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How To Plasterboard A Brick Wall

Do you want to cover your brick wall with plasterboard? The key to success here is the preparation. You must ensure that brick wall is prepared well enough to receive the plasterboard. To get started, there’s the need to attach wood furring strips to the wall which serves as studs in a wood frame structure. This way, the plasterboard will be prevented from getting in touch with the brick. You can always hang pictures or any other forms of decoration in between the gap between the walls. Let’s have a look!

lAttach Furring Strips

• Get a 2 inch by 4 inch wood stud and apply a bead of construction adhesive.

• Using a masonry bit, drill a pilot hole through the wood stud’s base as well as the brick wall.

• Hit a 3 inch fluted nail through the hole using a sledgehammer

• Using a construction adhesive, bind a horizontal 2 inch by 3 inch stud to the upper edge of the wall.

• Using an adhesive, bind the length of a 2 inch by 3 inch stud on its wide side.

• Use a masonry drill to drill a hole on the wood stud and 1 1/2 inches into the brick wall.

• Hit a 3 inch fluted nail through the pilot hole.

lApply Plasterboard

• Hold a plasterboard sheet against the furring strips.

• Use plasterboard screw to hold the drywall sheets in place.

• Use fibreglass to cover the joints where the two plasterboard sheets meet.

• Use a thin layer of the joint compound on the tape. Once done, screw it using a 6 inch taping knife, then allow to dry overnight.

• Use a sandpaper to smooth the joint compound.

• Use a fresh coat of the joint compound to block the holes and joints. Once done, allow the compound to dry.

• Use a light sandpaper to smooth the final coat.

Plasterboarding a brick wall is a simple task but the preparation part must be done right to protect your investment. Therefore, we’d recommend you hire the services of a skilful professional, who can guarantee the best results especially if you lack enough training and experience to carry out a DIY project.

Though both solid wood and engineered wood can be installed on a concrete sub-floor, the processes are quite different from each other. Solid wood is produced from a single plank of wood which can be reactive to both temperature and humidity changes which is capable of making the wood expand or contract. Hence, the different approach to solid wood and engineered wood flooring installation on concrete. Here, we’ll discuss how you can lay solid wood on your concrete.

First and foremost, you’d have to determine the method you’ll use to attach the planks to the floor. Is it floating whereby you only have to lay the wood flooring on the concrete after fitting the right underlay? You can also go for the most popular installation method which is gluing your floor with a flexible wood adhesive (to be applied to both the boards and the sub-floor). Or perhaps you’d prefer to use the traditional method of nailing the boards to the concrete (the nails will be covered as you lay the subsequent planks and the groove locks with the tongue).

After making this decision, you’d have to ensure that the sub-floor is well prepared for the installation. This implies checking the wood’s moisture content (mustn’t exceed 7 to 8 percent). Also inspect the floor to ensure its neat, if not, clear out the dirt or debris and make sure the surface is flat to avoid post-installation problems.

In the event whereby you discover a high moisture content, you’d want to acquire a damp proof membrane. This will not only enhance the floor’s stability, but also prevent shrinking or warping of the wood due to changes in humidity or temperature.

It is crucial to note that the preparation of the sub-floor is equally as important as the laying of the planks as this can go a long way to improve the durability and strength of your floor. Click here to learn more about wood flooring.

Two of the commonly used terms in the UK and Irish construction industry is “First Fix and “Second Fix First fix encompasses all the work required to take a building from foundation to stroking plaster on the interior walls. This comprises of building walls, floors and ceilings, and implanting cables for electrical supply and pipes for water supply.

Some claim that First Fix starts after the shell of the building is complete, and ends when the walls are plastered. Some of the elements in the first fix are as follows.

• Drain runs: must be downhill and straight

• Spare conduits: drawstrings

• Soil pipes

• Copper pipes

• Normal pipes

• Doorbell

• Door frames

• Pocket doorframes

• Stairwell

• MVHR (mechanical heat recovery ventilation runs)

• Push-fit or other plastic piping

• Electrical back boxes

• Electricity cable runs

• Telephone, data and audio-visual cables

• Socket location

• Security

• Fire alarm

• Sound insulation

• Plasterboarding

It is to be kept in mind that the list goes on as there are several things that you can do when you are building a house from scratch and it is impossible to cover each and every aspect in detail.

The second fix includes all the work after the plastering of a complete house. These include linking cables to the electrical fittings, coupling pipes to the baths and sinks and fitting doors into doorframes. Second fix work requires a tidier finish than the first fix.

Carpenters, electricians and plumbers get a proper idea on the division of work. They will also be able to visit the construction site at different times.

Project managers can simply report it as the "first fix complete" or "the second fix 50% done" and others would very easily understand.

Regardless of the fact that a construction company might specialise in a certain form of fix, be it the first or the second, they are obligated to have a rudimentary understanding of both and are required to perform them from time to time.

• Decking joists
• Coach screws
• Coach bolts
• Combi drill
• Socket set
• A saw suitable for your project and the thickness of the timber
• Pencil
• Decking preservative
• Sandpaper or sander

1. Measure your deck frame and cut to size if necessary.
2. Make 2 pencil marks on each end of the frame’s 2 outer joists to mark where the coach screws will go. They need to align with the centre of the adjoining outer joist. Then, use a flat wood drill bit to drill recesses into each mark. Make them the same depth of the screws that your using’s head and wide enough for a ratchet or socket to tighten them.
3. Using a thinner drill bit, line up the outer joists and drill a pilot hole through the middle of the recess. These pilot holes act as a guide for the screws and stops them from splitting the wood.
4. Fit the coach screws with either a drill driver or socket and ratchet.
5. Repeat the process for the inner joists once you’ve assembled the outer frame.

Do you have existing floorboards and wish to fit new solid wood floor over it? If you’re planning to go for a DIY effort, there are a number of things you should put into consideration before you even get started. Firstly, you should have it in mind that existing softwood floorboards are usually not flat, implying that the surface of the existing might not be ideal to serve as the foundation on which to put your new solid wood flooring. Secondly, if you’re going to lay the new solid floor on the existing floorboards, it would be wise to select wood that is a minimum of 18mm thick to make your new solid wood flooring a lot more stable.

If you discover that your old floor is not too even, there are two option you can consider to protect your investment. You can lay the new floor at a 90 degree angle over the existing one. In other words, you should lay the new floor lengthways if the old one is laid widthways. Using this technique alongside a method of fitting referred to as secret nailing will go a long way to make sure your installation efforts is a successful one.

The second option you can put into consideration when laying solid wood flooring over old ones is to lay chipboard or plywood over the existing floor prior to the installation of the new floor. Here, there will be an increase in the cost of your installation, however it will be more reliable and durable as it assists in ensuring the stability of your new flooring. Some benefits that comes with this option includes the freedom to lay the new solid wood flooring in any direction you want as well as the freedom to use any fitting method you deem fit. Click here to learn more about wood flooring.

• Have a step tread width of 900mm – if you don’t want them that wide, they should be no less than 760mm
• Add a central step riser to stairs wider than 900mm to prevent them buckling
• Add a step depth (the vertical distance between each step) of between 150 and 180mm if building your own riser, so the steps are at a comfortable depth

• Step treads (the actual step themselves)
• Step risers
• Coach screws
• Deck screws
• Saw
• Drill

1. Make sure the ground where you want to put your steps is level and firm. If it’s not, consider laying concrete or paving slabs to provide a secure surface for your steps to sit so they don’t sink.
2. Grab some joist off-cuts and cut them to the same width as your step treads. Attach them to the step risers at the top and bottom using countersunk coach screws.
3. Place the steps against the sub-frame of the deck; if you’ve put slabs down for support, make sure the steps sit in the middle of them. The longest edge of the stair riser should be on the slabs, and the short edge against the deck. Drill pilot holes through the step and sub-frame joist, then screw the step to the sub-frame with more coach screws.
4. After drilling pilot holes, screw the treads into the risers at each end with deck screws.
5. If you don’t want gaps between each stair, you can add joist off-cuts or deck boards. Measure the height and depth of the gap, then screw the off-cut or board into the step riser with two screws at each end.