Plastering an arch into a door space

theflyingpig · 10 Jan 2007

Hi all,

I've pulled the door frame out of my kitchen and want to arch off the top of the hole. any suggestions on how to go about this? i was thinking of beding some ply into an arch, covering in chicken wire an dplastering over this, but would welcome any perhaps more sensible suggestions . .

thanks

noseall · 10 Jan 2007

i do them using two sheets of plasterboard, a diy compass and dry wall adhesive.

by tailoring your own you can choose either half round, elliptic or just rounded shoulders for the shape.

i start by dabbing a strip of plasterboard up each 4" exposed edge of brick getting them plumb. this is the max width of the arch now set.

i will transfer this measurement to the bottom edge of a 1800x900mm plasterboard, starting centrally.

if i want a half round arch, the compass point will be central to the bottom edge. for elliptic, move the compass point further from the edge. mark and cut out with a jig saw. i then use this board as a template for the other side.

dab the boards either side setting them level. you can then fill in the hollow area with strips of board and adhesive. it pays to fill the last 20mm or so with thistle bonding.

next skim up. i tend not to use flexi beads as i find them a little un wieldy.

hope some of this makes sense!

^woody^ · 10 Jan 2007

By a proper mesh arch former from the merchants. They are about £20 and save all the bother and time

noseall · 11 Jan 2007

^woody^ said:
By a proper mesh arch former from the merchants. They are about £20 and save all the bother and time

they are a rigid size.

they are s**t to install.

they are also a pie of s**t.

p.s my earlier post was assuming all plaster had been removed.

^woody^ · 11 Jan 2007

The ones I was thinking of come in pieces which an be adapted and resized within certain dimensions to suit different sized opening, and the arch type can be altered too depening on how it is fixed.

Hack the plaster off, a few clout nails and its fixed. Job done

theflyingpig · 11 Jan 2007

thanks guys - when I asked about theose adjustable ones in my local building merchants i was told they were about 40 quid! the plasterboard method gets my vote for sure, . . .but i don't quite understand how you fill in the underside of the arch . . .ummm, I mean the gap between your two hanging down bits of plasterboard if that makes sence . . .

thanks again!

noseall · 11 Jan 2007

theflyingpig said:
. . .but i don't quite understand how you fill in the underside of the arch . . .ummm, I mean the gap between your two hanging down bits of plasterboard if that makes sence . . .

thanks again!

the hollow gap between the boards equates to a 110mm ish wide void. so cut a strip of plasterboard at say 100mm wide. mix up a bucket of dab. cut a smallish strip say 4 or 5 inches and dab it diagonally up at the angle in the void. then cut a longer strip and dab this piece. be generous with the dab, so that when you squash it in, it fills all the void.

you can keep doing this until the void is almost full. the last 20mm or so can be filled with thistle bonding to get the shape of the arch.

noseall · 11 Jan 2007

^woody^ said:
Hack the plaster off, a few clout nails and its fixed. Job done

if only it were that simple ^woody^. the ones i have used in the past were rather un-wieldy. and were only suitable for certain sized openings if you wanted a perfect half round arch.

if you wanted to install an arch in a broader opening such as cavity wall thickness they became impossible.

oh and by the way, you still have to bond and skim these too.

theflyingpig · 11 Jan 2007

OK - so what is 'dab'? I've worked as a chippie in th past and have always nailed or screwed palsterboard (but that was in foreign lands where houses are timber framed . .)

thanks again

noseall · 11 Jan 2007

dab is dry wall adhesive. excellent stuff. very good at it's job

british gypsum, lafarge and knauf all do a dry wall adhesive.

theflyingpig · 11 Jan 2007

great - thanks - I'll get me some, . .

regarding my arch - is there a 'standard' height / curve for such arches? its an ex LA property and the door frame had a glass window above the door . . so the hole where I've removed the door frame is just short of 2400 high, and at a guess about 800 wide . . .I'm wondering how high tto start the arch, and whether to use half the width of the door as the radius of the curve . . or what . .

thanks!

noseall · 11 Jan 2007

theflyingpig said:
I'm wondering how high tto start the arch, and whether to use half the width of the door as the radius of the curve . . or what . .

thanks!

wether you have a half round, elliptic or even gothic, the design of the arch is up to you. i would recommend the peak of the arch needs to be at least 78" from the floor.

masona · 23 Jan 2008

noseall said:
they are s**t to install.

Tell me about it

When you make it out of plasterboard, do you use angle beading as well?

noseall · 23 Jan 2008

masona said:
noseall said:

they are s**t to install.

Click to expand...

Tell me about it

When you make it out of plasterboard, do you use angle beading as well?

no it is simply not practical.

noseall · 23 Jan 2008

try these

diynot

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Plastering an arch into a door space

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