At the moment, drywall has become the most used material for construction, in particular, for the manufacture of decorative elements even in the most complex interior projects. You just need to know how to correctly give it the desired shape.
Main application
The area where this material is applied is very wide. You can meet him in the decoration of almost every room. It is used for:
- alignment of wall and ceiling surfaces;
- making partitions between rooms;
- finishing of door openings;
- constructing the levels of suspended ceilings.
pros
Plasterboard material has many positive qualities, namely:
- environmental friendliness;
- vapor permeability;
- flat and smooth surface;
- sound and heat insulation properties;
- ease of use;
- the size of the sheets allows you to perform work in a short time;
- light weight;
- the ability to cut any elements from the sheet, as well as bend them in several ways.
Minuses
Just like all building materials, drywall has not only advantages, but also disadvantages, such as:
- due to the moisture absorption property of gypsum, it cannot be used in conditions of high humidity;
- fragility, due to which you have to handle it extremely carefully;
- it is difficult to fix anything on drywall walls; additional devices are required.
Application in design
These fragile slabs are often used to implement the most intricate interior design ideas. This was facilitated by their property to take on a wide variety of forms, including a curved type. The latter are used for different purposes.
- With the help of curved and curved shapes, you can add acoustic and sound effects to the room. This feature is often used in large halls: theater, office, entertainment centers and similar premises.
- It is very easy to hide various communications behind the curvilinear figures of the interior, without losing the picture of the general appearance. In addition, gypsum is resistant to high temperatures, which allows you to safely run electrical cables under it.
- The bent shapes of the panels expand the possibilities of the designer, as a result of which he can bring to life his bold and original ideas for the interior design plan.
Bending methods
There are four ways to bend drywall sheets.
Roller
Application in material processing of a needle roller. Such a simple method does not require a lot of time and effort. With the help of a special tool, the plate is pierced on both sides, which makes it softer and more elastic quality.
For even greater effect, the leaf can be moistened.
Knife
Bending drywall can be done with a sharp knife; this method is suitable for boards of almost any thickness. To do this, you need to cut through the thickness of the material in several places. How many cuts need to be made depends on the radius of the desired bend. The steeper it is, the more and more often the part has to be cut. This method does not require humidification.
Milling cutter
When a very small radius design is required, bending is done with a cutter. The milling cutter strips off the thickness of the web, leaving about two millimeters.
Water
If the design provides for a shallow contour, then it is enough to use a simple method of soaking with water. One side of the gypsum plasterboard is moistened to a certain condition. As soon as the material becomes pliable, it is positioned on the template, fixed and dried.
It is not difficult to bend the gypsum board in a semicircle with your own hands at home. Such work is within the power of even a novice master.
Preparation for work
At the beginning of the preparatory work, you need to decide on the bending radius. This is very important to ensure that the end result matches the planned design. Depending on the selected radius, the thickness of the material used in the work is selected. A sharper arc can be made from a thin canvas.
The optimal parts suitable for the manufacture of spherical structures are those with a thickness of 9.5 mm. But this does not mean that elements with other sizes cannot be used. For such sheets, you need to choose the optimal folding method. And also you need to take into account other parameters of the fragment.
The narrower the element, the easier it is to bend it. When using strips up to 200 mm wide, there are no problems. Such a part can simply be fixed on a template and held for a certain time, this will be enough for the drywall to take the required shape.
Larger sheets will have to be pre-treated with a special roller and liquid. Then fix the fragment on the template, where it will take the desired shape under its own weight. Within a few days, the part must be periodically replenished with moisture. Due to the fact that the process is lengthy, this method is rarely used, more often preferring to use a cutter or knife.
A lot also depends on the length of the bending element, because it is more difficult to bend a short part than a long strip.
Making a template
To give the plasterboard fragment the required shape, especially if this element is large, you must first make a template. Such a device can be made from a suitable material at hand, for example, from chipboard, plywood, and the like. It is important that the selected raw material is about ten millimeters thick.
The template should have a radius, width and length slightly less than the same dimensions of the workpiece of the proposed design. The template is assembled from several parts: two sides and spacer plates. The side sections define the radius and the spacers provide the required width for the template. Having made the necessary parts, the device is assembled using self-tapping screws and wooden blocks.
Required tools
To bend drywall, you will need the following fixtures and tools:
- water tank, sponge (when the sheet is deformed by the wet method);
- special roller, cutter or knife;
- awl;
- tape measure, ruler;
- putty knife;
- screwdriver or screwdriver.
Home folding methods
Dry flexion
It is rational to use this method in the case when it is necessary to obtain a shallow product with a small deformation angle. For this, it is recommended to use thin slabs with a thickness of 0.65 cm. If such a sheet is not available, you can use sheets with a thickness of 0.9 cm.
The order of work is divided into several operations
- First you need to make a frame where the drywall will be fixed.
- Then prepare a workpiece of the required size and, pulling it to the frame, fix it with self-tapping screws. If necessary, you can press lightly on the part, but carefully so as not to break the weak material.
- Canvases with a thickness of 0.125 cm are suitable for products with a radius of more than 1800 mm. It is recommended to bend such blanks exclusively in warmth and additionally warm them up during operation.
- If you need to create a strong structure, you can make it from two layers, while the seams should overlap each other.
With a special roller
The process of curving the canvas by this method is carried out through several steps.
- A plasterboard layer is taken and laid on a stable plane. If you need to create a convex part, then a needle roller is passed along the back surface of the sheet. If you want to make a concave shape, the front side of the workpiece is processed.
- The treated surface is wetted with a wet sponge. The fragment should be wetted for approximately one hour, but the reverse side of the part should not get wet. This must be prevented in order to avoid bursting of the material.
- The wet workpiece is placed on the template in such a way that its middle coincides with the center of the part. Slowly and carefully, the layer is bent and clamps are fixed at the ends. In this position, the product is left to dry. In a situation where several fragments are being made, it is necessary to securely fix the folds of the canvas with tape, then remove it from the template to work with the next element.
Using a cutter
It is good to use a milling cutter in a situation when it is necessary to make an element with a small radius of deformation. This work is done in several stages.
- A workpiece of the required size and configuration is cut out, located on a stable plane with the back side up.
- The grooves are selected with a cutter parallel to the bend line. Their depth and location in frequency and width are determined according to the radius that is planned as a result.
- Remove the dust from the work of the cutter from the part, and place the workpiece with the grooves upwards on the prepared template. Having fixed the bent element, you need to putty the slots. Leave the piece in this state until the putty dries.
Metal profile bending
The metal profile is an integral part when installing drywall, since the plaster cladding is attached directly to it. And in the case of using curved finishing structures, respectively, the frame on which the drywall is attached must also be of an appropriate configuration.
In order to bend the metal base, you need to cut through the profile. When making a flat sphere, the slots should be made at equal distances and parallel to each other.
For other configurations, it is possible to saw through depending on the planned result.
One end of the cut profile must be fixed at the beginning of the proposed structure. Further, the metal element of the frame can be bent in the required direction and to the required level.
Bending drywall elements in a domestic environment is a simple task that can be done with your own hands. To do this, you need to acquire the necessary materials and tools, as well as choose the most accessible and rational method of work.
For more information on using a needle roller to bend drywall, see below.