How to cut drywall at home

Many line the house walls and ceiling plasterboard. Fast, comfortable, perfectly smooth. But the sheets are large and not always exactly fit the size. Or you have to make a hole under the socket, a lamp, attach a small piece.

Professionals for cutting have special power tools, but they are always indecently expensive. What do ordinary people do? How to cut drywall at home? In fact, it is not as scary as it seems. If desired, everything is quite doable in a few minutes. And the tools will need the most running.

Training

Preparatory work is happening very quickly. First, tools are selected so as not to run in search. You will need:

1. Tape measure, construction meter or ruler.
2. A simple pencil, nail, screw. Any item that leaves a visible mark.
3. Knife. Office or construction (it is more reliable).
4. Hacksaw.Desirable narrow, but with a hard blade. You can take intended for cutting knots.
5. Hammer. The most common.
6. Special plane. Easily replaced with a needle file or medium grit sandpaper.
7. Drill. If there is a special nozzle for it, it will be great.

Then the sheet of drywall is laid on a flat surface. For example, on the floor. Experts can cut drywall on weight, beginners do not recommend this technique. It is fraught with damage to the material.

If there was no space on the floor (this happens during repair), then the sheet is placed on two stools. Strictly identical in height. And start.

Description of the cutting process

Measuring tape measure the desired distance. A simple pencil draw a label. Once again they recheck everything, because there will be no possibility to correct the work.

Then they take a stationery knife and cut cardboard on the marking line. If there are doubts about the hardness of the hand, then you can cut along the guide. It is very convenient for this to use the rest of the profile for fastening to the wall or a long building level. Sometimes one effort is not enough, yet drywall is a fairly durable material.Then cut through several times.

Do not immediately seek to cut a drywall with a knife. It's impossible. For such work there is a hammer. All you need is a few times to lightly strike the incision site on the back of the sheet. The gypsum base will safely crack along the cutting line.

It remains only to turn the sheet and cut the second layer of cardboard with a knife. All is ready.

For a better joint of the pieces, the cut should be cleaned. Sometimes there are quite large notches. Aesthetically, they do not interfere, because all the same the place of the seam will be puttied. But the accuracy of the connection can affect.

Chamfering - so called this procedure. It is easy to do with sandpaper or a large file. But we recommend purchasing a special planer for such purposes. Moreover, it is very democratic.

Clearing of incisions is performed with smooth movements, without strong pressure. No need to try to achieve perfect smoothness. It is enough to remove the large rags.

Someone will ask: why was a hacksaw needed? For cutting through holes. After all, their hammer just does not knock out. Practice shows that a sheet of drywall breaks anywhere, but not on the markup. For through holes, the technique is somewhat different.

In the sheet along the marking line a hole is drilled to such a size that the hacksaw blade enters. Then, with the same hacksaw, they cut out three sides of a square or rectangle. The fourth side can not cut. It is enough to cut a cardboard with a knife on one side, and then knock out an unnecessary piece with a hammer. Cardboard on the other hand is also cut with a knife.

In the same way, corner squares and rectangles are cut out in drywall. One side is cut with a hacksaw, the other with a knife and a hammer.

Council At the site of the cut, there will be very few chipping if you hold a knife or a hacksaw perpendicular to the sheet of drywall. The lower the blade tilts, the larger the rags will be in consequence.

How to cut a circle in drywall

If there is a drill with a special nozzle on hand, then round holes of small size are drilled very easily. Cutter pressed to the sheet strictly perpendicular, then turn on the drill and slowly press down from the top. The result is a little dusty, but ideally smooth.

Round holes or lines of complex configuration (waves, pictures) cannot be made with a drill.Here you have to act as a hacksaw on the principle of cutting the inner piece. Drill a line, insert the canvas. Then sawn on drawn.

Naturally, it is inconvenient to perform such work on the floor. You can put drywall on the table so that the place of the cut protrudes beyond the edge of the table top.

Some craftsmen cut a round hole in the cardboard with a knife, and then knock it out using the usual method. Beginners are not advised to try to repeat this procedure. Without proper skills in drywall, an ugly break with torn edges turns out instead of a perfect circle.

Council Do not try to cut in drywall mesh or complex pattern with thin lines. The material may simply not stand. The sheet is durable only with a large pattern of wide lines.

Useful recommendations

1. Some manage to cut drywall at home with a grinder. We do not recommend this. There will be a lot of noise and gypsum dust. With a simple knife and a hammer it turns out much cleaner and tidier. Yes, and do not need somewhere to get personal protective equipment and the ability to work with power tools.
2. Beautiful patterns for marking circles are glasses, plates and covers from pans. Simply select the desired size and draw a line of a circle. This is the case when the compass is not at hand.
3. Jigsaw greatly simplifies most works with plasterboard. Its blade is thin and tough, with small teeth. This tool can be cut on drywall even a square, even a dragonfly, any shape and configuration. If you do not have such a miracle of technology on your farm, you can rent it. Many construction firms provide power tools for rent.
4. First, perform all the cuts and only then attach a sheet of drywall to a permanent place. If the incision is made on an already fixed sheet, then, if there is a possible error, it will be necessary to remove the structure and fix the new sheet.
5. It does not matter from which side to cut the drywall - facial or purl. It breaks equally well on both sides.
6. If you have to cut a large sheet alone, then it is inconvenient to lift it with one hand, and the second to knock with a hammer. Then they put a bar on the floor and just about it break the drywall exactly along the cut line.
7. Some sources recommend using your own knee instead of a hammer. If you have a couple of new ones in stock, then you can knock out unnecessary pieces. True mankind invented the hammer for a long time. Try to still use it, and leave your knees for other purposes. For example, for the fifth point of the woman he loved, let him sit on them.

How to cut drywall at home? Very simple. Precise measurement and a steady hand are the main components of a notorious success. And everything will work out with a bang.

Video: how to cut drywall with a knife