Plasterboard Question

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I am about to start plaster boarding for the first time. Some of the work is screw to studs, some is dot and dab to brick wall.

I am going to use 7" skirting boards and I am intending to fit 5 1/2" x 18mm MDF base boards behind them and plaster the boards up to level with them.

I understand that plasterboard should be fitted with a gap between the board and the floor. If I am using baseboards, do I need to leave a gap, either under the baseboards and/or between the baseboards and the plasterboard?

Probably a daft question but anyway.

Thanks for the help.
 
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The gap question seems to be rather contentious. Some say that it will prevent the PB from wicking up water from concrete floors, other say that it helps with expansion on stud walls.

I don't understand why you are fitting base boards behind the skirting though. Are you using them as some kind of level/datum?

If you are using 9.5mm plasterboard, the plasterer will need to apply a 9(ish)mm scrim. That sounds like a lot to me (but I am not a plasterer).
 
That all sounds expensive and hard work.
How are you planning to fix the skirtings? Glue or screw or nail?
If glueing I'd leave 25 or 50 mm gap between pb and floor and just glue the skirts to the skimmed boards, forget the MDF.
Screwing or nailing. On the stud walls make sure you mark where the studs are, again 25mm gap, nail/screw through the skimmed pb.
On the dot and dab, fix 2 slating battens at the bottom, one at floor level, one at 125mm or so, use top one as your bottom guide for the dot and dab (leave 3 mm or so for skim, check with plasterer what thickness they're going for). Screw/nail away.
 
as long as the board does not touch the floor . and the ‘baseboards’ are pointless.
 
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Okay. Wow. Everything I'm doing is wrong. Again. It's just like talking to the missus!

I was planning to use:

12.5mm board on the stud walls - leaving 5.5mm skim.

9.5 mm board on the dot and dab - leaving 8.5 mm for dab & skim ... so perhaps a bit tight in places but certainly not over generous.

I was aware of the two reasons for board not touching the floor but the work is on the second floor so no real damp issues - I was not sure about the expansion issues in this specific context, specifically whether a gap should be between board and base, under the base or both. ... Hence I asked the specific question that I did.

I want to attach the skirting boards with screws hidden with wood plugs.

Batten would certainly be a cheaper option. Were it not for the fact that I have a table saw and a couple of sheets of 18mm MDF that are currently in the way .... and I would have to buy battens. Don't think "free" solution versus the "paid for" solution is the more expensive one ... is it?

Fixing two battens to a wall doesn't seem to be much, (or in fact any), easier than similarly fixing one MDF board.

There are other idiosyncratic aspects to this specific job, completely unrelated to gaps at the bottom of plasterboard that make the marking of the location of battens for use after skim coating in some places, really quite difficult.

I am reminded of an old joke about a man winding down his car window to ask a passer by the way to Bodmin. The passer by strokes his chin and says "Mate. If I were going to Bodmin, I wouldn't be starting from here".

What happened guys?

In the old days specific questions got specific answers if anyone knew those answers. Increasingly the answers are all "you're doing it all wrong ... stupid!".

Everybody here knows, or ought to know, that with all jobs "context is everything". Why then is there always an assumption that the questioner is a complete idiot unless he first writes a novel explaining every single detail, relevant or not, of why he is asking the question in the first place?

Do I need gaps under the plasterboard / baseboards? That simple question was what I asked. I have never come across this problem before in forty odd years of doing DIY.

Thank you for all your answers. Even though none actually responded to the actual question.

I'm sure I'll figure it out.
 
Talk to your plasterer. 5mm on plasterboard is excessive, 9mm is madness.
EDIT It's usual to allow 10mm or so for the board adhesive.
MDF isn't brilliant for screwing into plus it doesn't like getting wet. First floor so wet not a big deal, the screwing may trip you up.
Gap between pb and floor (or baseboard and floor) yes, prevents problems with differential movement (and damp problems at ground floor level). Gap between baseboard and pb not required.
If you are determined to carry on with your rather odd plans then crack on.
 
Talk to your plasterer. 5mm on plasterboard is excessive, 9mm is madness.
EDIT It's usual to allow 10mm or so for the board adhesive.
MDF isn't brilliant for screwing into plus it doesn't like getting wet. First floor so wet not a big deal, the screwing may trip you up.
Gap between pb and floor (or baseboard and floor) yes, prevents problems with differential movement (and damp problems at ground floor level). Gap between baseboard and pb not required.
If you are determined to carry on with your rather odd plans then crack on.

Thank you for a very useful answer.

:cool:
 

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