Plasterboard

Plasterboard goes up either with mechanical fixings (screws), adhesive, or both. Adhesive-only installations work on reasonably flat walls and save time, but you need enough open time to get the board positioned and pressed before the adhesive grabs.

Different wall substrates – brick, block, existing plaster – all behave differently. The adhesive needs to stick to whatever’s there and hold the weight of the board without sagging before it sets.

Bead spacing and diameter affect coverage and bonding strength – typical practice uses 50-75mm diameter dabs at 400mm centres for standard walls. Internal corners and reveals need continuous beads. The board’s weight determines minimum adhesive coverage – 12.5mm board needs less than 15mm sound-insulation board. Some systems use ribbon application for better coverage on uneven substrates.