how much damage can plasterboard take?

[WillB77]

I've been fitting plasterboard to some stud walls in my house. Its the first time I've done it and a couple of the screws near the edges / corners have crushed the plasterboard slightly.

Does it really matter?

Also there are some slight overlaps in a couple of places where bits of the boards stand proud of the next one by a couple of millimetres. I presume the skim over this will take care of the overlap.

Also I forgot to mount a plug socket and had to remove the board. I guess I can do this as many times as I like as long as I don't over tighten too many of the screws.

All advice much appreciated.

 

[roughcaster]

It's better not to damage the p/board if possible but if you have, then put in another screw carefully above or below the damaged area, just to give it a tighter grip............ Any small differences in the joint between one sheet and another will be evened out with the skim as you said......... I wouldn't take a sheet of p/board off and put it back on too many times, once maybe twice, but any more than that wont do it much good, unless you re-locate the screws.

Roughcaster.

 

[WillB77]

Thanks. So the damage to the board only affects how securely its fixed to the wall rather than any other nasty consequences?

 

[Richard C]

a couple of the screws near the edges / corners have crushed the plasterboard slightly.
Does it really matter?

Try not to put the screws too near the edge, anything less than around 12mm will risk the edge of the board crumbling. The odd screw going too deep won’t matter as long as it’s not every other one; I always set the torque on my cordless drill/driver to avoid this but, as RC says, just pop in another close by. If you do crush the board at the edge &/or the paper delaminates from the plaster core, cut it away with a Stanley knife & rough fill it before the skim goes on; a loose paper face won't hold the plaster & it will crack away.

Also there are some slight overlaps in a couple of places where bits of the boards stand proud of the next one by a couple of millimetres. I presume the skim over this will take care of the overlap.

If you’re fixing the PB to studwork, how have you ended up with a 2mm difference in level? The board joints should be butted along the centre line of a stud; I assume you haven’t butted them in thin air! 2mm difference is getting near the limit to loose in a single 2 coat skim & it will probably need a levelling coat first; it can be put right but it’s creating a lot more work.

Also I forgot to mount a plug socket and had to remove the board. I guess I can do this as many times as I like as long as I don't over tighten too many of the screws.

I’ve dropped off before & had to take one or two down but I wouldn't advise refitting any particular board more than once. It’s not ideal but if your careful not to cause too much damage then it should be OK; don’t re-use any holes that look suspect, relocate the screws into solid board & fill the old holes before skimming.