Plasterboarding Your Stud Wall

Plasterboarding Your Stud Wall

So, you have built your stud wall, now you need to plasterboard it to get ready for the next stage. There is no set direction for the placing of boards on a stud wall.  Whilst ceiling boards are generally laid perpendicular to the supporting frame, wall boards can be laid in either direction. 

There are, however, advantages in laying plus sized wall boards horizontally across large areas.  Heavier boards can be more easily supported along one long edge as you work upwards, row by row.

Where possible you should stagger your boards so that the joins aren’t all on one stud reducing the risks of cracking once the plasterboard is skimmed or taped/ jointed.

A standard plasterboard size is 2.4m x 1.2m.  There are a few variations to standard plasterboard such as, fireline, moisture, soundbloc etc which offer additional properties.   These variations will affect the weight of the board.  Plus sized boards are available for larger installations.  Different thicknesses of each board type are also available.

The tools required to cut and fix your plasterboard are as follows

-          As a rule, your plasterboard should be positioned so the edge of the board is in the centre of your studwork, unless you are boarding up to door frames or the edge of the wall in which case it should be pushed up tight to the edges.

  1. Starting from the opening of a door working towards the furthest wall, when measuring for a cut board, measure from the edge of the stud to the centre of another stud.
  2. Lay the board flat, using your tape measure to mark the board, take a spirit level or straight edge place it on the marks you made, score a line along the intended cut using the knife, then stand the board up and give it a tap so the cut folds over, fold it over on itself and run your knife along cutting of the remaining paper. You should be left with a nice clean edge. If your cut is out slightly, you can run your surform along the cut until it is nice and flat all the way along.
  3. Either mark the centre position of the studs at ceiling and floor level or apply lines to your boards at set centres before placing the board against the wall. 
  4. Once you are happy with the board position, put a couple of screws into the board to hold it in place. Take your spirit level or straight edge and mark lines down the plasterboard at the centre of the studs, this will help you fix the plasterboard without missing the metal studs behind the board.
  5. You can now screw the boards in place using a 150-200mm gap along the lines you have drawn. Fire the screws in just enough to break the surface of the paper, if they go too far in it will crush the board and prevent you from getting a secure fixing to the studwork. Use a drywall screw setter where possible to minimise surface breakage.
  6. Fit the remaining boards in the same way, trying to keep the factory edges together, this will minimise the need for filling during the next stage of your project. If a board extends into an opening e.g. a window or door frame, the easiest way to cut this in situ. Use the studwork as a guide to make a horizontal cut, before splitting the board vertically. Use your surform to clean the edges up so they are nice and flush.

You are now ready for the next stage on your project!

If you have any questions regarding materials or the ‘how to’ of plasterboarding please feel free to get in touch with our sales team and we will be happy to help!

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