When performing finishing work both in new buildings and in rooms with a history, it is often required to solve the issue of leveling the surface of the walls for subsequent gluing with rolled products or lining with other materials. Traditionally, plaster mortars and sheet products, such as drywall, are used to solve these problems. Below we consider in which cases it is necessary to use drywall instead of plaster, the pros and cons of these materials, as well as options for using each type of finish based on the characteristics of the room.
Drywall
This material has been actively conquering the domestic construction market for more than a decade. At some point, the use of drywall began to be associated with the “euro repair”, since the use of this sheet product was mainly in the countries of Europe and the USA, where drywall is a leader in sales.
The sheets consist of an even, dense layer of gypsum, with a thickness of 9 to 12 mm, on both sides of which cardboard is glued. A perfectly flat surface of the sheet allows you to build various designs and align the walls for subsequent puttying and applying the finish. The cardboard fixed to glue keeps rather fragile gypsum from chipping and creases, which makes it possible to mount it on a metal profile frame.
In construction, the plaster was replaced with drywall, based on the following positive qualities of this material:
- drywall sheets make it possible to realize any ideas of the interior designer from the standard application for leveling, to the design of curly elements;
- drywall is installed if the vertical differences exceed 40 mm, which is impossible when using standard methods to eliminate errors;
- these sheet products protect the room from extraneous sounds and contribute to the preservation of heat;
- with the help of sheets of gypsum plaster and a metal profile mask water and electrical communications;
- GKL installation does not take much time;
- this material is very easy to process and assemble, as a result of which even a person not experienced in construction work will be able to independently build any structure;
- gypsum is not an allergen and therefore GKL sheets are ranked as environmentally friendly materials;
- on the installed base of drywall, you can immediately glue wallpaper or tile;
- when working with gypsum plaster, construction debris practically does not occur - they cut the material with a knife, and it is attached to the guides with self-tapping screws;
- it masks the remnants of adhesive solutions that occur when laying walls of lightweight concrete materials - with minimal differences in such surfaces, it is enough to fix the drywall on the adhesive instead of plaster;
- gypsum is a natural regulator of humidity in the room - it absorbs excess moisture, and when less moist conditions are created, it evaporates;
- GKL is used to eliminate vertical differences that occur in the lower part of the wall due to the base blocks coming out of the floor level.
In addition to the positive qualities, this material has a number of disadvantages that limit its use in some cases:
- The use of GCR implies a significant reduction in the internal volume in the room, which is unacceptable in confined spaces.
- GKL walls cannot withstand even medium loads - it will not work to hang a shelf on such a base, but experienced finishers find a way out in this situation too: if the fixing elements are fixed, a hole is cut out in the GKL and the material is replaced with a stronger one (plywood, OSB )
- GKL sheets do not withstand severe temperature changes, so the use of drywall in cottages that do not heat up in the cold months is prohibited, since the product will quickly deteriorate and collapse.
- Before you stick the wallpaper on the base of the GVL, it is necessary to treat the surface of the wall with a putty mixture, otherwise, when removing the wallpaper, the protective layer is removed with them, which will lead to the need for a thorough reconstruction.
- The cavities formed during the erection of the walls of the material become a refuge for rodents and insects.
- Despite the production of special water-resistant varieties of this material, the constant presence in rooms with high humidity reduces the life of GCR to 5–7 years.
Plaster
This method of leveling the bases for the further application of finishing materials has been used for many centuries, but even now plaster is actively used in construction work. This material can be based on various substances - cement, gypsum, lime and clay - respectively, the use of plaster mortars also differs in surface type and operating conditions.
The following points are attributed to the positive properties of plaster:
- this material, with proper solution preparation and application, can be used for at least 30 years;
- any elements can be suspended on plastered surfaces without problems;
- the bases on which the plaster is applied do not respond to changes in temperature and humidity, which allows it to be used in any conditions;
- if necessary, any damaged plastered area can be repaired;
- the plaster layer does not exceed 20 mm, which allows you to save the volume of the interior space of the room;
- any types of plaster do not pose a risk to human health;
- plastered surfaces are used for further installation of any finishing materials.
The disadvantages of stucco solutions include:
- When performing work with plaster mortars, a large amount of construction waste appears.
- An untrained person will not be able to qualitatively perform this work.
- Using plaster solutions, you can eliminate bumps with a thickness of not more than 25 mm.
- In almost all cases, for the installation of the finish, you will need to putty.
- To hide electric wires or water pipes, you will have to prepare the strobes using a hammer drill.
- High-quality performance of work on plastering the foundation will take quite a lot of time. The final set of strength of the stucco mixtures, which are based on cement, occurs within 28 days and only then the following works are allowed.
When is it better to use
Having clarified the advantages and disadvantages of the materials in question, you can decide what is better, plaster or drywall on the walls in each case. To make a decision, you need to analyze the input data: the degree of deviation of the vertical wall, the base material, whether it is necessary to manufacture complex structures to give the interior the intended look, the operating conditions of the room, the need to mask any structures and communications, which material is planned to be applied as a finish lining on the walls and master's experience.
An important issue is the cost of materials. Plaster mortars are cheap, but require a higher qualification of the finisher, gypsum plasterboard is more expensive, in addition, guides and fasteners will be needed for the installation of sheets, although a novice master can also cope with wall sheathing.
Drywall
The following list of circumstances in which installing drywall is preferable will help resolve the doubt whether it is possible to sheathe walls with drywall instead of plaster.
- if the basis is a wooden surface, for example, in a country house or in a country house, when they are a permanent place of residence;
- if necessary, mask internal communications without the use of tedious strobing and in the presence of free space in the room;
- if there is a need for additional insulation of the room or the organization of sound insulation;
- with significant vertical drops of the wall (more than 20 mm);
- if necessary, complete the finishing work in the shortest possible time;
- when doing the work yourself, when it is not possible to hire a professional for plastering walls;
- if necessary, eliminate masonry flaws from aerated concrete, gas silicate blocks, bricks and foam blocks;
- in cases where it is required to eliminate the protruding parts of the foundation base made of FBS.
Under ambiguous conditions, when it is possible to use both materials, it should be calculated whether it is cheaper to level the walls with plasterboard or plaster, and then make a decision.
Stucco
If necessary, determine how best to level the walls - with drywall or putty, the main criterion for making a decision is the vertical drop of the base and the purpose of the room.
With small vertical deviations, GKL can be used, and the surface should be plastered, but if heavy shelves or other objects are to be hung on such walls, you will only have to plaster the base.
Plaster for leveling is used in the following cases:
- in preparing the bases for subsequent finishing with heavy materials (slabs of decorative stone);
- for leveling the surface in rooms with high humidity (in the bathroom);
- if necessary, fixing massive objects on the walls;
- in rooms of small area when it is required to save space;
- with a deviation from the vertical of the treated surface within 20 mm;
- in rooms where sharp changes in temperature and humidity conditions are possible.