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*The lounge and dining room are often "showcase" areas or places of gathering, so appearance and quality of finish are important. * In...
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*Give your lounge, dining and feature rooms the finish they deserve.* **The GIB Finish Zone is best practice GIB® materials, systems and installation practices....
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*It can be difficult to visualise how different options can transform a room. With the feature selector tool you can see how...
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*To get the finish you really want for your walls, nothing beats removing old wall linings and relining with new GIB® plasterboard....
How to get a quality finish
No sheet lining has a surface that is pefectly flat and totally free of minor imperfections.
However, by paying careful attention to the design, materials used, lighting conditions and the underlying framing condition, small imperfections can be minimised.
When dealing with builders or installers they may talk about levels of finish - What does this mean?
1. Straight Framing
GIB® plasterboard linings are flexible and will reflect any deviation in the underlying framing. If framing is not straight, as is often the case in older homes, it will be reflected in the finished appearance of the wall or ceiling. Pack out or plane framing to ensure it is straight before installing GIB® plasterboard. If making structural alterations or additions, use kiln dried machine stress graded framing timber with the correct chemical treatment for its intended use.
2. Horizontal Fixing
Any imperfection will be most noticeable at the joints of wall linings so it pays to keep these joints to a minimum. Fixing GIB® plasterboard sheets horizontally instead of vertically reduces the number of joints, helping to achieve a more uniform appearance. Horizontal fixing also means that glancing light from adjacent windows shines along the joint, thus reducing the “shadowing” effect that is sometimes noticeable with vertical fixing (see diagram below). With horizontal fixing, there is only one joint, which is below eye level.
Wall framing in older houses is often based on imperial measures, which means that studs are not spaced evenly at 600mm centres. In this instance, horizontal fixing will be necessary as it is virtually impossible to fix new wall linings vertically unless additional framing is installed.
An extra wide plasterboard known as GIB Wideline® has been specifically designed to allow horizontal fixing on walls where a 2.7 metre stud is specified. GIB Wideline® is 1.35 metres wide compared with normal plasterboard that is 1.20 metres wide, allowing you to achieve a 2.7 metre ceiling height with just two sheets and a single join.
3. Ceiling Linings
If you are replacing ceiling linings, here are a few tips to help you get a better finish.
13MM GIB® PLASTERBOARD
GIB® recommends that 13mm GIB® plasterboard is used on all ceilings throughout your home. Because it’s thicker and stronger than 10mm GIB® Standard Plasterboard, 13mm GIB® plasterboard gives you extra rigidity to help fight the effects of gravity.
METAL CEILING BATTENS
If you are replacing ceiling battens, GIB® recommends the use of GIB® Rondo® Metal Ceiling Battens on all ceilings. Because GIB® Rondo® Metal Ceiling Battens hold no moisture, they will not bend, twist or warp and therefore help to achieve and maintain a straight and true ceiling. If your ceiling joists/rafters are uneven, GIB® Clips in combination with GIB® Rondo® Metal Ceiling Battens can be used to level the ceiling.
4. Wall Linings
In any instances, walls should be lined with thicker, more rigid 13mm GIB® plasterboard. In villas and bungalows, this will be much closer in thickness to the original linings.
5. Specifier paper joint tape
Make sure your stopping contractor uses paper joint tape. This welds together with the jointing compounds to form a strong, crack-resistant joint.
6. Use light colours, flat paints and textured wallpaper
Semi-gloss, gloss and low sheen paints and even smooth surfaced wallpaper all reflect light and tend to accentuate even the smallest surface imperfection. On the other hand, flat paints and textured wallpapers tend to reflect light back in a diffused form and help disguise any surface irregularity.
Paint technology has made significant developments in recent years meaning low sheen or even flat paints may now be used where traditionally semi-gloss or gloss paints were used. Avoid semi-gloss and gloss paints where you can. Even when the work is carried out by a highly skilled tradesperson, the end result may be disappointing.
Dark paint colours also highlight the slightest imperfections, whereas lighter colours tend to soften the effect of any irregularities by absorbing less light.
7. Minimise critical lighting
Lighting design is vitally important in minimising the visibility of any minor imperfections because it’s the lighting conditions that create the “shadow” that makes any imperfections visible. When planning your home try and avoid critical lighting conditions.
HOW TO MINIMISE CRITICAL LIGHTING
When light strikes a surface at a shallow angle, it tends to greatly exaggerate any surface irregularities and this is termed “critical lighting”. However, when the angle of light is more or less at right angles to a surface, imperfections are less obvious and this is termed “non-critical lighting”.
RECESSED DOWNLIGHTS AND LIGHT SHADES
Incorporating recessed downlights or light shades helps to channel light downwards and reduce the amount of glancing or critical light.
AVOID SPOT LIGHTS
Avoid spot lighting or wall mounted uplighting, or be careful about where these lights are directed and the angle at which they hit a surface.
SHADES AND WINDOW POSITIONING
Provide sunshades over the window or recess the window to stop the sunlight reaching the wall. Avoid positioning windows hard up against the end of a wall or ceiling, particularly on long walls or ceilings at the end of a room or hallway. Making a window wider and placing it away from the room corner should reduce the critical lighting effect. Try not to take windows right up.
