plasterboard dot n dab, horizontal or vertical??

[mushypeas]

Hello all
I am preparing to dot an dab plasterboard in a room for the first time (decided to give it a go to hopefully save some money and gain some experience and confidence) and was wondering if it mattered which way round the plasterboard was fixed to the wall (horizontal or vertical). The reason i am asking is because i am going to struggle getting 8x4 boards into the room which i am plastering and figured if i could put the boards horizontal i would have to use less boards? any advice would be great.

 

[noseall]

Vertical.

Once you have had the experience of a board dropping behind another (when fitting horizontally) you will know exactly what i mean!!

Smaller pieces can be fitted anyhow but larger 2.4m x 1.2m boards are best fitted vertically.

 

[mushypeas]

Thanks noseall vertical it is then, i will squeeze the board in some how

 

[ashymoko]

That doesnt really make sense, if you can get the boards in the room horizontal then you can still fit em vertical... you dont have to carry the boards in the room the way you intend to fit em. carry em in, cut em down to height then dab em on the wall. If you find it easier to dab em horizontal then do it, it makes no difference but would be slightly more difficult for a novice.
Id like to see some pics, hehe.

 

[islandview]

I would just fit them horizontaly.

I have had trouble in the past with getting boards into pokey little rooms. Rather than struggle and bash the edges of the boards trying to get them in I just put them in horizontaly.

I never dropped any boards behind the other but I can imagine how annoying it can be.

Sometimes you just have to think whats best at the time and "how can I get round this one then".

 

[roughcaster]

I wouldn't have dot and dab anyway. It's cheap and nasty,,, the easiest, cheapest, way to plasterboard any solid wall in a room. Given the choice, I'd rather strap the walls, then board. You lose "very little" space,, you can insulate if need be, and it's easier to run cables/fit sockets in the future if needed.
I've seen a good few dabbed sheets come loose from the wall, and have bounce in them, that have to be plugged, washer and screwed back in place. The only reason some builders use the dot and dab method, is it's quick, cheap and easy to cover up block walls. I wouldn't even have it in my shed. Rant over.

Roughcaster.

 

[ashymoko]

I wouldn't have dot and dab anyway. It's cheap and nasty,,, the easiest, cheapest, way to plasterboard any solid wall in a room. Given the choice, I'd rather strap the walls, then board. You lose "very little" space,, you can insulate if need be, and it's easier to run cables/fit sockets in the future if needed.
I've seen a good few dabbed sheets come loose from the wall, and have bounce in them, that have to be plugged, washer and screwed back in place. The only reason some builders use the dot and dab method, is it's quick, cheap and easy to cover up block walls. I wouldn't even have it in my shed. Rant over.

Roughcaster.

I take it you mean batten the walls, if so then thats not good advice....

 

[roughcaster]

Strap the walls, Batten the walls,,, regional variation,, means the same in my book, or enlighten me.

Roughcaster.

 

[mushypeas]

sorry for being a bit thick, is strapping/battoning screwing wood to the wall then screwing plasterboard on to that? why isnt that good advice ashy? the brickwork is very uneven so i thought i had a better chance of getting the boards level with dot and dab as the adhesive would level the bricks. thanks for all the replies.

 

[ashymoko]

Correct.... the reason thats its not good advice is due to a number of factors, 1 of them you have already pointed out. Uneven brick walls can prove awkward to batten out not only that if the walls out of level then it will involve packing out etc.
Secondly wood will move due to varied temperatures such as heating on heating off, summer, winter etc. which is fine with independant stud walls as the movement is not restricted as its a free structure. When you batten wood to walls this is not the case and will certainly result in plastered joints splitting and cracking over a period of time.
The beauty of the dab and board method is you can fix the boards solid to the walls, this not only results in easy levelling walls but provides a void free system that will still have the ability to fix anything directly to a solid wall. Battening a wall on the basis that you may eventually need to add a socket or cable in the future isnt a valid reason to use this method.
If your looking for a good finish to your project then use a proven system like you are intending to do.
Just make sure you dab them well and make sure theres plenty where they butt up, You cant go wrong....

 

[drnail]

personal id dot and dam m8t far far quicker and easier and stronger that dab drys like concrete

 

[mushypeas]

sorry for being a bit thick, is strapping/battoning screwing wood to the wall then screwing plasterboard on to that? why isnt that good advice ashy? the brickwork is very uneven so i thought i had a better chance of getting the boards level with dot and dab as the adhesive would level the bricks. thanks for all the replies.

 

[unseen]

Hi Mushy,

From my own experiences, battening out was much easier than I thought it would be. Having a 1901(ish) end terrace NONE of my walls I've done so far have been straight! But 10-20 mins of messing about with a spirit level across the span gave me 4 near as damnit straight/flat walls, all external walls had kingspan style insulation fitted then boards fastened up in no time at all.
As roughcaster said, makes life a doddle for running cabling/etc in the gap, in my case anywhere a cable run was required I fitted trunking so hopefully in x years to come should I need to replace anything it'll be much easier.

I've another 2 rooms downstairs which will be given the same treatment over this year before I move to the upstairs and start all over again!

 

[mushypeas]

thanks for all the replies, i think i will batton the walls and screw into them, it seems the best way for me (someone who cant plaster ) to go as i dont have to adhesive and pva the walls. Just 1 more question. one of the walls i am doing is what looks like really old breaze block, it is red and has square holes through the lenght of it, will i have any problems battoning to this wall as it looks really fragile to screw into?

 

[roughcaster]

I don't know of this particular type of block, but if you drill carefuly into the mortar joints,, you should get a good strong fix for the plugs and screws, to hold the timber battens/straps.

Roughcaster.