Sometimes the pipes in the bathroom and toilet look just awful: rusty, all in the web and just plain ugly. This is especially true of old Soviet-built houses. In new buildings, this problem is not so acute, because all communications are trying to mask. Many try to paint water supply elements and sewer pipes, but this only exacerbates the situation: after a few months, rusty streaks appear and the coating begins to peel off. Drywall box in this situation is the best solution. But this is far from its only application. This material is also used to create structures on ceilings.
Brief description of the material
Drywall sheets, like all ingenious ones, are a simple solution to the problem of leveling the internal surfaces of rooms. They are also used to create decorative elements.
Drywall sheet consists of three layers - gypsum pressed under high pressure, and two layers of thin and durable cardboard on one side and the other.
Why you should opt for drywall construction
This type of material and the construction itself are most beneficial in all respects compared to other options available today.
Firstly, it is relatively easy to mount a backlight in the box, which will give individuality to the living room and increase comfort.
Secondly, materials allow you to create the most diverse in shape and purpose of the box.
Thirdly, you can easily hide obscene communications.
Fourthly, the installation is quite easy. Thus, you can save on attracting workers and do it yourself.
It is also important that drywall is an environmentally friendly and non-flammable material.
Work planning
Before proceeding directly to the installation, it is recommended to sketch the design sketch. Installation of a plasterboard box in this case will be much faster and more efficient, without stepping on a rake and annoying mistakes. Advanced users of the personal computer of the project may well create a project box in a specialized software environment. To date, there are programs that automatically form the most profitable sheet layout and nesting scheme. But for a simple project, you should not do such things. It is enough to sketch a plan on a piece of paper in the box. The sketch of the drywall box must necessarily contain information about the material used (thickness, permissible load, etc.), about the dimensions of the entire structure (thickness and height), the distance between the screws and other important information.
Experts recommend that before constructing a drywall box in the bathroom or toilet, repair and replace all pipes. In the vast majority of old houses, especially in the provinces, major repairs were never carried out, and are not expected in the foreseeable future. Such communications are outdated and physically worn out. The likelihood that they will leak is quite high. And if this happens, you will have to ruin the entire structure. Therefore, it is better to play it safe and replace communications. Yes, this will make repairs more expensive, but it will protect against unforeseen expenses in the future, which can significantly exceed the amount of repair.
Components and necessary materials
First of all, the drywall sheets themselves will be needed. The choice of material depends on the conditions in which the drywall will be used. A box for pipes from other materials will be much more difficult to make, more expensive, and the effect of their use will not be the same.
The frame on which the drywall sheets are mounted is assembled from metal profiles. But you can also apply for these purposes ordinary wooden bars. The result will be no worse.
Drywall pipe box is twisted with self-tapping screws. Therefore, it is necessary to stock up on them.
It will also require brackets, connectors, reinforcing mesh for gluing joints.
If luminaires will be mounted in the box, then it is also necessary to think about their acquisition before starting work.
In addition to the drywall itself, the following consumables will be needed: primer, gypsum-based putty and metal shaped corners.
Essential tool
When assembling the box from drywall, you will have to screw a huge number of self-tapping screws. Therefore, in this case, you can not do without a screwdriver with a cross bat. In addition, when drilling and cutting dust rises.
To make holes in the wall you need a drill or punch (hammer drill).
The metal profile of the gypsum board box is cut into pieces of the required length with special metal scissors. In case of their absence, you can use the usual hacksaw. But this greatly complicates the installation work.
The joints between the sheets of drywall after their installation are very noticeable. Therefore, they are primed (to protect against the ingress of moisture) and putty. Of course, these finishing operations are not carried out by hand; a spatula and a paint brush are needed.
This is a harmful factor in production, so the worker must be in a respirator.
Preparation for the installation of drywall boxes on the ceiling
The sequence and methods of preparatory work depend on what the design idea was, as well as on the materials that will be used. So, for example, if a stretch ceiling is installed, then there is no need to align individual surfaces of the duct. But if plasterboard is planned to be painted, then it is necessary to do complex and painstaking work on preparing surfaces. And although the sequence of actions, like their nature, may vary depending on the specific situation, you can still list the main activities:
- Cleaning the old coating. Whitening is easier to eliminate by abundantly moistening it with water. Rough cleaning is carried out with a spatula, the remains are eliminated with a rag. It used to be fashionable to decorate ceilings with embossed polystyrene slabs. It’s easy to dismantle them: just pick them up with some metal object. Residual material is removed with a spatula.
- Priming the ceiling. It is allowed to use a primer both on water and on alkyd basis. It is carried out by drawing at least two words.
- If there are significant cracks in the ceiling, the gypsum board box can be assembled only after they are closed. A reinforcing mesh is glued to such places, and then a layer of putty is applied. Further work is carried out only after the mixture has completely dried.
- Recycling problem areas with putty.
- To improve the adhesion properties, the entire surface is treated with rough sandpaper. Of course, this step can be carried out only after the plaster has completely dried.
- A primer is applied to the rough surface; roughness also contributes to an increase in the penetration depth of the composition, which ultimately increases the life of the ceiling.
- The last operation is the application of decorative whitewash on the ceiling.
- Control of surface geometry (it should be perfectly even, even in intense light).
Assembly of the frame of the box
The principle of assembly of the frame of the drywall box in the bathroom, toilet or living room remains the same. The difference can only be in the composition and properties of the drywall itself. The sequence of actions is as follows:
1. Precisely along the marking lines to the ceiling (to the walls), guide metal profiles are attached. In the event that a decision has been made to build a frame of wood, it is allowed to use wooden blocks.
2. Before attaching the profiles to the ceiling, specialists usually assemble the contour on the floor. This helps to understand and realize all the possible subtleties and not to make blunders.
3. Holes are drilled in the ceiling, and fasteners (dowels) are clogged in them. Guides are already suspended to them.
4. Before proceeding to the next step, it is necessary to double-check again whether everything was done correctly. Even a small flaw made at this stage can lead to the need for large-scale alterations at the final stage of work.
5. The suspension elements are cut.
6. The resulting elements are securely attached to the guide screws.
7. The bottom contour of the box frame is mounted.
8. The next step is the wiring and installation of lighting fixtures.
9. Installing the crossbars. The distance between the stiffeners to which the drywall will be attached should not exceed sixty centimeters. Otherwise, the drywall sheets will bend under their own weight and may even break.
10. The sheet material is cut into the necessary pieces, which are attached to the profile of the wooden box with screws.
Fixing sheets of drywall to the frame
First of all, it is necessary to cut drywall into rectangles corresponding to the dimensions of the sides of the frame. In this case, it is recommended to first cut and install the sheets horizontally, and then vertically. In the case of installing a plasterboard box in the toilet, this rule can be derogated from, since most often the dimensions of this design are small, while it has a large height and extends from the ceiling to the floor. The first piece of drywall is fixed with screws on the upper corners. Hardware hats must be drowned in the material so that they do not protrude.
Experts in the field of decorating argue that the second and all subsequent pieces of drywall are not set up close, a gap of a few millimeters is left between them. After the front panel is completely sheathed, you can begin to work on the sheathing of the side surfaces of the box. With your own hands you can do anything from drywall - the material is unpretentious and does not require any special skills from the performer.
When assembling a box from drywall under the ceiling, the distance between the fasteners cannot exceed 170 millimeters. When covering the walls, the step between the screws can be increased to 250 millimeters.
Box finish
After the entire drywall is mounted on the frame, all surfaces are thoroughly primed and putty. Before applying a layer of putty, all joints are glued with a strip of reinforcing mesh. As you can see from the photo, the box made of drywall is plastered not only at the joints of the sheets, but also in the places where the self-sampling screws are inserted. The recesses formed by indenting the screw caps are aligned on the main plane.
Finishing sequence
The work is carried out in the following order:
- The entire box is treated with a primer. This increases the hitch with fine and rough putty by an order of magnitude.
- All corners, end surfaces of the sheet material, as well as joints are putty.
- All joints are glued with adhesive reinforcing tape and then repacked.
- Hard putty is processed with sandpaper of small granularity, after which the rough surface is re-primed
Options for finishing
A common design decision is to build a kind of island in the middle of the ceiling, in addition to the box around the perimeter of the room.
Most often, the surface of the boxes is decorated with the most ordinary paint in bright colors. In general, drywall is a universal material, and can even be wallpapered or plastered. Wallpapering with imitation wood texture is widely used in the decoration of workrooms and halls for receiving guests.
Some installation features
A design such as a plasterboard box with backlight is also very common. The installation of the latter is preceded by the installation of GCR on the ceiling. Fundamentally, the stage is no different from the installation of the ordinary box itself.
After that, the borders of the box with backlighting are indicated on the drywall plane. Dimensions along the height of this element may vary and depend mainly on the type of lighting elements used. But the height can not be less than 5 centimeters. The base (guide profiles) are made in most cases from a profile of type CW. The remaining implementations of the remaining elements are most suitable for the CD profile.
All further work is carried out by analogy with the installation of a conventional decorative plasterboard box in the toilet or in the bathroom.
Conclusion
Assembling a drywall construction on your own is a fairly simple task. But it is necessary to precisely follow the technology of work. Otherwise, the appearance of the structure, as well as its operational characteristics, will not meet expectations.