Daft question time

MassiveJim · 15 May 2017 at 01:12

I have soon got to plasterboard by loft and am in the process of deciding how to finish it.
I have watched quote a few videos now on how to tape and fill a plasterboard wall.
And again a few on how to plaster (skim) a new wall.

what i can't seem to find an answer to anywhere is.
whats to stop me buying normal flat sheets of plasterboard and using something like polyfiller or a flexible joint compound or even silicon sealant/ decorators caulk on the joins ?

I know there must be a reason otherwise trades wouldn't exist that perform both of these techniques.
i'm just struggling with my google-fu tonight. I'm assuming it has something to do with the finish cracking ???

bremen1874 · 15 May 2017 at 02:36

If you can get the plasterboard installed that's the bulk of the work out of the way.

Then pay someone to plaster skim it. I had my entire ground floor skimmed (some new bare plasterboard, some existing skimmed plasterboard) and it didn't cost very much.

Lopéz · 15 May 2017 at 04:56

Nothing really, but you will be able to see the joins quite clearly, no matter how neat you are. The toilets in one of my offices is like this. If it's just a loft and you aren't overly bothered about the finish, go for it.

Have fun painting it if you're using silicone sealant

a1ex2001 · 15 May 2017 at 09:37

As Lopez said you will not get a perfect finish and the joints will be visible no matter how hard you try, also if you don't tape them they will inevitably crack as the boards move. Personally I'd board and tape it all then get a plasterer to skim as it gives the best finish and is relatively inexpensive as you will have done the heavy lifting work, failing that if it is a room where you don't really mind the finish to much I'd tape and fill as it's pretty straightforward.

Scottland · 15 May 2017 at 10:14

By normal flat plasterboards - do you mean non tapered? This will look awful if you try to just use caulk or similar to fill the gap is it will be raised above the surface. You can apply glue to the edges of the boards to stop them moving/cracking - but the finish will still be compromised. The tapered plasterboards actually have quite a wide area where they taper off - this is why you'd use tape and just skim over the tapered area.

For what it's worth, I've dry lined a couple of times and it was dead easy to get a reasonable finish - the hardest part was sanding because it's so messy. If the loft room is going to only be an occasional room, then I'd dry line if yourself and if you're not happy with the result pay a plasterer to skim on top. I'd be quite happy dry lining myself again, but if the room was one of the main rooms (e.g. a nice lounge) I'd be tempted to get someone in to skim over.

mattyg · 15 May 2017 at 13:37

Dry lining, filling and painting seems to be big in america. Over here we skim.

If you don't have a price on your time then have a go at dry lining yourself. If you do get a plasterer in to sort.