the simple things like cut-outs for lights, switches, sockets, pipes etc take longer and slow the installation process down.

That said, it was 18 years ago,, things could have changed,, but imv, if the product was that good then it would be stocked by some of the major building suppliers,,, and while I stand to be corrected,, I've never seen it in any of them..!!

If it we me, I would used insulated boards. Noise transfer is greatly reduced if the boards are not fixed directly to the joists/studwork, so insulated boards go some way to achieving this, depending on fixing method. And they will also help keep the heat in your flat, and not the one above.