Part 2: The Finishing Touches on Your Wall

Table of Contents

Reckoning with the Past:

Gypsum wallboards are the clear frontrunner for usage in any interior wall application. Gypsum plaster is sandwiched between two sheets of cardboard to make this substance. The largest size of sheets is 12′ x 4′. Wallboard can be painted, covered in wallpaper or fabric, or given a textured surface; the only pre-decorated option is wood-grained gypsum. The ornamental material can be applied as soon as the joints are completely dry. You can use a roller, a spray painter, or a brush to apply paint. Always start painting with the appropriate primer or sealer. Primers and sealers should be used as directed by the paint manufacturer and will depend on the type of paint chosen.

There are many varieties of gypsum wallboard, including:

First, choose a 3/8″ and 1/2″ thick conventional gypsum wallboard. In brand-new construction, the board is usually preferred. In most cases, the edges of these boards will be square, beveled, or tapered. Usually, the square-edge board is employed because no additional embellishment is necessary. The beveled edge is engaged in construction wherever emphasis is sought at a joint. The tapered-edge board works with a joint hiding technology that uses tape and cement.
Type X gypsum board is available in various thicknesses and with both square and tapered edges; its core is created with a specific formulation that reduces the transmission of fire and sound.

You can score the board with a knife and tear it apart. Nail driving is also simple, but be careful not to puncture the paper. The large panels are a convenient and time-saving option, quickly covering up to 48 square feet of ceiling or wall space. However, the gaps between the panels can only be made undetectable under a final coat of paint with much care spent on plastering and sanding. Joint cement and perforated tape should be applied at all junctions and inside and outside corners to hide dings or nail heads. Unless you buy a wallboard with a finish like knotty wood, bleached, or dark walnut, you must prime all surfaces before painting.

Here are some suggestions to simplify the process of putting up the wallboard:

First, check for plumb and square in all studs and joists.
Two, head up there first. If possible, use a single sheet of gypsum board that spans the whole width or length of the ceiling. This will lessen the total length of the joints that must be covered in the future.
Use the annular-ringed, bright-finish nails designed for gypsum wallboard installation, and connect the boards correctly. When nailing a board, begin in the middle and work to the edges. Nails on the ceiling can be no closer than 3/8″ to the board’s edge, and pins on the walls can be no closer than 6″. When driving nails, press the part of the board directly around them on the framing.
Applying the wallboard with its long dimension perpendicular to the studs or joists is recommended since it usually results in fewer joints that need to be covered. When using this horizontally, you should build your walls from the ceiling. Lower planks should slide in without any wiggle room.

When you’ve finished “welding,” concealing all the joints, and treating the nail heads after applying the wallboard to the ceiling and all the walls, you may move on to the next step. First, butter adhesive into the channel made by the tapering edges of the board using a 5″ broad putty knife. According to the manufacturer of the gypsum wallboard, the adhesive should be combined until it has the consistency of putty. Use a manageable amount of force to fill the channel. Then, centered over the joint, put the special strengthening tape neatly into the adhesive. Push the video firmly into the glue with the knife to avoid any air bubbles or excess cement. Apply sealant in a thin layer over the tape. After the initial layer of adhesive has dried, you should sand down the area to remove any remaining roughness and then apply a second layer, leaving it as smooth as possible and feathering it out on both sides of the depression as soon as the second coat has dried, sand off any remaining rough spots and apply a third, thinner coat of glue, extending the first two by a feathered margin. After the adhesive is fully set, you can smooth any rough patches with fantastic sandpaper. The same adhesive used to treat the joints also covers the nail heads. The three applications applied to the joints should also be dotted with adhesive. The nail heads should be hammered farther into the dimple with a crown-headed hammer if the first layer of glue does not completely cover them.

Alternative Cloths

You may also use paper board, which comes in sheets as large as eight by 18 feet, instead of gypsum board. Although challenging to move around without help, they speed up the process of building walls. Nail spacing may increase, and fewer joints will be necessary. Nails are typically No. 9 flatheads, galvanized or cement-coated, and 3/2″ in length. Nails are spaced at regular intervals of 10-12 inches along the outside margins and at similarly regular intervals on alternate studs across the central parts. A 1/8″ expansion gap is left between sheets of this size. You can attach the paper board to studs and framing using glue with the sheets. Use a knife or a saw to cut it. Wallpaper, paint, or textures can all be used as final touches.

Fiberboard, typically fabricated from wood pulp, is still another option. It weighs very little and comes in standard sizes of 4′ widths and lengths ranging from 6′ to 8′ to 12′. They provide a barrier that is mainly effective at dampening noise because of the material’s inherent insulation properties. Some are also offered in convenient square tiles. Unless a smooth surface is desired, the application uses furring strips and then adheres to the wall. Some are beveled, and the panels can be arranged in straight or crisscross patterns for visual interest. The standard nail for attaching to furring is a 2d type, blued or No. 17 flathead brad. These fiber boards are flexible so that they can be stapled to furring. Staples are a significant time saving and labor-saver because fasteners only need to be placed every four inches. Longer nails, up to 3/2 inches, are necessary when working with thicker varieties of fiberboard. A knife or saw will work to cut through the material. A crack filler is typically used in conjunction with a paper strip to hide imperfections and nail heads after installing rough-edged fiberboard on walls and ceilings with butt joints. There are a variety of fiberboards that can be purchased prefinished and installed without further work. Texture paint, wallpaper, and paint can be used to hide flaws and repairs to other surfaces.

Exploding wood chips into fibers and then pressing the fibers together under heat and pressure is how hardboard is manufactured. The end product is a material with incredible density, rigidity, and durability that can withstand tremendous stress. A wide variety of final finishes is possible when these panels and squares are used to construct a wall. You can choose from various finishes, including leather-like finishes, baked-on enamels, and colored wood grain patterns. Nailing something up requires furring the underside of all sides. The recommended nail length is 5/4″, with a slight countersink and the heads hidden with hole fillers. At 4″ from each edge and 6″ from the center of studs and supports, space nails. Saw it to pieces. These materials can also adhere to walls; the beveled joints can be left unfilled to create a pattern or filled in to hide the seams. Particular metal or wooden strips can be utilized to provide support and hide the joints during assembly. Due to their durability, hardboards are an excellent covering for old, crumbling plaster walls. They may be used in the kitchen or bathroom and cleaned quickly thanks to the nearly waterproof coating.

Tile, linoleum, cloth, wallpaper, and paint all adhere well to plywood because of its sturdy surface. Under typical household conditions, there is minimal shrinkage, warping, cracking, or curling. There are countless varieties of plywood available. The thicknesses range from a quarter of an inch to well over an inch, with greater thickness representing more excellent durability. Typically, the side that will receive the final coating is the rougher of the two. In its unfinished state, plywood paneling is commonly marketed in 4-by-8-foot and bigger sheets. A hand saw could be used to cut them. Nails or screws should be spaced every 16 inches. Nail length is proportional to wood thickness, three times as long as the nail.

In most cases, fillers can conceal the appearance of butted joints. Joints can be hidden from view in plywood with a striated finish. When working with plywood, it is best to use finishing nails or brads, which can be countersunk, and then fill the resulting holes with plastic wood before applying the final finish. Special clips attach the manufactured panels, such as the tongue and grooved sheets. There will be a tiny bump at the junction, but the finished panels can be adjusted to make the seams disappear or highlight the paneled effects.

Knotty pine, clear pine, and custom-milled beveled and striated lumbers all examples of solid wood paneling. Paneled walls can look either ultra-contemporary or quaintly traditional, depending on the width, finish, and stain used. Use furring strips as a base for any wall application, whether an old repair or brand-new construction.

Adding the Final Touch

Moldings are applied to the top and bottom of a wall to hide the space between the wall and the floor or ceiling after the framing has been covered with the desired material. A large variety of styles is available at most hardware stores and home improvement centers, so it’s easy to choose one to complement any design scheme. Application ideas can be gleaned from sketches. To miter the corners of the baseboard and ceiling trim before installing it. To secure the border to the wall studs, use finishing nails. Fill nail holes with wood putty and replace the nail heads.

KevinLe, a civil engineer, always thinks of ways to simplify his life… He has shifted his focus to study a new area, Valves Technology. His latest website, http://valveproducts.net, has a wealth of information about Valves, including where to get them, how to keep them in good working order, what components make them up, how they operate, and even what others think of them.

linda