Create and mount a plasterboard shelf
Below are easy step-by-step instructions for creating and installing a plasterboard shelf:
• Place a 4x4 covering cloth or quality corrugated sheets on the floor to protect the floor from dust and debris or accidental knocks.
• Draw a project on the wall with a carpenter's pencil, calculating roughly the dimensions and dimensions of the shelf that will be created.
• With the help of a professional meter take the measurement of the wall drawing and bring it back to the aluminum profile by marking with a marker where to make the cut.
• Cut, with specific scissors for aluminum, the first marked profile obtaining the length of the shelf.
• Calculate the width of the shelf to be created and mark the measurement on the profile.
• Cut, with specific scissors for aluminum, the profile first marked, obtaining the width of the shelf. Note: perform the same operation again for the other side of the shelf.
• Assemble the three profiles cut using a screwdriver drill with depth adjustment and 4.2x13 flat head teks, specific for aluminum / aluminum joints. Note: joining the three profiles you will get a sort of "C" that will be the soul of the shelf.
• Now proceed with the cutting of the plasterboard panels, with which you will cover the aluminum skeleton made.
• Measure the size of the "C" with a meter and pencil the measurements on the plasterboard panel, creating a rectangle.
• Cut the rectangle created with a professional cutter, cutting the slab and finishing the cut with a plasterboard saw.
• Fix the plasterboard rectangle to the frame using a 3.5x25 black phosphated self-drilling screws with a drill driver with depth adjustment. Note: repeat the same operation with the other side of the "C", thus obtaining a sort of "sandwich" with the two plates on the outside and the aluminum profile in the middle.
• Measure the thickness of the frame (side of the "C" not yet covered with plasterboard) and the lengths of the three sides (the longest and the two shorter exteriors).
• Bring the measurements on the plasterboard panel with a pencil, creating three thin rectangles (two short and one long).
• Cut the rectangles created with a professional cutter, finishing the cut, if necessary, with a saw for plasterboard and fix them with a drill driver with depth adjustment to the frame with 3.5x25 black phosphated self-drilling screws. Note: in this way we will have covered all the aluminum frame.
• Once the external plates have been fixed, check that they form precise 90-degree angles with the previous larger slabs installed at the beginning.
• Now proceed with the grouting of the joints and the heads of the screws, then wait for the grout to dry (see the article on the grouting and follow the instructions).
• Place the micro-perforated paper on the corners, bending it with the fingers at 90 degrees, which will make the rectangle in plasterboard solid and uniform.
• Pass, if necessary, a second coat of putty and wait again for the drying.
• When the grout is completely dry, to make the surface smooth and ready to be painted, it will be sanded with a manual grinder removing the excess of grout present and flattening any differences in the work.
Fix the shelf to the wall
To place the shelf on the wall, it will be necessary to fix an aluminum profile on the pencil track on the wall and then insert the two elements.
• With a meter measure the cavity on one side of the "C" previously created and report the measurement on the aluminum profile by marking with a marker where to make the cut.
• Cut, with specific scissors for aluminum, the first marked profile obtaining the guide where it will fit perfectly the shelf.
• Check, by placing on the wall marked with a magnetic level with vials, that the line drawn at the beginning with the pencil is straight and if it were not to trace a new one perfectly "in bubble".
• Mark with a carpenter's pencil where it will be necessary to make holes to put the expansion plugs in nylon with diameter 6. Note: make several marks at different distances from each other.
• Make holes exactly in the center of the aluminum "upright" profile at a distance of about 15 cm from each other with the drill driver with depth adjustment and place the profile on the wall by matching one or more holes in the profile with one or more pencil marks on the wall and overwrite with a marker at least two points that match. Then always mark all the other holes in the profile on the wall line with the same marker.
• Now proceed with the drilling of the wall with an SDS 6x110 drill bit on the points marked with the marker and, after having cleaned them with a brush, place in the holes of the nylon expansion plugs with diameter 6.
• Rest the holes on the profile next to the dowels and pass a screw through the profile hole by screwing it to the dowel with a professional screwdriver or a drill with depth adjustment. Note: repeat the operation for all the other holes in the profile by performing small tensile tests to check the tightness of the wall bar.
• On the bar just fixed to the wall, carefully insert the "C" in the plasterboard mentioned above, making the hollow part enter the wall profile. Note: if the measurements and the cuts have been carried out with accuracy, the operation will be particularly easy, otherwise we will proceed by filing the excess plasterboard parts or by cutting the aluminum surpluses that obstruct the entry of the profile into the "C" recess .
• Now fix the plasterboard work to the wall bar by inserting 3.5x25 black phosphated self-drilling screws close to the wall in correspondence with the bar with the drill driver with depth adjustment. Note: put the screws at a distance of about 10 cm from each other and carry out small tensile tests to verify that they have bonded the plasterboard sheet of the "C" to the wall profile bar.
• Check with the magnetic level with vials that the shelf is perfectly straight, otherwise tighten or loosen the screws just fixed.
• After cleaning the joint between the slab and the wall with a brush, siliconate with a paintable acrylic sealant (see in-depth study on plasterboard sealing), performing the same operation in the lower joint.
• All that's left now is to proceed to decorate and paint the newly made shelf.
Tools and materials:
• High quality corrugated cardboard
• 4x4 cover cloth
• Metro (flexometer or folding wooden meter)
• Construction pencil
• Felt tip pen
• Scissors for aluminum
• Cordless drill with depth adjustment
• Professional cutter
• Saw for plasterboard
• Manual grinder
• Magnetic level with vials
• SDS 6x110 drill bit
• Brush
• Recipient
• Ladder
• Screws 4.2x13 flat head teks
• 3.5x25 black phosphated self-drilling screws
• Aluminum upright profiles
• Plasterboard sheets
• Stucco
• Water
• Nylon expansion plugs with diameter 6.