Today, installing an arch with your own hands is a fairly popular way of arranging interior space. It looks much better than a regular door between rooms. In addition, it is possible to save a small amount of space that goes to opening the door. This is especially true in small residential buildings.
Arch Options
Before proceeding with the arrangement of the arch with your own hands, it is necessary to carry out several preparatory stages. It is necessary to take measurements of the doorway, plan the shape for the arch, and also calculate its dimensions. It is very important to measure the width of the existing doorway, as well as its height. It is important to consider this point - mounting the arch will reduce the overall height of the passage by about 10-15 cm. Experts recommend making the arch with your own hands only if the height of the doorway is more than 2 meters. Otherwise, it is better to simply decorate these openings with some decorative details.
Work with opening dimensions
Naturally, the width of the arch is the distance between the walls of the doorway. In order to make the correct semicircle for the arch, you need to measure this distance, and then divide it exactly in half. Before proceeding with any installation work, it is necessary to determine the shape of the arch and materials.
The most common option is a do-it-yourself plasterboard arch. It is very important to ascertain before installation whether the walls of the opening are vertical and even enough. This is very important for semicircular type passage equipment. If any of the walls is uneven, then this must be fixed with putty. Of the necessary materials and tools that will help in arranging the arch with your own hands, you will need:
- drywall;
- rack profile;
- dowels;
- screws and screws;
- needle roller;
- corner of the arch with holes;
- hard putty latex type.
The first step is the arrangement of the front parts of the opening.
First method
To equip the front part, you need to pick up two suitable pieces of drywall. In order to make an even semicircle during the cutting process, there are two ways.
The first method involves using a rope, but only if it does not stretch. The device is attached to the pencil, after which the radius of the semicircle is noted. The radius will be the value that was obtained by measuring the width of the opening and dividing it in half. For example, if the dimensions of the opening are 1 meter, then the radius will be 50 cm. In this case, 60 cm recede from the top edge of the sheet of material and draw a line. This value is obtained by simply adding to half the width, another 10 cm is the distance that starts from the top of the opening and reaches the top of the arched structure. A photo of a self-made arch will be shown.
Next, you need to cut a sheet of drywall in full width, that is, 100 cm. On the cut piece of material, the middle is marked, in order to do this, you must step back from the top edge 50 cm. This point will be the start of the semicircle. Next, a pencil with a tied rope 50 cm long is taken and a semicircle is drawn. Thus, an unusual compass will be obtained. If everything was done correctly, then the result is an even semicircle.
Second method
A door arch made by yourself or made by specialists should in any case have an even semicircle. The second way to achieve this is as follows.
Soft skirting is pre-prepared. It will be further used to conduct a semicircle on a drywall sheet. To do this, you need to cut a rectangle from a large sheet with dimensions of 100x60 cm. 50 cm are measured from each edge, and two lines are drawn. At the junction point of both lines you need to put a point. Next, a soft baseboard is taken and bent on both sides, thereby forming a semicircle. The most convex part of the resulting structure should be located in line with the point. If everything is correct, then the edges of the semicircle should be connected to the edges of the rectangle. Next, an arc is simply drawn, along which the necessary part is cut. This option is best done if there is an assistant.
DIY arch making. Step-by-step instruction
After the semicircle has been received, you can proceed to work with the frame. In order to prepare it, you must use the profile that you had to buy in advance.
The first thing to do is to attach two profiles along the edges of the width of the doorway - 1 m in this case. They will also be mounted on both sides. If the walls are made of concrete, then for fixing it is best to use dowel screws. If they are made of wood, then it is better to use self-tapping screws. In order for the arch to be visually flush with the wall, it must be deepened into the opening by 11-12 mm. After the drywall is mounted and putty is applied, this distance will be hidden by the thickness of the material.
Front parts of the product
Do-it-yourself arch installation step by step includes the second stage - work with the front part. After two 600 mm profile posts were cut and installed in the opening, it can be considered that the frame is ready. It is important to note that the bottom must be cut at an angle, otherwise it will be striking, as the arches below are narrowed.
In order to fix the front elements on the arch structure, metal screws are used. Naturally, if you want to have a more complex product design, then the frame needs to be prepared in an appropriate way. The next step is to close the end parts of the structure. To do this, it is necessary to assemble such a frame on which it will be possible to install a curved element. Most often, a 27x28 mm profile is used to complete this design.
Successful completion of work at this stage will ensure the availability of scissors for metal with a spring mechanism. In order to give the shape of an arc to a profile, it is necessary to carry out cutting in a certain way. Two of its three sides are cut. Since the shape of the device is similar to the letter P, it must be turned sideways in the clockwise direction. Then it will be installed on the right side of the arched structure.
Making an interior arch with your own hands involves closing the second side of the frame. All work is carried out in a similar way using a profile. After this, you need to start making cuts from the middle of the profile to the very top about every 40 mm. Thus, a specific snake will be collected. It will be installed on the very edge of the semicircle. It is important to note that the steeper the bend, the smaller the distance between the notches.
Arch reinforcement
In order to strengthen the design of the door arch with your own hands, it is necessary to cut the crossbars and mount them in the frame in the form of a snake. Naturally, if the installation of the arch takes place in rather thin partitions, then the dimensions of the sheet should be small. In order not to spoil the material in vain, the length of the reinforcement strip is initially taken with a margin. If it is superfluous, then cutting it off will not be difficult. And if you don’t have enough, you’ll get an empty spoilage of raw materials.
In order to achieve the most correct shape of the structure, it is necessary to fix the arched corner with perforation around the entire perimeter of the structure.
Decor for arch
Naturally, the arch itself will also not always be able to satisfy the desire to improve the appearance of the room. To improve the appearance, there are many different ways of decorating. The structure is painted in the same colors as the walls in the house, sheathed with a material such as wood or plastic, trimmed with decorative stone using a plastic base, decorated with stucco or finished columns.
For the final decoration of the arch, you can use both natural materials and artificial materials. The choice of raw materials will depend only on the initial design idea. The variant will look very original when the edges of the walls and arches are framed with clinker or decorative stone.