One of the most commonly used materials for interior decoration is drywall, which allows not only to level the walls as soon as possible, but also to create partitions, niches and other structures. However, it is not enough just to erect the required structure, it must also be brought into a decent view. As a rule, drywall constructions are finished with the same materials as the bearing walls: they are painted or glued with wallpaper. And if earlier lightweight paper wallpapers were used, which often overlapped, today the use of modern materials requires special attention to the smoothness and evenness of the wall surface being trimmed. Therefore, we propose to consider how do-it-yourself plasterboard putty is performed. Step-by-step instructions will be presented below.
Why putty drywall?
Despite the fact that the drywall has a fairly flat surface, before you finish on it, it is necessary to smooth out all the flaws formed on the material during installation. In addition, it will be necessary to close up the joints of sheets both in the area of the wall and in the corners. For this, two types of preparatory finishing are used: plastering and puttying.
Plaster is a coarser material and is used to level the surface with large flaws, therefore it is usually used on concrete walls. The putty has a fine-grained structure, which makes it possible to almost perfectly align drywall for finishing. This moment is most important during subsequent painting and wallpapering. If the wall does not have a perfectly smooth surface, the wallpaper will begin to diverge, and even the smallest irregularities will be visible on the painted drywall.
In addition, the self-made putty of walls (drywall) is an additional protection, which is important when finishing. For example, if you stick the wallpaper directly on the gypsum board, there is a high probability that it will swell from the glue, and the new wallpaper will be skewed. In addition, when changing the finish you are guaranteed to remove not only the old material, but also the layer of drywall.
Features of puttying
The puttying process is quite complicated and requires special accuracy and thoroughness. Therefore, many prefer to order these works from professionals. However, in order to save money, you can perform a procedure such as plasterboard putty, with your own hands. To do this, just be patient and learn some of the subtleties of surface treatment in each case. And also to master the basic techniques of puttying, since the plasterboard puttying for wallpaper, made by one’s own hands, differs from the work on preparing the wall for painting. This must be taken into account.
Puttying joints and corners deserves special attention, since this work requires preliminary laying of a sickle-tape (a special building material for reinforcing seams). It will prevent the appearance of cracks, which can appear from vibration or expansion of drywall under the influence of moisture.
Material selection
Today on the market there are a fairly large number of different types of putty, which differ in structure: coarse-grained starting and finer finishing.
The starting one, the price of which is the lowest of all options, is used to smooth out irregularities with surface drops from 0.5 to 2 cm. Therefore, it is practically not used for drywall. As a rule, this material is immediately coated with a finishing putty, which has a finer-grained structure. With it, you can immediately level the surface to a perfectly smooth state, suitable even for painting. However, in case of improper installation of drywall or visible damage, it is recommended to first apply a layer of starting putty and wait for it to completely dry. Then prime and then finish the surface with a finishing agent.
Varieties
In addition, they make a difference in the composition of the putty. It happens on a plaster, cement and polymer basis. Depending on the premises in which repairs are carried out, and operating conditions, the most suitable means for decoration is chosen. Each species has its advantages and disadvantages:
- Gypsum putty has a very fine structure, which is why it often acts as a finish. However, the use of this material in rooms with high humidity is not recommended, since such a composition well absorbs moisture from the air, and in this case even the primer of the surface will not help.
- For places constantly exposed to high humidity, it is preferable to use a cement-based putty, which is very resistant to such effects. In addition, this type is characterized by high strength and durability of the coating.
- The polymer appearance is the most plastic and is best applied to the surface, so the plastering of the ceiling from gypsum cardboard with your own hands is most often performed with this material.
What putty is better to use?
Another difference in material is the type in which it is sold. There are two options: a dry mixture in bags and a ready-made solution, similar to sour cream, in buckets.
On the one hand, ready-made putty is the most convenient, which can be applied without prior mixing. While preparing a dry mix requires some knowledge and skill.
On the other hand, the finished solution is 1.3-1.6 times more expensive. Therefore, it makes sense to carefully approach the choice of material. It should be borne in mind that cement putty is produced only in the form of a dry mixture due to the peculiarities of its composition.
If we talk about drywall, then in living rooms it is preferable to use gypsum putty, and in rooms such as a bathroom, kitchen or bathroom, polymer.
Important! It is not recommended to use alkyd putty for finishing drywall work. Its aggressive composition will destroy the upper layer of GCR.
How to putty drywall: step by step instructions
Before starting work such as plasterboard puttying with your own hands, the base is thoroughly cleaned of dust and dirt after installation. If in some places there is delamination of the material, they must be removed and cleaned with fine sandpaper. Also, do not forget to check how the screws are twisted. Ideally, they should be slightly recessed in a sheet of drywall and not protrude above the surface.
After this, the surface is primed without leaving untreated areas. In this case, it is best to apply 2-3 layers of primer. This is necessary for good adhesion of the material. When applying the composition, it will not only further clean the surface of dust, but also impregnate the pores of drywall. After applying each coat, the primer must be left to dry completely. Drying time can be seen on the packaging of a particular product.
By the way, it is worth knowing that the plasterboard plastering technique with your own hands involves finishing the entire surface of the wall. Do not save on building materials and process only corners or joints. Subsequently, when painting or stickering wallpaper, drywall without coating will stand out strongly.
Drywall pretreatment
At the next stage, it is necessary to close up more or less noticeable depressions on the surface of drywall. These include holes from unsuccessfully screwed screws, damage received during installation, and other flaws. A small spatula is usually used for these jobs.
Do-it-yourself plastering of drywall joints is also done, and it is preferable to choose a composition specially designed for these purposes. First, lay the serpentine tape. To do this, putty on a putty previously applied on drywall, tape, which is closed with another layer of the composition. After that, the material is carefully leveled with a wide spatula and a further plastering of the drywall is done with your own hands.
Corners are treated in a similar way, the only difference is that special plastic or metal corners are used for these joints. They will protect the edges of drywall from mechanical damage. This is especially true for external corners, such as partitions or niches. For internal corners, if the sheets are tight and there are no large gaps, it is permissible to use the same serpentine tape.
Application of putty on the wall
In order to properly putty on the surface, two types of spatula are used: the material itself is applied and leveled with a large spatula, a small one is used as an auxiliary tool.
If the initial application of the starting putty is supposed, then, depending on the condition of the drywall, it is applied with a sufficiently thick layer in the range of 0.5-2 cm. If a layer of a greater thickness is needed, it can theoretically be performed in two stages. However, the cost of such repairs will be quite expensive. Therefore, it is better to apply plaster for the first leveling layer. This material is much cheaper.
In any case, the first layer is necessarily left to dry completely, after which it is primed and dried again. Next, you can apply the next leveling layer. Do-it-yourself starting puttying of drywall is carried out to the most even surface. After that, it is dried and primed.
Features of the application of finishing putty
After a layer of starting putty (if it was necessary), the finishing composition is applied. This work is more painstaking, as it is carried out in a layer of just a few millimeters. Finishing putty is applied very carefully and in small portions. We align to the maximum and dry. Then it is necessary to carefully check the smoothness of the surface. The fact is that sometimes small tubercles remain or, drying out, the material, on the contrary, fails somewhat. It is permissible to cover the depressions with a certain amount of more composition, the tubercles are quite easily removed with fine-grained sandpaper.
After you reach a perfectly flat surface, it must be sanded with zero sandpaper to absolute smoothness.
Ceiling treatment
Ceiling putty is considered to be a particularly difficult event, which is recommended to be carried out with polymer elastic putty. Despite the fact that the material is sufficiently plastic, applying the composition to a horizontal surface will require a lot of effort. Puttying is performed in smooth movements towards you. This process is quite complicated for beginners in the construction business. Therefore, it is better to preliminarily see how someone else is doing puttying of the ceiling from gypsum cardboard with their own hands. A video of the work of professionals will clearly show all the nuances of this procedure.
All preliminary and subsequent operations, such as priming and sanding, are carried out in the same way as in the case of a vertical surface.
How to putty for different finishes?
There are several nuances of drywall processing, which depend on the subsequent wall decoration:
- If it is subsequently planned to stick light paper wallpaper, plasterboard puttying under the wallpaper with your own hands should be done very carefully, with the obligatory alignment of all the flaws. Otherwise, after finishing work, all flaws will appear on the material.
- For heavy wallpapers, on the contrary, it is preferable to use only the starting putty, which will create a rough coating. On this basis it will be easier to stick the wallpaper due to the good adhesion of the material.
- The most difficult is the puttying of drywall with your own hands for painting, in this case the surface is smoothed to the ideal state. Professionals even use a lamp for these purposes, under the light of which the slightest flaws in the coating are revealed.