Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to
wooden battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry
about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were
too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the
wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume
that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might
not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can
get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do
you do this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I
also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab
adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.

TIA

On 21/05/2013 08:14, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to
wooden battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry
about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were
too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the
wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume
that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might
not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can
get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do
you do this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I
also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab
adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.

TIA

Never thought about the practicalities before. But perhaps you need to
create several "high points" as spacers which the plasterboard will
touch? More or less like "dabs"!

--
Rod

On May 21, 8:14*am, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to
wooden battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry
about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were
too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the
wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume
that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might
not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can
get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do
you do this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I
also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab
adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.

TIAAds not by this site

I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.
The conventional way is to use "dot and dab", ie plaster blobs
put on the wall & the Pb pushed against them while soft.
Harder to do than it looks.

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the
Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small
holes afterwards. I think you would need lots of screws as the
Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit
too much in.

Low expansion foam?


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=ARVZX...DARV ZXbfy_Xo

Jim K

On Tue, 21 May 2013 08:14:04 +0100, Fred wrote:

Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to wooden
battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry about
joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were too big
and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the wall
beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume that
this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might not
be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can get the
plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do you do
this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I also
think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab adhesive
would work out cheaper than foam.

TIA


Not really sure why you would want to use expanding foam to fix
plasterboard.

For 'dot and dab' you can get a special version of plaster to use as an
adhesive - plasterers make it look easy but then they make plastering look
easy as well.

If you want insulation then use PIR foam sheets behind the plasterboard
and screw through.

Cheers

Dave R

I've never tried to fix plasterboard with it, but whenever and wherever I
have used - or tried to use - expanding foam it's never been a success.
It's wasteful, messy and next to impossible to clean up, and I heartily
dislike it. Or perhaps it heartily dislikes me.

On Tuesday 21 May 2013 10:58 David.WE.Roberts wrote in uk.d-i-y:

On Tue, 21 May 2013 08:14:04 +0100, Fred wrote:

Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to wooden
battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry about
joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were too big
and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the wall
beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume that
this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might not
be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can get the
plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do you do
this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I also
think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab adhesive
would work out cheaper than foam.

TIA


Not really sure why you would want to use expanding foam to fix
plasterboard.

There is a specific drywall foam - low exapnsion.

However, I would be a little wary of this. Having used foam to hold in
celotex *between* rafters (where a tight fit was impossible) it is sort of
OK there, but as the OP noted, it does not hold at all until it's gone off.
No grab.

Used in conjuction with edge battens it may make sense. You get the basic
positioning sorted and the edge battens hold it while it sets. The foam them
makes the fit firm. Low expansion foam is unlikely to bulge the PB.

For 'dot and dab' you can get a special version of plaster to use as an
adhesive - plasterers make it look easy but then they make plastering look
easy as well.



If you want insulation then use PIR foam sheets behind the plasterboard
and screw through.

+1.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On Tuesday 21 May 2013 08:42 harry wrote in uk.d-i-y:

I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.
The conventional way is to use "dot and dab", ie plaster blobs
put on the wall & the Pb pushed against them while soft.
Harder to do than it looks.

You can (becaus ethey make a foam for specifically this - the OP did not go
insane) - *but* I don't think it's the easiest way... Can be useful in
conjunction with another method.

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the
Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small
holes afterwards. I think you would need lots of screws as the
Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit
too much in.

No - if you use the correct foam and don;t go mad with it. Most of the
expansion happens wet, so as long as the foam can extrude sideways it's
fine.


--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

David.WE.Roberts wrote:

For 'dot and dab' you can get a special version of plaster to use as an
adhesive - plasterers make it look easy but then they make plastering look
easy as well.

It *is* easy, once you've signed the contract for your first born's soul
with the Devil.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 8:14:04 AM UTC+1, Fred wrote:
Hi,



I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old

fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to

wooden battens!



I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry

about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were

too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.



I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell

off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to

the wall.



Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in

places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.



I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I

think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.



I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the

wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the

plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner

and you can see the wall is not square.



I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume

that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.



It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might

not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can

get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do

you do this with foam?



I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would

have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I

was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I

also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab

adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.



TIA

I've used it with excellent results (with a proper gun). On various walls including tiles. What did you use - normal expanding foam ?
Did you use a proper gun, or the tube on the can ?
The proper stuff is low expansion and the cured foam is more dense. And its more sticky than the normal stuff.
On the main wall I used a few battens and screws to level it, but on the other wall just a couple of screws at the top to be sure.

You have to leave it until the initial expansion has occurred, and hold it in place somehow until it cures. I just kept pushing it flat with a long level every 30 seconds and it became firmer each time and suddenly it was done.

I cannot see how you got in a mess if you had the correct foam. You can add a little at the edges after it is done to firm those up if required.
It saves mixing up plasterboard adhesive and avoids cold spots that dot and dab can produce.

You have to be aware of the "high points" as you do with dot and dab, and whack off any too proud. But I found it very useful stuff.

Simon.

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 8:42:10 AM UTC+1, harry wrote:
On May 21, 8:14*am, Fred wrote:

Hi,



I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old

fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to

wooden battens!



I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry

about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were

too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.



I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell

off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to

the wall.



Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in

places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.



I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I

think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.



I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the

wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the

plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner

and you can see the wall is not square.



I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume

that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.



It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might

not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can

get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do

you do this with foam?



I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would

have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I

was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I

also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab

adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.



TIAAds not by this site



I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.

The conventional way is to use "dot and dab", ie plaster blobs

put on the wall & the Pb pushed against them while soft.

Harder to do than it looks.




I found it quite easy once I was using enough adhesive. The blobs need to be pretty big and the "suction" holds the board once it is up (support the bottom edge !). To get it on the wall just flick it off a trowel.

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the

Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small

holes afterwards. I think you would need lots of screws as the

Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit

too much in.

The proper low expansion stuff works fine. The "normal" foam would be useless though.
Simon.

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 1:32:06 PM UTC+1, sm_jamieson wrote:
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 8:14:04 AM UTC+1, Fred wrote:

Hi,







I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old



fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to



wooden battens!







I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry



about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were



too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.







I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell



off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to



the wall.







Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in



places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.







I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I



think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.







I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the



wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the



plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner



and you can see the wall is not square.







I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume



that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.







It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might



not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can



get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do



you do this with foam?







I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would



have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I



was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I



also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab



adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.







TIA



I've used it with excellent results (with a proper gun). On various walls including tiles. What did you use - normal expanding foam ?

Did you use a proper gun, or the tube on the can ?

The proper stuff is low expansion and the cured foam is more dense. And its more sticky than the normal stuff.

On the main wall I used a few battens and screws to level it, but on the other wall just a couple of screws at the top to be sure.



You have to leave it until the initial expansion has occurred, and hold it in place somehow until it cures. I just kept pushing it flat with a long level every 30 seconds and it became firmer each time and suddenly it was done.



I cannot see how you got in a mess if you had the correct foam. You can add a little at the edges after it is done to firm those up if required.

It saves mixing up plasterboard adhesive and avoids cold spots that dot and dab can produce.



You have to be aware of the "high points" as you do with dot and dab, and whack off any too proud. But I found it very useful stuff.



Simon.

I used this (a toolstation link):

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/d180/sd2857/p60449

Simon.

On Tuesday 21 May 2013 13:37 sm_jamieson wrote in uk.d-i-y:


I used this (a toolstation link):

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/d180/sd2857/p60449

I've used that - sticks like a *******.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 2:18:03 PM UTC+1, Tim Watts wrote:
On Tuesday 21 May 2013 13:37 sm_jamieson wrote in uk.d-i-y:





I used this (a toolstation link):



http://www.toolstation.com/shop/d180/sd2857/p60449



I've used that - sticks like a *******.




I didn't finish the can, and have been using the rest for general foam applications. I suspect its pretty much the same thing as window fix foam.
I'm not usually trying to fill in a huge hole (add your own comments ...)

Simon.

On 21/05/2013 08:42, harry wrote:

I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.

Not only is it possible, there is even a special low expansion foam for
doing it...

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the
Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small
holes afterwards. I think you would need lots of screws as the
Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit

The right way is:

give the back of the board and the wall a quick light spray with water
to aid adhesion (optional, but worthwhile if the wall is dusty or
flaky). Lay the board flat, and apply a bead of foam about an inch thick
around the periphery - but a couple of inches in from the edge. Add
another couple of beads at approx 400mm spacings either vertically or
horizontally. Now offer the board up to the wall, and using a level,
push onto the wall. I normally stick a couple of pins into the floor /
ceiling just to lock the position as if you were fitting a cove. If
doing lots of sheets, you can fit temp battens on the ceiling and floor
to trap it in place. These can be removed after 10 - 15 mins or so.

Its a handy technique for fixing to particularly uneven walls where you
would otherwise need huge dabs of conventional adhesive to make up the
low points.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 21/05/2013 08:14, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to
wooden battens!



If someone had asked me how to dry-line, using foam would not be one of
the ways.
Its' expansion is unpredictable, it's messy, and it's holding power (to
me) is undetermined.

Dot & dab or batten out and screw fix.

On May 21, 4:35*pm, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/05/2013 08:42, harry wrote:

I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.

Not only is it possible, there is even a special low expansion foam for
doing it...

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the
* Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small
holes afterwards. *I think you would need lots of screws as the
Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit

The right way is:

give the back of the board and the wall a quick light spray with water
to aid adhesion (optional, but worthwhile if the wall is dusty or
flaky). Lay the board flat, and apply a bead of foam about an inch thick
around the periphery - but a couple of inches in from the edge. Add
another couple of beads at approx 400mm spacings either vertically or
horizontally. Now offer the board up to the wall, and using a level,
push onto the wall. I normally stick a couple of pins into the floor /
ceiling just to lock the position as if you were fitting a cove. If
doing lots of sheets, you can fit temp battens on the ceiling and floor
to trap it in place. These can be removed after 10 - 15 mins or so.

Its a handy technique for fixing to particularly uneven walls where you
would otherwise need huge dabs of conventional adhesive to make up the
low points.

--
That method sounds good to me.

On 21/05/2013 18:12, harry wrote:
On May 21, 4:35 pm, John Rumm wrote:
On 21/05/2013 08:42, harry wrote:

I don't think it's possible to fix plaster board that way with foam.

Not only is it possible, there is even a special low expansion foam for
doing it...

I think the only way you could use foam would be to secure the
Pb to the wall with screws & spacers and squirt the foam in small
holes afterwards. I think you would need lots of screws as the
Pb would bow out as the foam expanded, esp. if you put a bit

The right way is:

give the back of the board and the wall a quick light spray with water
to aid adhesion (optional, but worthwhile if the wall is dusty or
flaky). Lay the board flat, and apply a bead of foam about an inch thick
around the periphery - but a couple of inches in from the edge. Add
another couple of beads at approx 400mm spacings either vertically or
horizontally. Now offer the board up to the wall, and using a level,
push onto the wall. I normally stick a couple of pins into the floor /
ceiling just to lock the position as if you were fitting a cove. If
doing lots of sheets, you can fit temp battens on the ceiling and floor
to trap it in place. These can be removed after 10 - 15 mins or so.

Its a handy technique for fixing to particularly uneven walls where you
would otherwise need huge dabs of conventional adhesive to make up the
low points.

--
That method sounds good to me.

The two times I have found it very useful were once when boarding out
what was once a garage with some very rough brick and blockwork that was
all over the place level wise. The other time was for fitting lots of
fiddly bits into cupboards in the eves space in the loft conversion.
Much easier than trying to cut out odd sized battens, or work out how to
get a fixing on to the sawtooth profile of the underside of some
brickwork on a chimney stack etc. You could just cut whatever weird
shapes and sizes required and quickly glue them where you want them
regardless of the actual shape of the substrate. Taping bits in place
with gaffer tape, and letting the foam fill the gaps works well there.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 21/05/2013 11:21, Bert Coules wrote:

I've never tried to fix plasterboard with it, but whenever and wherever
I have used - or tried to use - expanding foam it's never been a
success. It's wasteful, messy and next to impossible to clean up, and I
heartily dislike it. Or perhaps it heartily dislikes me.

How to master the way of the foam:

1) Buy the proper applicator gun and use gun grade foam rather than the
cans with built in applicator. (you can (generally) leave a part used
can on the gun for some time without it de-pressurising)

2) Get a can of foam cleaner for washing off uncured foam

3) Buy in quantity (i.e. a few cans more than you think you need) - and
if you get the odd can that misbehaves you can skip it

4) dampen surfaces for better adhesion and expansion.

5) Fill holes with far less than you think they need.

6) Wear gloves and old clothes.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 5:14:24 PM UTC+1, Rick Hughes wrote:
On 21/05/2013 08:14, Fred wrote:

Hi,



I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old

fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to

wooden battens!







If someone had asked me how to dry-line, using foam would not be one of

the ways.

Its' expansion is unpredictable, it's messy, and it's holding power (to

me) is undetermined.



As other posters have said, the proper stuff works fine.
I'd trust the holding power over dot and dab. Not sure how it would be in a fire though. I think with all these adhesive methods, a few mechanical fixings at the top are recommended.

Simon.

Arrow in Leominster now stock pinkgrip in cans
with plastic tubes, so you dont need to buy an applicator gun.

[g]


On 21/05/13 08:14, Fred wrote:
Hi,

I've tried fitting plasterboard to the wall using foam. Call me old
fashioned but I think in the future I'll stick to screwing it to
wooden battens!

I bought 8x4 sheets of plasterboard so that I didn't need to worry
about joins and perhaps this added to the problem that the boards were
too big and too heavy to manoeuvre.

I tried to spray foam to the back of the plasterboard but it just fell
off, wasting foam. I had slightly better success applying the foam to
the wall.

Even so, I could see the plasterboard was coming away from the wall in
places, so I drilled 10mm holes along the edge to squirt foam through.

I supported the plasterboard with a pair of plasterboard props but I
think I needed more of them to evenly support the whole board.

I have noticed now that there is a bulge. I don't know whether the
wall beneath was not smooth or whether a pocket of foam has caused the
plasterboard to bulge. It's very obvious now because it's in a corner
and you can see the wall is not square.

I'm thinking I will remove the plasterboard and try again. I assume
that this means chiseling and lots of noise, swearing, and dust.

It seems to me that a big problem using foam is that the wall might
not be flat, with odd bricks sticking out, and with battens you can
get the plasterboard right without getting into a sticky mess. How do
you do this with foam?

I did think about using grab adhesive and I wish I had now. It would
have been less sticky than foam and easier to wash off your fingers (I
was wearing gloves but even so managed to get foam all over me). I
also think that even if you used once cartridge per sheet, grab
adhesive would work out cheaper than foam.

TIA

John Rumm wrote:

1) Buy the proper applicator gun and use gun grade foam rather than the
cans with built in applicator.

Good advice, thanks. I'm pretty sure that this is the root of my problems.
I've only ever used the spray cans.

Bert

On Wednesday 22 May 2013 11:04 Bert Coules wrote in uk.d-i-y:

John Rumm wrote:

1) Buy the proper applicator gun and use gun grade foam rather than the
cans with built in applicator.

Good advice, thanks. I'm pretty sure that this is the root of my
problems. I've only ever used the spray cans.

Bert

I tried a spray can once - utterly crap IME compared to even a cheap gun.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:56 +0100, John Rumm
wrote:

The right way is:

give the back of the board and the wall a quick light spray with water
to aid adhesion (optional, but worthwhile if the wall is dusty or
flaky). Lay the board flat, and apply a bead of foam about an inch thick
around the periphery - but a couple of inches in from the edge. Add
another couple of beads at approx 400mm spacings either vertically or
horizontally. Now offer the board up to the wall, and using a level,
push onto the wall. I normally stick a couple of pins into the floor /
ceiling just to lock the position as if you were fitting a cove. If
doing lots of sheets, you can fit temp battens on the ceiling and floor
to trap it in place. These can be removed after 10 - 15 mins or so.

Its a handy technique for fixing to particularly uneven walls where you
would otherwise need huge dabs of conventional adhesive to make up the
low points.


It's the way I did it - worked, no problems.
I ran narrower beads of normal (not low-expansion) foam around the
periphery, criss cross, and filled in the spaces with blobs and
whorls.
Propped it into place, kept pressure on it for two hours and it stuck
like **** to a blanket.

On Tue, 21 May 2013 11:46:57 +0100, Tim Watts
wrote:

There is a specific drywall foam - low exapnsion.

Hi. Thanks for all the replies. Sorry I haven't replied to any of
them; I've been busy plastering and haven't been on Usenet for a few
days. I've only come on today to post about my broken multi tool. When
I get the room finished in a day or two, I'll post an update.

Hi Guys,

I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......
how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?

Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.

cheers

Ben

On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:25:08 PM UTC+1, wrote:
Hi Guys,



I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......

how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?



Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.



cheers



Ben

use drywall backboxes that fix onto the pb?

Jim K

In article ,
wrote:
Hi Guys,

I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an
old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new
plumbing and electrics. My question is....... how would you dryline
(using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you
the depth?

Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is
appreciated.

Do the dry lining first, and fit the boxes afterwards. Cables can be run
in before the board, though.

--
*Gaffer tape - The Force, light and dark sides - holds the universe together*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:25:08 PM UTC+1, wrote:
Hi Guys,



I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......

how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?



Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated..



cheers



Ben

The foam would give you up to about 25mm gap I would say. The trouble with fitting back boxes first is getting the holes cut in the correct place - can be done though. A trick on DIY SOS I saw once was to put the plasterboard against the wall with backboxes and "bang" it to create an impression of the back box.
I tried this and it sort of works. I also tried putting ink on the back box to mark the plasterboard, which sort of works too. But it never fits quite as well as you expected !
The difficulty with fitting the boxes after, especially if the wiring is in place, is getting the box into the hole whilst the wires are blocking the hole. The best thing I found is to cut into the plasterboard to give more play in the cables, then fill this with some plaster afterwards.
I'm not sure how the pros would do this type of job.
If the wall/PB gap is enough you can fit hollow wall boxes of course.

Note: if using foam, include some mechanical fixings near the top for safety in case of fire, etc. You can get some special fixings for this purpose. I've not used them but I assume they are like hammer-in frame fixings but with a broad shallow head on top (I've just visualised Stewie from Family Guy).
Simon.

In article ,
sm_jamieson wrote:
The trouble with fitting back boxes first is getting the holes cut in
the correct place - can be done though.

It can - but it's twice as much work. You have to line up the boxes
perfectly on the wall, then cut out the holes perfectly too. Not worth the
hassle.

--
*Drugs may lead to nowhere, but at least it's the scenic route *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 10/09/2013 15:40, sm_jamieson wrote:
On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:25:08 PM UTC+1, wrote:
Hi Guys,



I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......

how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?



Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.



cheers



Ben

The foam would give you up to about 25mm gap I would say. The trouble with fitting back boxes first is getting the holes cut in the correct place - can be done though. A trick on DIY SOS I saw once was to put the plasterboard against the wall with backboxes and "bang" it to create an impression of the back box.
I tried this and it sort of works. I also tried putting ink on the back box to mark the plasterboard, which sort of works too. But it never fits quite as well as you expected !
The difficulty with fitting the boxes after, especially if the wiring is in place, is getting the box into the hole whilst the wires are blocking the hole. The best thing I found is to cut into the plasterboard to give more play in the cables, then fill this with some plaster afterwards.
I'm not sure how the pros would do this type of job.
If the wall/PB gap is enough you can fit hollow wall boxes of course.

As plasterboard is non-combustible, it doesn't matter if the boxes only
reach the back of the plasterboard. I fixed my backboxes into the
blockwork and made measurements to the centre of each box.
Plasterboarded over the top and then cut out each one from its centre -
taking care to ensure the cables were right at the back of the box and
the cutting blade was too short to reach them.

It effectively makes your 25mm boxes 35mm ones, so more room to manouver
and leave decent tails.

SteveW

On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 5:25:33 PM UTC+1, SteveW wrote:
On 10/09/2013 15:40, sm_jamieson wrote:

On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:25:08 PM UTC+1, wrote:

Hi Guys,







I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......



how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?







Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.







cheers







Ben



The foam would give you up to about 25mm gap I would say. The trouble with fitting back boxes first is getting the holes cut in the correct place - can be done though. A trick on DIY SOS I saw once was to put the plasterboard against the wall with backboxes and "bang" it to create an impression of the back box.

I tried this and it sort of works. I also tried putting ink on the back box to mark the plasterboard, which sort of works too. But it never fits quite as well as you expected !

The difficulty with fitting the boxes after, especially if the wiring is in place, is getting the box into the hole whilst the wires are blocking the hole. The best thing I found is to cut into the plasterboard to give more play in the cables, then fill this with some plaster afterwards.

I'm not sure how the pros would do this type of job.

If the wall/PB gap is enough you can fit hollow wall boxes of course.



As plasterboard is non-combustible, it doesn't matter if the boxes only

reach the back of the plasterboard. I fixed my backboxes into the

blockwork and made measurements to the centre of each box.

Plasterboarded over the top and then cut out each one from its centre -

taking care to ensure the cables were right at the back of the box and

the cutting blade was too short to reach them.



It effectively makes your 25mm boxes 35mm ones, so more room to manouver

and leave decent tails.



SteveW

Aha - just remembered I did that too.
Simon.

On 10/09/2013 14:25, wrote:
Hi Guys,

I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......
how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?

Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.

cheers

Ben


I batten my walls to attach the insulation+plasterboard to. I then wire
up _and_ fix the back boxes. I then hold the plasterboard in position
and tap (as was suggested) leaving an indentation. I then cut the right
bit out with a plasterboard saw. It found it works pretty well,
although you really need a helper - holding a bit of 8x4 with 70mm
insulation+plasterboard in place while tapping is tricky!

On 10/09/2013 15:40, sm_jamieson wrote:
On Tuesday, September 10, 2013 2:25:08 PM UTC+1, wrote:
Hi Guys,



I have a quick question. I am in the process of converting /restoring an old victorian house. Taken a lot of walls back to brick and run in new plumbing and electrics. My question is.......

how would you dryline (using foam) around new electrical back boxes ? would the foam give you the depth?



Not sure if anyof you will get this message but any advice is appreciated.



cheers



Ben

The foam would give you up to about 25mm gap I would say. The trouble with fitting back boxes first is getting the holes cut in the correct place - can be done though. A trick on DIY SOS I saw once was to put the plasterboard against the wall with backboxes and "bang" it to create an impression of the back box.
I tried this and it sort of works. I also tried putting ink on the back box to mark the plasterboard, which sort of works too. But it never fits quite as well as you expected !
The difficulty with fitting the boxes after, especially if the wiring is in place, is getting the box into the hole whilst the wires are blocking the hole. The best thing I found is to cut into the plasterboard to give more play in the cables, then fill this with some plaster afterwards.
I'm not sure how the pros would do this type of job.
If the wall/PB gap is enough you can fit hollow wall boxes of course.

Note: if using foam, include some mechanical fixings near the top for safety in case of fire, etc. You can get some special fixings for this purpose. I've not used them but I assume they are like hammer-in frame fixings but with a broad shallow head on top (I've just visualised Stewie from Family Guy).
Simon.


Do you have a link to the sort of fixings you're talking about?

In article ,
Piers wrote:
I batten my walls to attach the insulation+plasterboard to. I then wire
up _and_ fix the back boxes. I then hold the plasterboard in position
and tap (as was suggested) leaving an indentation. I then cut the right
bit out with a plasterboard saw. It found it works pretty well,
although you really need a helper - holding a bit of 8x4 with 70mm
insulation+plasterboard in place while tapping is tricky!

Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

--
*I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

I disagree, especially with dry-lining boxes which rely on the accessory screws to hold them in.

At least with proper boxes once you've drilled/plugged/foamed/plastered them in they're unlikely to move[1] and stay straight[2].

[1] Apart from the ones I put in, admittedly

[2] Unlike the drylining boxes with always move off straight while I do them up.

Owain

On 13/09/2013 19:13, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Piers wrote:
I batten my walls to attach the insulation+plasterboard to. I then wire
up _and_ fix the back boxes. I then hold the plasterboard in position
and tap (as was suggested) leaving an indentation. I then cut the right
bit out with a plasterboard saw. It found it works pretty well,
although you really need a helper - holding a bit of 8x4 with 70mm
insulation+plasterboard in place while tapping is tricky!

Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

Not in relatively soft blockwork. I wasn't bothered about mess and just
used old, sacrificial router bits in my router to rout out perfectly
flat bottomed, square holes for boxes and nice, straight edged chases
for the cables at the same time.

SteveW

In article ,
SteveW wrote:
Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

Not in relatively soft blockwork. I wasn't bothered about mess and just
used old, sacrificial router bits in my router to rout out perfectly
flat bottomed, square holes for boxes and nice, straight edged chases
for the cables at the same time.

Ah. Might be with blockwork. Was more thinking of bricks. Ie, old house
rather than new build.

--
*Most people have more than the average number of legs*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

I disagree, especially with dry-lining boxes which rely on the accessory
screws to hold them in.

I never use dry lining boxes.

At least with proper boxes once you've drilled/plugged/foamed/plastered
them in they're unlikely to move[1] and stay straight[2].

[1] Apart from the ones I put in, admittedly

[2] Unlike the drylining boxes with always move off straight while I do
them up.

If you have a solid wall behind the plasterboard, simply do the cutout for
a steel back box and fix it to the wall. You may have to either chase out
the wall a bit, or add packing to get the box level with the board. Still
easier than doing all that on the wall then trying to get the plasterboard
to fit the boxes.

--
*I was married by a judge. I should have asked for a jury.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 14/09/2013 00:04, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
SteveW wrote:
Surely it's far more difficult fixing boxes to the wall good and square
than cutting holes in plasterboard to do the same thing?

Not in relatively soft blockwork. I wasn't bothered about mess and just
used old, sacrificial router bits in my router to rout out perfectly
flat bottomed, square holes for boxes and nice, straight edged chases
for the cables at the same time.

Ah. Might be with blockwork. Was more thinking of bricks. Ie, old house
rather than new build.


Ooops - I realise today that this (oldish) thread was using foam to fit
plasterboard. In my jetlagged state I didn't bother to reread the OP
and assumed it was fitting "foam-backed" i.e. insulated plasterboard.
(More embarrassing cos I did read the thread when first posted.) Ignore me!