Rare construction and repair do without the use of drywall. It is used for leveling walls and ceilings, installation of partitions. Those who first encountered this material should definitely learn how to cut drywall correctly.
Required Tools
To start cutting drywall, you will need the following tools:
- Stationery or mounting knife.
- Hacksaw.
- Drill.
- Roulette.
- Pencil.
- Strong line.
These are the simplest tools that will help you get the job done. In addition to them, a jigsaw and a planer can be additionally used.
Tips for Choosing and Using Drywall Tools
If drywall work new to you, you may find the following tips helpful:
- For high-quality cutting of drywall, the clerical and assembly knife must be very sharp so that the cut is deep, even and without burrs.
- A hacksaw is used to cut curly parts: a corner near a window or door, a U-shaped cutout for a beam or pipe. Any will do. The main condition is that it must be narrow.
- A drill is used by cutting round holes in a drywall sheet for sockets, spotlights. It will come in handy before using a jigsaw or hacksaw.
- The maximum length of a drywall sheet is 4.8 meters. We select the tape measure so that this distance can be measured in one go, which means that it must be at least 5 meters.
- The marking lines of the incisions should be clear and clearly visible. Take a soft pencil, marker or felt-tip pen in a contrasting color.
- A ruler is needed not only for marking lines. It is applied to the line, making a cut with a knife. The longer its length, the more convenient it will be to work with it. You can replace the purchased ruler with a profile on which drywall is attached. It is convenient to use a T-square or a rule for plastering.
- You can use a jigsaw or a grinder with a dry cutter disk. But it should be borne in mind that when they are used, a lot of dust and noise are generated.
Cutting a sheet of drywall in a straight line
drywall sheet is a "sandwich" of two cardboard walls with gypsum filler. To divide it into parts, you must first cut the cardboard, and then break it.
- We lay the sheet face up on a flat plane: on the table, on the floor. You can work by placing it against the wall at a slight angle.
- We measure the distance and connect the marks with a pencil.
- We firmly press the ruler to the line and cut the top layer of cardboard with a knife, grabbing the gypsum layer.
The smoother and deeper the cut, the easier it is to carry out the next action. We drive the knife smoothly, confidently pressing, exactly along the line. Make sure that the cut along the entire length of the sheet is deep enough. Repeat if necessary.
- The next task is to break the sheet of drywall along the cut. To do this, we rest on the reverse side of the cut line and fold it with the letter G. This procedure can be carried out by moving the drywall to the edge of the table or pressing it with your foot. If the previous step is done correctly, the kink will match the idea.
- And finally, we cut the second layer of cardboard. To make the edge even, cut off the burrs and excess plaster with a knife. You can use a planer.
Cutting curly elements
When you need to cut a piece of drywall to decorate a window or doorway, do the following.
- Draw borders. Usually a square or rectangle.
- One side of the drywall sheet is cut with a hacksaw from edge to corner.
- The second - with a knife, using the previously described standard method.
If the cutout is U-shaped, then two opposite sides are sawn off with a hacksaw. The third is cut with a knife.After that, an unnecessary piece is broken and the cardboard is cut from the back.
There are cases when you need to make a hole, stepping back from the edge of the sheet. Several methods apply.
- Draw contours of the required dimensions on both sides of the sheet. With a knife, cut as deeply as possible on both sides. Especially carefully cut corners. Lightly knock out the middle.
- Drill several holes around the perimeter of the contour. With a hacksaw, an unnecessary part of the sheet is cut out.
- Carefully, so that cracks do not go over the entire surface of the drywall, a hole is punched in the middle. Using a knife or a hacksaw, cut out the required size in parts.
round holes
To obtain a hole in drywall, three options are applicable:
- The ideal hole is drilled with a drill bit inserted into the drill. We mark the center of the future outlet on the sheet. We select the crown of the desired diameter, drill. Ready! Quickly and efficiently.
- If there is no crown of a suitable size, we make several holes with a drill according to the marking diameter. We cut with a hacksaw.
- You can cut a hole with a knife with enough effort. Having determined the center, draw a circle with a compass (circle the box). We cut drywall as deep as possible. We pierce the contours with an awl so that it can be seen on the reverse side. Cut off the second layer of cardboard. We break the plaster by tapping. We clean it with a rasp (a file with a large notch).
Using a jigsaw
Cutting drywall with a jigsaw has its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros:
- The saw cut is smooth, rarely needs to be finalized.
- Bends of any shape are sawn without problems.
Minuses:
- The tool is not cheap.
- Under the surface to be treated, you need to create additional space so that the jigsaw file does not rest against anything.
- During operation, a lot of gypsum dust is formed, due to which the markings are poorly visible, and it is uncomfortable to breathe. The use of a vacuum cleaner improves the situation, but again, this is an additional material investment.
A Few General Tips
And finally, take into account the following recommendations:
- Mark the drywall carefully. It is better to check three times than to buy more material later.
- After cutting off less than required, remove the excess with a rasp.
- Use only sharp tools. The quality and speed of work with drywall depends on this.
- Protect your face with a respirator when working with power tools.
Working with drywall is easy. To get the hang of it, practice on old or unwanted pieces. After that, self-confidence will surely appear, and you will make the perfect walls and ceiling in the apartment.
