Diy profile arch. Installation of a plasterboard door arch

Psychologists, studying human well-being in various interiors, noted that rounded shapes and smooth lines have a beneficial effect on mental comfort. Rectangular openings, corners and clear planes are tiring, bored and irritable. You can revive the design of your home with simple techniques. One of them is a do-it-yourself drywall arch. It visually increases the volume of the room, softens the space and brings an interesting touch to the interior.

Arched structures have been known since antiquity. In 2000 BC, the architects of the Ancient East built arches in temples and squares. They were endowed with magical powers. To pass under the vault meant purification and rebirth.

In everyday life, rounded structures became widespread as lintels over window or door openings, were made of stone or brick. This form made it possible to use piece materials, because then there was no reinforced concrete, from which strong beams are now cast.

Structurally, the arches are divided into basic elements:

  • a lock or key is the highest lifting point;
  • heel - support part;
  • span - the distance between the supports;
  • lifting boom - height from the level of the heels to the lock.

The form of the structures is varied:

  • round semicircular or segmental;
  • creeping oblique;
  • lancet;
  • flat compressed;
  • horseshoe;
  • concave;
  • elliptical;
  • keeled;
  • parabolic.

The most common is semicircular. It is a semicircle centered at the level of the heels resting on walls or columns.

Creeping is a very effective form in which the heels are located at different levels.

Parabolic - the most durable type of arches. Due to the complex curved shape, only compressive forces are absorbed. Common in Spanish architecture in the incredible creations of Antoni Gaudi.


Now vaults are more often used to decorate interiors, to give the space a peculiar geometry than to perform a load-bearing function. There are many ways to make a drywall arch. Their essence lies in changing the configuration of openings using parts cut from the sheet and fixed to the frame.

Arch in the interior

Arched structures can decorate not only a door or window opening. With their help, they zone the space, separating the kitchen from the hallway, the living room from the corridor. This decorative technique is used to decorate walls, construct portals, and decorate ceilings.

A niche in a rounded wall can serve as a frame for a painting, a mirror or an electric fireplace. A graceful arch will decorate the head of the bed, highlight a seating area with a small sofa, a work area. Interesting decorative installations using vases of flowers, photographs, figurines, candles.


Do-it-yourself drywall arch creates a bright accent in the design of the common space. It is appropriate in any style. Form, detail, decoration can amaze with luxury or be laconic and restrained. In addition to decorating the room, volumetric niches hide unsightly communications, mask construction defects.

Design selection and calculation

For the choice of the design of the arch, it is important whether it will be the finishing of a finished opening in a wall made of bricks or blocks or in a frame made of plasterboard. Geometric parameters matter - the radius of the arc and the lifting arrow. They also take into account the width of the span, the thickness of the wall, whether it is planned to install doors, the type of their opening - swing or sliding on rollers.

If the panel slides into the wall, a kind of hollow "pencil case" is arranged in the partition. To install a door frame or a large structure, the frame under the arch is additionally reinforced with stiffeners and diagonal beams.

In order for the drywall arch to have a beautiful shape with your own hands, first take measurements and draw a sketch. Determine the height, width and depth of the opening, prepare a drawing to scale on graph paper. Circles of different radii are drawn with a compass from points on the axis of symmetry. When the most successful variant is found, the rest of the constructions will be deleted. You can complicate the configuration and create a structure from fragments of different arcs.


Calculation of drywall arch

For a classic circular arch, the lift boom is equal to half the width of the opening. In flatter designs, the arc radius is assigned arbitrarily. You can make several drawings, from which you can choose the most attractive option.

If you are confident in your mathematical abilities, you can calculate the radius of the arc using the formula:

R = (L² + H²) / 2H, where L is half the width of the opening, H is the height of the arch.

Important. Before making a complex shape drywall arch, it is advisable to make a template. It facilitates cutting, helps to avoid mistakes when cutting.

A simple structure can be immediately marked on the sheet. To do this, use a lace of the desired radius of curvature. An arc is drawn from the selected point, which is the arch of the opening.

Arch materials

The simplest option is a decorative arch in an existing doorway. You can install the frame, cut and fix drywall blanks in 1 day. For the manufacture of the structure you will need:

  • metal profiles or bars for the box;
  • self-tapping screws, dowel-nails:
  • putty for preparation for finishing.

For cladding, textured plaster, tiles, plastic panels are used. The surfaces are painted, pasted over with wallpaper, polyurethane decorative details.

Drywall

Drywall is plastic, lightweight, easy to cut and install. It does not weigh down the walls, it is compatible with various finishing materials. For the manufacture of rounded vaults, a special material with a thickness of 6.5 mm is intended, which is reinforced with fiberglass for strength. A thin sheet can be bent into an arc with a radius of at least 100 cm. Arched gypsum boards are more expensive than usual, more difficult to process and are quite rare on sale.


Standard wall and ceiling slabs break easily when bent, therefore, special methods are used to give the details a curved shape:

  • wet deformation;
  • dry bend.

In the first case, one surface of the sheet is treated with a needle roller and moistened abundantly. Water penetrates into thin channels in the thickness of the material, causing the gypsum to soften. Place the wet part on the template, fix it with clamps and wait until it dries completely. After that, the vault is ready for installation.


Wet arch forming

With a dry bend, cuts are made in the outer part of the sheet every 3-12 cm, placing them perpendicular to the arc. The inner layer of the cardboard must not be damaged. Care must be taken when installing such a tape. It is fixed to the finished frame with the desired radius of curvature.


"Dry" bending of plasterboard

Frame

Plasterboard blanks are attached to metal profiles or wooden bars. The construction industry produces various types of steel or aluminum structures for frames:

  • guide profile - PN 50/40, 65/40, 75/40, 100/40;
  • rackmount - PS 50/50, 65/50, 75/50, 100/50;
  • ceiling - PP 60/27, 28/27;
  • corner - PU 31/31;
  • bent - PP 60/27.

Rectilinear frame elements are made from a guide, rack-mount or ceiling profile. Bent is useful for attaching concave or convex parts, creating domed surfaces, but is not always sold in hardware stores.


Flexible profile for vaults

You can get out of a difficult position and give a rounded shape to a standard element using the notches of the profile flanges perpendicular to the bend. Scissors for metal make cuts every 5-15 cm, depending on the radius of curvature. The steeper the rise of the arch, the shorter the segments should be.


Fasteners

Metal profiles are attached to a wall or partition. To do this, use dowel-nails with a diameter of 6 and a length of 37 mm or anchor bolts. They are screwed to wooden structures with wood screws.

The frame elements are connected to each other with small screws - "bugs". Their dimensions are 3.5-3.9 mm in diameter and 9.5-11 mm in length. An alternative option is to mount it with a special cutter. It works on the principle of scissors - 2 parts are superimposed on each other and press the lever. A steel spike pierces the layers of metal, the edges are bent and wedged. Installation takes place quickly, without the cost of electricity.


Various fasteners for drywall

Drywall is attached to the frame with Phillips recessed self-tapping screws and a countersunk head. The diameter of the most common hardware is 3.5 mm, length 25-35 mm. Depending on the working conditions of the structure, stainless or simple screws are chosen.

Finishing options

To further emphasize the unusual shape of the arch, various finishing methods are used:

  • pasted over with colored wallpaper or for painting, highlighting the contour of the opening with a contrasting shade;
  • gluing polyurethane moldings that imitate stucco molding;
  • decorate with wooden carved elements, cork;
  • revetted with stone, tiles, plastic panels;
  • apply decorative plaster.

With a sufficient width of the opening, shelves are arranged, LED lighting is laid along the contour or spotlights are installed. This design is harmoniously in the power of modernity.

The ethnic character of the interior is emphasized by the original bamboo or textile curtains, glass threads, wooden beads, and vines. Shells or pebbles glued along the contour or chaotically will help support the marine theme.

Important. Finishing should be combined with the style of the common space, overlap with materials or details of interior decoration of an apartment or house.

DIY interior arch: step by step instructions

An arch in a drywall doorway is a very common design. Simple ways of making and installing it with your own hands are offered.

The first method is frameless

Such a structure can be built in a narrow opening on existing supports. For example, on 2 plasterboard strips fixed along the slopes.

The first step is making a template. Bend the thick wire to fit the arch, trying it on in place. The purpose of the operation is to find the length of the part in order to cut it out of drywall. The width of the workpiece corresponds to the depth of the opening.


Further work is carried out according to the scheme:


A frame is mounted above the arch and the voids are sheathed with plasterboard. The gaps are filled with putty, the surface is leveled and the finishing is started.

The second method is installation on the frame

The work is more laborious, calculations and preliminary preparation are required. But in this way, you can make an arch of any shape, and the result is predictable and accurate.

Tools and materials required:

  • tape measure, pencil;
  • level;
  • jigsaw, construction knife;
  • screwdriver, fasteners;
  • metal profiles;
  • drywall sheet;
  • putty;
  • fasteners.

For making an arch with your own hands from drywall, step-by-step instructions are useful:


If there is no template for wet bending drywall, use dry forming. Cut a strip for filing the arch according to the dimensions of the arch and the width of the opening. On one surface, carefully cut the cardboard and part of the gypsum filler with a knife. The part is applied to the frame and fixed with self-tapping screws.


The final stage is putty and finishing.

Arched openings in plasterboard partitions

The construction of interior drywall partitions has become widespread due to the lightness of construction, simple and quick installation.

An arch in a plasterboard partition is used for zoning rooms with or without the installation of a door leaf. A curved profile is immediately included in the frame.

Sequence of operations:

  1. Mark the position of the guides on the ceiling and floor, mount the profiles.
  2. Racks and jumpers are installed, a metal arc is fixed in the opening.
  3. For the arch, the sheet is cut out according to the frame configuration. The planes are sheathed with plasterboard, filling the partition with sound-insulating material.
  4. The bent element is made wet or dry. Attached to the arc of the frame.
  5. The joints are glued with a reinforcing tape, putty and polished.
  6. They make the final finishing of the opening.

Some craftsmen offer their own way of making an arch without installing a curved drywall element. It is applicable for small openings with a wall thickness of up to 15 cm. Craftsmen fill the cavity of the structure with polyurethane foam. After hardening, the excess is carefully cut off. So that the sheets do not bend, wooden bars are placed in the spacer.


For the base for finishing, fix the reinforcing wire on self-tapping screws screwed directly into the sealant. The surface is leveled with putty or plaster. Such an operation allows you to do without bending the strip, but you need to work with polyurethane foam carefully. When solidified, it increases in volume and can deform drywall.

The question of how to make a drywall arch with your own hands is of interest to every home owner who wants to make changes to the living space on his own. If you familiarize yourself in detail with how to properly mount an arch with your own hands, then there should be no difficulties.


View of the arch in the doorway

So that the process of installing a drywall arch does not cause difficulties, you should first select a photo in which the frame will be visible, as well as the features of its construction, the main part of the profile in finished form. Such photos will help you to act correctly and prevent errors during the installation process.

The success of the business primarily depends on what materials and with what tools the frame and quality are made. Therefore, due attention must be paid to the issue and tools for labor.


Drywall for arch

Important purchases

  1. To realize our plans and make an arch in the apartment at the proper level, you will need:
  2. or an electric jigsaw.
  3. A pencil for marking.
  4. Measuring tape.
  5. Scissors that cut metal.
  6. Self-tapping screws and dowels should also be stocked in sufficient quantities.
  7. A tool such as a screwdriver is necessary for high-quality installation of a structure.
  8. A knife that is used as a stationery.
  9. You will also need sandpaper to level the surfaces.
  10. Plasterboard sheets of the required size.

Necessary tools and material for work

How to take measurements

Another important step in the installation of plasterboard arches is measurements. It depends on them:

  • The amount of materials required to implement the idea.
  • How much money will be needed to purchase raw materials, to install a plasterboard arch in the opening between rooms in a house or apartment.
  • How correct the structure will be.
  • Which frame for the plasterboard arch to install for maximum stability.

Measurements for installing a drywall arch are carried out as follows:

  • First, the dimensions of the length and width of the vertical frame are determined.
  • The next step is to measure the upper part of the arched opening.

The dimensions of the arches depending on the width of the doorways
  • If the design is non-standard, then it is better to take the measurement step by step, carefully measuring out each segment in which the arch will be located later.

Step-by-step measurement of the place where to install the arch

Drywall cutting

To make the required sheets for creating a drywall arch, you should cut them out, strictly adhering to the parameters of the previously performed measurements. To get the perfect arch, you need to understand what materials can be used in the process of cutting strips of the required diameter.


Drywall cutting occurs according to the parameters of the design data

Materials (edit)

You can use the following tools to mark up and cut strips of the required size:

  • Roulette, ruler, level. These tools will help make the GCR markings.

Structural marking tools
  • Construction knife. Cutting a profile with such a tool requires some skills, so if a person has never done such work with his own hands, it is better to prefer another tool for cutting drywall.
  • They also use a hacksaw. How to do this, the video on a given topic will tell you.
  • Electric jigsaw. Having given preference to such a tool, everyone will understand how to use it himself. This device can be, which has non-standard rounded shapes. The jigsaw blade allows you to cut the model, which will not require additional profile adjustments after the work is completed.

Drywall Cutting Tools
  • Even the most sophisticated work can be carried out with an electric drill. With this tool, you can create a variety of designs for an arch in the space of a house or apartment. With the help of the device, non-standard shapes are cut out, with which the interior design will become extraordinary.
  • A plane is needed to give a finished look. You can perform work at the stage when the structure is in the opening.

Read also

Drywall semi-arches design

Drywall cutting methods

There are several types of cutting drywall sheets, allowing everyone to install with their own hands, in the hallway, the living room, choosing the necessary method for themselves:


Standard cutting of drywall is done in a straight line
curly cutting is used when cutting non-standard shapes

The names themselves speak for themselves. Nevertheless, it is worth understanding the features and nuances of each of the cutting methods.

Standard cutting

If in the former doorway it is planned to install an arch of the usual style, without additional bends and geometric shapes, then you can use the standard cutting method. This type of preparation of sheets for the implementation of the procedure for arranging the arched structure is performed in a certain order. Step-by-step instructions for actions, as follows:

  • Marking the sheet with a pencil or other writing object.

  • Then a long ruler is applied to the drywall sheet, and along it it is necessary to cut the drywall plate with the selected tool.

  • If you get any flaws, you can sand the surface with sandpaper or else. It all depends on how noticeable the irregularities are.

This method can be used to cut rectangular or square pieces of drywall.

Curly cutting

Interior arches can have intricate and unusual shapes and sizes. To do the job beautifully, you need to know the details and nuances of the process of cutting drywall sheets. In order to avoid errors, it is better to have in front of you a photo of the structure that will be installed in the doorway.

To properly cut drywall structures, you will also need step-by-step instructions. She is next:

First, as with standard cutting, start with the markings.


It is necessary to make markings for drywall carving

The next step is to choose a tool for the job. Most often, for curly cutting drywall they use:

  • Electric drill with a cylindrical nozzle. This device makes round holes. In this case, you do not even need to carry out the marking, because a special nozzle will help to make a circle that is ideal in shape. And it doesn't matter at all whether the owner of the house has done similar procedures before or not, experience is not necessary for such activities.

  • The jigsaw will help you cut out elements of various shapes, not just round ones. Any geometric solutions will be embodied in reality, so very soon a wonderful structure made of lightweight material will appear in the doorway, that is, in its previous place.

  • Hacksaw for plasterboard materials. This tool will help you to cut out any geometric shapes and small details from drywall. Using a hacksaw, you need to pay special attention to marking the drywall sheet and drawing the contours of the future product or sheet that will be attached to the frame.

  • Knife and hammer. These tools can be used in the absence of professional instruments.

After the desired sheet is cut out, irregularities are removed on it.

Installation of a metal frame

When all the procedures for cutting the profile are completed, they begin to attach the sheets to the frame. This issue should be approached responsibly, because it depends on what the appearance of the arches will be at the end of the work.

The frame is one of the most important parts. From how correctly the structure is made when fixing the profile, regardless of how much the material costs and what the price of the tools purchased for installation is, the most important thing is correctness and precision in work. To carry out the necessary manipulations, harmoniously, in the opening where the arch is planned, correctly measure the height and length.


It looks like the metal frame of the arch

It is also very important, when the frame is made for a drywall arch in the corridor, hallway, kitchen or rooms, to take into account the weight of the structure. Thanks to this, it is possible to clearly determine what kind of complexity and strength beams are needed.

Consider the following details:

  • Reinforced with screws or screws, the length of which is selected based on the thickness of the wall and the frame itself.

Fastening the metal frame
  • If an uneven arch with bends is planned, it is enough to make cuts on the metal beams. Then they can be bent to create the desired shape.

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How to make a drywall arch - 5 steps for making an arched doorway

When performing major repairs in his apartment, for sure, every home owner has a desire to radically change the interior design that has been boring for many years for the better. From my experience, I can say that it is unlikely that it will be possible to radically change the environment with just the banal wallpapering or painting the ceiling and walls.

As an original addition to the visual cosmetic repairs, I propose to completely remove the interior doors, and instead leave an open arched doorway of an asymmetric or classic semicircular shape. To help the reader cope with this simple work, later in this article I will talk about how to make a drywall arch with your own hands in a short time without significant financial costs.

Choosing the shape of an arched opening

Integration of a semicircular or curly arch into an existing doorway does not imply a violation of the integrity of the interior walls, and does not require redevelopment of the apartment, therefore it does not have any effect on the bearing capacity of building structures, and the whole house as a whole.

At the same time, such a solution will allow you to get rid of the annoying rectangular shapes of doors, help visually increase the useful area of ​​housing, and get an updated visual perception of the surrounding space.

Starting with the next section, step-by-step instructions for making arches will be described here, but first I want to offer a choice of several options for the size and shape of an arch for an interior doorway:

  1. The classic symmetrical arch with a semicircular vault is considered a universal option.... It is quite simple to manufacture, and is well suited for the opening of any narrow single-leaf interior door;

  1. The Art Nouveau arched opening has a similar shape, but it has a large arc radius, since it is based not on a circle, but on an oval or ellipse. Due to the low height of the vault, this shape is well suited for wide openings from double doors in the living room, hall or hallway;
  2. Gothic interior drywall arches have the same design, however, differ from the two previous variants by the presence of a sharp apex in an oval or semicircular vault;
  3. An irregular asymmetric semi-arch can have almost any configuration of the arch, and is most often used for narrow doorways in the kitchen or in the hallway. This option is considered the most economical, since the least amount of materials is required for its manufacture;

  1. The openwork arch is a complex structure, in which, in addition to the entrance itself, there are decorative through or blind openings of small sizes, intended exclusively for decoration. This option is usually installed in a doorway in place of two-leaf or four-leaf entrance doors to the living room or bedroom;
  2. The multi-level arch most often has an original author's design, which is developed strictly individually, in accordance with the conceptual style of apartment decoration and the personal preferences of home owners. Most often, this option is distinguished by smooth curved lines and the presence of curly decorative elements that can be located at different levels relative to each other.

When choosing the shape of an arch for self-production, you should be guided not only by your imagination or beautiful pictures from interior design magazines. To get a high-quality end result, for the first time, I advise you to choose an option that suits your practical skills and financial capabilities.

Stage 1. Preparation and marking of the door opening

First of all, you need to draw a preliminary sketch of the doorway on paper or in a computer, on which the shape of the future arch should be clearly drawn. To facilitate further work, in addition to a general sketch, I recommend depicting a projection of the finished arch in three planes, indicating all the required dimensions.

You need to take measurements from a clean doorway in the light, so first you have to do some simple preparatory work:

  1. Before you make an arch from plasterboard yourself, you need to completely dismantle the old interior door, along with decorative platbands and a wooden box;

  1. If, after removing the platbands and the box, significant potholes, large chips, cracks or other construction defects are found on the end surface of the wall or door slopes, they must be leveled and putty with cement-sand mortar or putty mortar for interior work;
  2. If the doorway after the construction of the house has an irregular shape, curved slopes or indirect obstructed internal corners, they also need to be leveled with a cement-sand mortar;

  1. After the putty solution has dried, you need to measure the width of the doorway in two places: one measurement is made at the very top, and the second is 500-600 mm lower;
  2. At the beginning of the rounding of the vault of the future arch, put a mark at the end of the wall, and measure the distance from it to the horizontal upper plane of the opening. This size will be considered her height;
  3. Before making an oblique arch, marks on the right and left sides must be placed at different distances from the top of the opening, because in this case, the height of the arch on the right and left sides will be unequal;
  4. On the vertical side ends of the wall, and on the horizontal upper slope, at a distance of 13-14 mm from the edge of the wall, draw two parallel lines on each side. They will serve as marks for installing the metal frame.

All gypsum plasterboards are manufactured according to a single standard, according to which they can be 9 mm or 13 mm thick. For cladding the front planes of the door arch, I advise you to use sheets with a thickness of 13 mm, therefore, all markings for installing the supporting frame must be performed based on this value.

Stage 2. Installation of the supporting frame

The supporting frame for interior plasterboard construction is usually made of galvanized metal profiles or wooden bars with a cross section of at least 50x50 mm. Considering that our drywall arch will have rounding and radius shapes, a metal profile is best suited for its manufacture, although wooden bars can be dispensed with in straight sections.

For single-leaf doorways with thin interior walls, I recommend using a galvanized frame profile of the "CD" type, which has a height of 27 mm, a width of 62 mm, and a whip length of 3000 mm. If the arch will have a width of more than 1500 mm, then for its manufacture it is better to use a more powerful rack-mount profile of the "CW" type, the dimensions of which are 40x75x3000 mm.

  1. Regardless of the option chosen, the manufacture of arches must begin with the installation of the upper horizontal guides. To do this, two profiles must be cut from the whole whip, the length of which must be equal to the width of the doorway;

  1. Next, you need to cut off four more profiles, the length of which should be equal to the height of the arch. They must be fixed vertically, one on each side of the end of the doorway;
  2. Each vertical profile should be fastened from the inside of the drawn vertical marking line. After installation, you need to check that the distance between the front plane of each profile and the frontal plane of the wall is exactly 13-14 mm;
  3. For fastening straight profiles to a concrete or brick wall, it is best to use plastic dowels 6x30 mm in size and galvanized self-tapping screws with a wide head measuring 4.2x25 mm;
  4. To make a curly arch arch, I advise you to prepare a template in advance... It can be cut from a large sheet of rigid packaging corrugated board, an unnecessary piece of fiberboard, or thin;

  1. The width of the template should be equal to the width of the doorway, and the upper part should exactly repeat the semicircle, semi-oval, or other figured configuration of the arch of the future arch;
  2. To make the frame of the radius part of the arch with your own hands, you need to take two identical pieces of plasterboard profile. They must be cut off with a small margin in length.(300-500 mm more than the length of the arc on the template), and after bending and final adjustment, precisely cut to the desired size;
  3. The straightness and rigidity of the plasterboard metal profile is ensured by two longitudinal side ribs. In order to bend the lower profiles along the required radius, and give them the correct arcuate shape, many radial cuts must be made on the side edges to the very base;

  1. Profiles with cut side ribs must be bent along a given radius, and then cut to length exactly to the size of the doorway. It is convenient to do this by attaching them to the template, while you need to make sure that both profiles have strictly the same bending configuration;
  2. After that, each curved profile must be fixed at two points to the lowest part of the vertical guides that are installed at the end of the doorway;
  3. In order to unite the entire frame into a single one-piece structure, the radius profiles can be connected together with short transverse bridges. In addition, it is necessary to install several vertical jumpers between the upper horizontal and the lower arcuate profile;
  4. Three types of fasteners are used to connect the profiles to each other.: short self-tapping screws for metal with a hat in a secret, steel blind rivets, or a special punching tool that punches a hole in the walls of two profiles, and then wraps the punched metal in different directions.

In building materials stores, you can find a ready-made metal profile for curved plasterboard structures. It is a conventional frame profile with cuts and notches on the side stiffeners, so that it can easily bend along the desired radius or take any curvilinear shape.
Its price is not much higher than the cost of a straight frame profile, so if there is such an opportunity, it is better to buy such a profile for making a radius vault.

Stage 3. Cutting and preparation of drywall

The appearance and aesthetic properties of the finished arch will largely depend on how well the radius parts of the plasterboard front panels are cut. To cut a symmetrical semicircle, semi-oval, or asymmetrical arc, I recommend using one of three methods. Regardless of the method chosen, the first step is to draw a rectangle on a drywall sheet.

Its width should correspond to the width of the opening, and its height should be equal to the height of the future arch.

  1. If we make a symmetrical semicircular drywall arch, then to draw the correct semicircle, you will need to make the simplest impromptu compass.
  • To do this, you need to find the center of the lower side of the drawn rectangle, and screw a small self-tapping screw at this point;
  • Tie a thin nylon thread to the self-tapping screw, and tie a pencil or thin marker to the other end of the thread;
  • The distance from the center of the self-tapping screw to the marker pen should be equal to half the width of the arch minus 14 mm;
  • After making sure that the length of the thread strictly corresponds to the calculated size, you need to attach a marker to the bottom line on one side of the rectangle;
  • After that, pull the thread slightly, and draw the marker in an arc to the bottom line on the other side of the rectangle. As a result, a symmetrical semicircular arch will be drawn on the plasterboard sheet.

  1. In order to draw a symmetrical semi-oval or part of an ellipse with a regular shape, it is most convenient to use a flexible elastic guide. This can be a long metal ruler, a thin wooden strip, a narrow plastic profile, or a water pipe:
  • On both sides of the drawn rectangle, on the underside, you need to put marks at a distance of 14 mm from each edge;
  • Attach one end of the guide to one mark, bend it along the desired radius, and attach the other end to the other mark;
  • In this position, it must be fixed motionlessly, so I recommend doing this work with one, or even better with two assistants;
  • While two people are holding the guideline on both sides, the third person should make sure that it describes a symmetrical regular arc and draw a line along it from one edge to the other of the bottom side of the rectangle.

  1. For those who are interested in how to make a semi-arch of an arbitrary irregular shape in order to draw an asymmetrical curved line on a sheet of gypsum, I advise you to use the existing template.
  • As in the previous case, on the underside of the drawn rectangle, one mark must be placed at a distance of 14 mm from its edges;
  • Attach the arcuate side of the template to the set marks, and draw a curved line along it with a thin marker.

Plasterboard can be cut with a sharp construction knife, but it is best to use an electric jigsaw and a wood saw with a small set of teeth for a neat cut along the radius line. In order to prevent the edge of the sheet from breaking off, before cutting out any part from drywall, I advise you to stick a wide strip of paper masking tape on the cutting line.

Stage 4. Assembling the arch structure

After both bezels are cut out, you need to align them with each other and check how they match. Ideally, they should be exactly the same., therefore, if there is any discrepancy between them, that is, it is better to immediately eliminate it with a knife, a coarse file or a coarse-grained emery cloth. After aligning the front panels, you can start sewing the supporting frame with drywall.

  1. Each front panel must be installed on the same level in its place in the doorway, and fixed along the entire perimeter and in the middle to the metal profile using self-tapping screws, with a step of 100-120 mm;
  2. When installing, make sure that the face plane of each panel is flush with the plane of the wall. If the front panel is slightly recessed, then there is nothing to worry about, then it can be leveled with a putty. The main thing is that it does not protrude forward anywhere, beyond the dimensions of the doorway;

  1. Further instructions will help to make a curly arch from a strip of drywall, in one of two ways. And in fact, and in another case, first you need to cut off a strip of drywall. Its length must necessarily be 100-200 mm longer than the maximum length of the arch of the arch., and the width should be equal to the distance between the bezels;
  2. In the first case, the strip must be laid on a flat surface, with the bottom side up., and rolling with a definite force with a needle roller, so that the needles pierce the top layer of dense cardboard. If there is no such roller, you can evenly apply a lot of small, barely noticeable notches on the lower plane with a sharp knife;
  3. The perforated side of the drywall should be moistened abundantly with water using a foam sponge, and lean against a vertical wall at an angle of 50-45 °. Under the action of water, the gypsum filler will begin to soften, and the strip will gradually take on a curved shape;

  1. After some time (20-25 minutes), when the water is absorbed, the strip must be carefully placed on the floor, moisten the top layer with water again, then lean against the wall again and leave alone for another 40-60 minutes;
  2. After the strip becomes sufficiently plastic, it must be carefully attached with self-tapping screws to the sweep on both sides to the arched metal profiles;
  3. You need to start fastening from the middle, and gradually move to the edges, mirroring the screws, then from the right, then from the left side of the arch. In order to prevent the formation of creases and edges, the step between the screws should be no more than 80 mm;
  4. The second method makes it easy to bend drywall to dry, but in this case, small chopped edges are formed on the surface of the strip, which will need to be additionally putty in the future;

  1. Before installation, the strip must be laid on a flat hard surface with the front side down, and on the back side with a sharp knife make deep transverse cuts approximately to the middle of the thickness of the drywall;
  2. In order to achieve uniform bending, the cuts should be located strictly perpendicular to the centerline of the strip, strictly parallel to each other, and at the same distance between themselves;
  3. The finished strip must be attached to the arch with notches upward, and, as in the first case, starting from the middle, fix it to the arcuate profiles using self-tapping screws in the secret.

Despite the fact that the wet method of bending drywall, at first glance, may seem more complicated, I recommend using it, because in this case you immediately get a uniform arc without creases, of the correct rounded shape, which requires almost no further refinement.

Stage 5. Preparation for finishing

Immediately after the do-it-yourself drywall door arch is made, it may seem ridiculous and scary, but you should not be upset, because after the completion of the preparatory and finishing work, it will acquire a completely different appearance.

  1. First of all, it is necessary to cut off with a sharp knife all the protruding corners and irregularities at the ends of the drywall parts, and then process them with a coarse-grained emery cloth fixed in a special holder or on a flat wooden block;

  1. In those places where plasterboard parts fit together at right angles, you need to fix perforated metal or plastic corners on small self-tapping screws. They cover all irregularities and crevices, allow you to get an ideal right angle, and also provide additional strength of the corner joint;
  2. At the joints of two adjacent parts that are in the same plane, as well as at the junctions of the front panels with the plane of the main wall, you need to glue a fiberglass reinforcing mesh, which is also called serpyanka;

  1. All screws, joints, corners and slots must be putty in such a way that no reinforcing mesh, no corners, no joints, or fastening screws can be seen on the surface. I recommend using an acrylic drywall finishing putty, which is sold ready-to-use;
  2. After the first layer of putty has hardened, the arch must be sanded with a medium-grained emery cloth. At this stage, some irregularities or other defects will certainly appear, therefore, after preliminary grinding, it will have to be putty again;
  3. After the final drying of the second layer of putty, the surface must be sanded with a finer sandpaper, and after making sure that there are no defects, cover with one layer of a penetrating drywall primer.

If you bend drywall drywall, then in order to eliminate broken edges, the upper curved arch of the arch will need to be covered with a continuous layer of starting drywall putty. After drying, it will need to be sanded and covered with another layer of finishing putty on top.

Conclusion

In this article, I fully talked about how to make a drywall arch in a doorway with my own hands, and deliberately did not mention a word about finishing. The thing is that the appearance and design of the arch should generally correspond to the concept of interior design. Therefore, the homeowner should choose the materials and method of decorative finishing himself, based on his own tastes and personal preferences. To consolidate the knowledge gained, I propose to watch the video in this article, and if the readers still have questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comment form.

Today, dear readers, we will talk about how to make and install a drywall arch with our own hands. Let's figure out what it is in general, what types of it are most often found in a modern interior, what is needed for installation, and, in fact, its very order.

Types of interior arches

In general, there are several dozen types of openings, but we will highlight the most suitable from the point of view of practicality and design for the interior of an ordinary apartment.

  1. Round or "classic". The radius of curvature is equal to half the width of the opening. The most popular option. Looks especially advantageous in classic-style interiors. The most significant drawback is that it takes the height of the opening stronger than other types of arches.

    Round arch is the most popular option

  2. Segmental or "modern". The radius of curvature is more than half the width of the opening. Slightly less common than round. This type of arch looks best on wide openings with thick walls. It can be with sharp edges, or it can be smoothed, which makes it more similar to the next option.

    The Art Nouveau arch also has many admirers

  3. "Romantic" (or "romance"). It has two small curves and a flat top. It is much less common than the first two types, and looks more interesting. She also has a reduced drywall consumption.

    The arch in the style of romantic looks more elegant than the most popular options

  4. "Portal". Super simple and super cheap solution. It is appropriate both in a classic interior and in high-tech style, and especially where the walls form an angle.

    The simplest and cheapest solution

  5. Semi-arch. The most stylish option. Most suitable for modern interiors and is used quite often. It can be formed not only by a quarter of a circle, but also by a very small part of it (a circle with a very large radius), or it can, for example, have only a rounded corner.

    The most stylish option

We have analyzed the main types of arches, now you can briefly recall why it is worth stopping the choice on drywall.

Its main advantages include:

  • Ease of construction;
  • Cheapness;
  • Ease of installation.

Tools and accessories

To build, you will need to have:

  1. Profile guides ceiling PNP 28 × 27 mm.
  2. Ceiling profiles PP 60 × 27 mm (possible).
  3. Sealing tape.
  4. "Dowel-nails".
  5. Electric jigsaw.
  6. The rule is aluminum.
  7. Drywall sheet.
  8. Plaster for drywall joints.
  9. Reinforcing tape for seams (serpyanka) or paper tape.
  10. Roulette.
  11. Hammer.
  12. Stationery knife (or special knife for cutting HK).
  13. Perforator + drill.
  14. Screwdriver.
  15. Self-tapping screws for metal 25–35 mm (black, frequent pitch).
  16. Acrylic primer.
  17. Metal scissors.
  18. A set of spatulas.
  19. Plastic protective corner.

Here's what you need to stock up on in order to install an arch

For the installation of the arch, there is not much difference in how thick the drywall is to take. For the ends, a 12.5 mm one is best, and for a vault, a 9 mm one.

DIY step-by-step instructions for installing a drywall structure

We have a room with an opening in which we would like to place an arch - let's dwell on the "modern" option:

Empty room with an opening

Opening in the room close-up

First of all, we must decide what height and radius our arch will be. We have an opening of 130 cm, we propose to determine the height at 22 cm.From the upper overlap, the highest point should be at least 7 cm away (taking into account the thickness of the gypsum board), so that two guides can be fixed without problems, which means that our lower point drops by 22 + 7 = 29 cm.

But we are not yet interested in this distance, but in the fact that WITHOUT taking into account the thickness of the lower strip of the GK, that is, 28.1 cm. We draw lines on both sides in the opening. The wall thickness in our example is 17 cm, and in order to mount the frame, we need to take into account the thickness of the drywall. Take a small, preferably long piece of HA and a rule. We put the rule horizontally along the wall through the opening and slip our piece under it. We fix the guide profiles at a distance equal to the thickness of the drywall from the corner, like this:

We fix the guide profiles at a distance equal to the thickness of the drywall

Naturally, we glue each profile with a sealing tape. We bend the lower edge of the horizontal profile a little - we will have an inclined surface. We do the same on the other side of the opening, after which we attach the profiles to the top. We insert them into the already fixed side ones and, constantly controlling with the rule with a piece of "plaster", we fix them with dowel-nails. It turns out something like this:

Installing profiles to the top

Opening with installed profiles

The next step is to mark the drywall sheet directly under the arch. It is most convenient to do this on the floor: first we mark out rectangles 130 × 28.1 cm, then with an impromptu compass (using a thread or tape measure) we draw our radius.

To draw a radius, we need an impromptu compass.

In the case of a classic arch, this would be a trifling matter, but with our "modern" it is not so obvious. How to choose the radius? Only the height and width are known. We recall the school geometry course. Let's build everything on paper for clarity and calculate the radius according to the Pythagorean theorem, denoting the width of the opening - a, and the height of the arch - b:

It's time to remember the Pythagorean theorem

In our case, we get a radius of 107 cm. With the help of improvised means on the sheet, we draw arcs and cut out the resulting figures with a jigsaw. Now we can hang them on our exposed guide profiles, or we can not hang them for now. This will depend on where it is more convenient for you to attach the following guides: "on the ground" or "in place". Let's try it on the spot, we are now sewing one blank to the frame. Now we will need to take a segment of the guide profile with a length of the arc of an arch and approximately every 65 mm. cut one side and back edge with scissors for metal, like this:

Profile cuts close-up

This is necessary so that the profile can bend. The distance of 65 mm was not chosen by chance - if our wall is thicker than 25 cm, it is recommended to insert jumpers from the ceiling profile, which is known to be 60 mm wide, into these guides with a step of about 40 cm. In our case, jumpers are not needed. We sew the profile onto the sheet, trying not to pierce the finger.

Sewing a profile onto a sheet

Now we repeat the operations on the other side of the wall, fix the sheet to the frame and sew the guides:

And now - the second side edge

The same installation method is used, for example, for ducts.

Remember the need to chamfer the ends of the sheet.

Now all that remains is to attach the strip from below. If the arch has a large radius, as in our example, the strip can be fixed immediately - the drywall bends well (it is much better across the sheet than along). If the radius is too small and there is a danger that the strip will break, just moisten it with water, no needles are needed. Moisten it on top with a brush, let it lie down a little and you will see that it will be even easier to bend. You can make a long strip of several short ones, but then you will have to insert jumpers at the joints and additionally process the seams. We have the width of the plasterboard sheet less than the width of the opening, so we are forced to cut a strip along the sheet, but this is not scary - at such a radius it can be bent without problems.

Finished drywall arch

Close-up of finished result

That's all. It remains only to close up the seams and expose the protective corners. They are usually placed on gypsum plaster. This occupation, let's say right away, is quite difficult, since the corners are constantly bulging everywhere, crumpled, etc. Usually they have to be fixed with self-tapping screws at several points, and after the putty has set, twisted.

Installing plastic corners is not an easy but necessary process.

In addition, plastic corners (and ordinary metal ones too) are rather thick, therefore, after installing them, we advise you to additionally level the plane with a putty “as a rule” using Fugenfüller. And only then putty everything together with a finish.

In the case when the arch is made in the partition from the GC, everything becomes even easier. You will have to suffer only at the stage of installing the corners, but without this, nowhere - you cannot form a clear angle in another way. Other types of arches are assembled in the same way, only the markings differ.

Now we can easily assemble a drywall arch with our own hands. Good luck in your construction business!

The great popularity of drywall arches (GKL) is explained by its properties. The article describes the types of arches, materials and tools used for installation. Preparatory operations are described. The main attention is paid to the question - how to make drywall arches with your own hands, with the attachment of video material. Installation advice is given.

Drywall (gypsum plasterboard) - sheet composite material, consisting of two layers of cardboard and a layer of gypsum with fillers between them. The main advantages of the material that determine its widespread use:

  • the possibility of bending;
  • ease of processing;
  • environmental friendliness, fire safety;
  • low price.

Types of arches

Among the variety of arches are:

  • classic arches with a constant radius - options for a circular arc.
  • elliptical arches - an elliptical arc.
  • arch-portal and arch-romantic - rectangular arches, etc.

The most popular are the first two types. Variants of a complex shape are possible, it all depends on imagination. Arches are arranged in interior openings as an alternative to interior doors (most often) or in wall niches.

Materials and tools

For the installation of arches, two types of gypsum boards are used - ceiling and arched. The second is more expensive, but more convenient to use.

Tool:

  • roulette;
  • pencil;
  • construction knife or jigsaw (preferably) - for cutting sheets;
  • metal shears - profile processing;
  • screwdriver;
  • puncher;

Supporting materials:

  • Profile - special arched (for example PN 28/27), ceiling and guide can be used;
  • dowels 6 × 45 mm;
  • self-tapping screws;
  • serpyanka, putty "uniflot", "fugenfüller";
  • a sheet of cardboard - as a future template (optional).

Everything about mineral wool - characteristics and application.

Material preparation (cutting and bending)

The arch has three elements:

  • 2 identical side walls;
  • arc element - a rectangular strip bent along.

Side sheet cut defines arch profile... A profile with a constant radius is easy to make with a homemade compass. This is a lace of the required length with a fixed center (for example, a screwed in self-tapping screw) and a pencil on the other side. An elliptical profile can be made using any flexible strip. If you fix the ends along the width of the arch, then by changing the length of the rail you can get the required profile (elliptical arc). It is enough just to outline along the contour of the rail with a pencil.

Cutting sheets is done with a jigsaw. The knife requires more effort and time, especially for a curved surface, the edges will have to be refined. Drywall thickness for installation:

  • 6-10 mm- bending sheet;
  • 10-12 mm- side parts.

GKL bend

This is the most painstaking and responsible operation that can be performed in two ways:

  • Dry bend- gradual bending of the sheet as it is attached to the profile. Recommended for beginners.
  • Wet bend- wetting the inner surface of the profile and giving the desired shape on the template. Before wetting, the sheet is perforated with a needle roller in two directions. Moistening is done with a spray or sponge. The sheet gradually, under its own weight, takes the form of a template. Drying time is at least 12 hours.

In both cases, it is necessary to keep in mind the thickness of the drywall, which affects the bending radius:

Do-it-yourself installation of an arch from gypsum plasterboard

Installation of arches of various types and shapes has general principles. As an example, the sequence for installing an arch in an interior opening is given. Actions at any stage may vary somewhat at the discretion of the performer. The installation site must be prepared: remove wallpaper, paint, etc.

  1. Determine the main dimensions of the arch with a tape measure.
  2. Draw the outline lines of the arch wall on the sheet. Draw a cut line with a compass or with a flexible strip.
  3. Cut the side wall with a jigsaw or knife. Cut the second part according to the first (sample).
  4. Cut off the guide profile with scissors for metal: along the width of the opening - 2 and along the height of the arch - 4 pieces.
  5. The frame is attached to dowels with self-tapping screws, the distance from the edge of the wall must correspond to the thickness of the gypsum board. Holes are drilled with a perforator - depth 5-7 cm, step 40 cm.

  1. Fasten the cut sheets to the frame with drywall / metal screws, pitch 10-15 mm. Sink the caps of the self-tapping screws into the drywall.
  2. Measure the circumference (ellipse) with a tape measure and cut off the guide profile. It should be slightly shorter than the measurement, taking into account the installed side profiles.
  3. To bend the U-shaped profile on the edges with a step of 1.5-5 cm, make slots.
  4. Bend the profile and attach it to the plasterboard walls from the inside.

  1. Cut a strip of drywall according to the measured length of the cutout and the width of the arch (opening).
  2. Bend the strip dry (cross-cut) or wet. Any suitable material can be used as a template for the wet method, it should be in the form of an arch. For example, fragments (see figure) after cutting out the side walls or the walls themselves, then you need to do this before installing them (the order of this instruction changes slightly). If the radius is large, you can simply install the strip, sequentially screwing it to the profile.
  3. After drying (about half a day), attach the strip to the guides.

The arch is ready. It remains only to putty it, you can glue the joints and corners with a serpentine before that. After finishing the room, install a plastic corner (optional) on the edges.

Detailed guide for the installation of plastic windows.

Conclusion

Despite the variety of types of arches, the general installation order does not change, only small deviations in the sequence, the use of templates, etc. are possible.

When using the dry method with notches, the surface of the arch takes on a broken appearance (not smooth, as with other methods). This makes the design more original. The number of breaks depends on the pitch of the notches.

With the wet method, complete drying of the gypsum board is mandatory.

Do not forget about the allowable radius of curvature of the arch.

You can watch a film about the installation of arches here:

The doorway will look more aesthetically pleasing if you design it in the form of a semicircular arch. You can make it out of drywall yourself, without resorting to the services of professional builders.

Arch markings

A significant disadvantage of this design is the reduction in the size of the doorway. To see if the arch will fit well into a particular doorway, it is best to first cut a blank out of paper or cardboard and fasten it above the door. If the opening height is less than 2.5 m, it may be necessary to reduce the bend of the arch or make small bends only at the corners of the arch.


Installation of an arch with a small bending radius

To draw the upper part of the arch on the blank, we will use compass... You can make it from available tools: a self-tapping screw or an awl fixed in the center of a circle, a thread and a pencil. Pulling the thread evenly, draw the required arc. The longer the length of the thread, the flatter the arch will be.


Draw a circle


You can also make a compass from trimming a metal profile

Drywall cutting

1. First, cut through the first layer of cardboard and the gypsum core. To do this, apply a ruler to the intended line, and draw along it several times with a sharp knife or file for metal.


Cutting through the first two layers

2. In order to finally break the gypsum core, place the drywall on the edge and lightly tap the cut point. If the part to be cut has a small width, you can break the plaster by simply pushing on the edge of the sheet.


Cutting the second layer

4. To remove roughness along the edge of the cut, it is processed sandpaper or rasp.

Important! For perfect joining of sheets along the edges of drywall with a sharp knife, remove chamfer 45 °.


Chamfering

Cutting blanks for the upper arch

The most convenient way to work with jigsaw or a special plane for drywall... With the help of them, you can cut any shapes from drywall. Moreover, with this method, gypsum practically does not generate dust, and the resulting edges almost do not require additional processing.


Jigsaw cutting

You can also trim curly edges using drywall knife saw-shaped or fine-toothed metal files... However, this will take some skill. A knife or a file is carried out along the marked line so that the blade penetrates as deeply as possible into the sheet. In this case, the tool must go strictly perpendicular to the surface. Next, tap the cut point with a hammer, if necessary, draw a knife over it several more times.


Cutting with a plasterboard saw

Then cut through reverse side of the sheet, on which traces of knife pressure are already visible. Then the excess pieces are cut off, and the edges of the sheet are trimmed with sandpaper. If the cut line is large enough, it is better to cut the sheet inside the outline into segments.

To receive holes(for example, for mounting lamps or sockets), you can use an electric drill with a crown-shaped attachment.


Drill bit

Cutting and bending metal guides

Aluminum rails are cut with conventional scissors for metal... To attach the upper part of the arch, you will need a special arched profile... You can buy it in the store or do it yourself.

To bend the profile on it are made incisions... The distance between them depends on the bend radius - the larger it is, the more often the notches should be made. For bending, it is better to choose an L-shaped profile - it will be much easier to work with it, and you will have to make cuts only on one side.


Profile bending

Drywall bending

For the device of the arch, you can purchase arched drywall... It is more plastic and, since its thickness is less than ordinary sheets, it bends easily. However, buying a whole sheet is quite expensive. Some stores sell such material not in sheets, but in pieces, which is very convenient. If there is no way to purchase a small piece, you can also bend an ordinary drywall sheet.


Thin arched drywall bends easily but costs more

There are two ways to do this: wet and dry. In the first case, in order for moisture to better penetrate deep into the sheet, the drywall blank should be rolled before flexible needle roller.


Before bending, the workpiece is rolled with a needle roller.

Further the sheet evenly moistened with water and laid on a curved surface that repeats the shape of an arch, pressing down with a load. The workpiece dryer can be cut from drywall or plywood remnants.


Wet bending

Important! With any method of bending, it should be borne in mind that drywall bends well only along the length of the sheet.

At dry bending cuts are made along the entire length of the fold. Moreover, the larger the bending radius, the more often such incisions should be made. This can be done quickly with a grinder, however, since this produces a lot of gypsum dust, it is better to do the work outdoors.




Dry bending drywall

Installing the frame

At the top of the doorway are mounted two arched profiles... If necessary, they are also connected with jumpers.


Fastening the upper part of the profile


Fastening a profile with jumpers


The sections of the profile are fastened together with self-tapping screws.

Fastening drywall


Plasterboard installation


Fixing corners

Important! So that the screws do not stick out above the surface, they should be sunk into the sheet by a couple of millimeters. In the future, the holes from them are covered with putty.

The finished structure is plastered with a wide trowel at the beginning starting, and then finishing putty... The solution is applied to the inner side of the arch, and then, after it has completely dried out, to the side walls. At the joints of drywall, to protect the solution from cracking, it is attached with a putty painting net.


After the installation is completed, the arch is covered with putty


Attaching the painting net

Related video: Do-it-yourself drywall arch

Do-it-yourself drywall arch: step-by-step instructions

Once upon a time, only a professional could make an arch. This was before the advent of drywall. Now even a beginner can make an arch from drywall. You don't need a special tool for this, the technology itself is simple and straightforward - just follow our instructions.

Where to begin

The most common arches are simple shapes - parts of a circle or oval. They are best suited for most traditional interior styles, where regular shapes and symmetry are welcomed. In addition, they are easiest to do with your own hands.

1. Classic rounded arch. 2. Modern. 3. Romance. 4. Ellipse. 5. Trapezoid. 6. Semi-arch

But first you need to decide whether the height of the vault will be sufficient. And if dimensions do not play a special role for a niche in a wall, then for a passage between rooms, the ratio of the width of the arch and the distance from the floor to the point of conjugation of the arch with the wall of the opening means a lot.

The wider the opening in which the arch is formed, the greater the bending radius will be required so that the shape of the arch is proportional

Usually they are guided by a simple ratio of a standard interior door - 80–100 cm wide by 200 cm high. That is, in the plane of the opening, taking into account the arch, a rectangle of such dimensions must be inscribed in a "pure form". Following this rule, you can determine that the width of the opening:

  • 100 cm corresponds to the height of the lower points of the arch about two meters;
  • 200 cm - about 180 cm;
  • 300 cm - about 160 cm.

It follows from this that if the arch is made where the standard interior door stood, then the height of the opening will have to be increased.

The easiest way is to arrange an arch in a new place during redevelopment, when the interior partitions are re-installed. And here it is already necessary to remember the recommended distance from the top of the arch to the ceiling - usually it is 40-60 cm. Often the height of the ceilings does not allow "inscribing" the arch in accordance with this rule, and this point is raised a little higher. But even in this case, you should not reduce the clearance to a ceiling level of less than 30 cm.

After the approximate values ​​for the mating points with the opening and for the height of the vault have been established, the arch in the opening can be modeled from improvised means and make sure that it matches the general design.

It is convenient to use a special plastic corner for arches, which will ultimately be used when decorating the opening

One of the simpler modeling techniques is to use a long strip of flexible material as a mold, such as a hard-edged plastic skirting board. The plinth is applied with the edges at the lower points of the arched opening, bent to the height of the arch, if necessary, change the shape of the arch, adjusting the degree of bending. Mark the points of conjugation of the arch with the opening and put the appropriate marks on the plinth.

Plasterboard blanks

For the walls of the arch, you need to cut out two rectangles from the gypsum board. The dimensions of the workpiece are the width of the opening and the distance from the mating point of the arch in the opening to the overlap of the opening itself (or to the ceiling for new partitions).

Then, on one of the blanks, using a plinth, the shape of the arch is modeled. To do this, aligning one of the marks on the plinth with the corner of the workpiece, it is bent until the second mark is aligned in the corner of the workpiece opposite in width. Draw an arc on the workpiece with a pencil and cut out the first wall. And already it will serve as a template for cutting out the second wall.

To get a sector along the radius, it is better to use an awl, a nail and a pencil tied with a thread or rope. The length of the thread from pencil to nail will determine the radius of the sector.

L is the width of the opening, H is the height of the arch, R is the radius of the sector, D is the stock of material equal to the thickness of the finishing of the ends of the opening

If an ellipse is needed, then two nails are fixed on the workpiece under the arch along the long side, retreating the same distance from both sides by about 10-15 cm. A thread is tied to the nails so that it sags freely, and when pulled along the edge of the sheet it reaches its edge ... The pencil is wound by the thread and the shape of the arch is outlined.

For the arch of the arch, you can use a strip of ceiling gypsum board (it is thinner, only 9.5 mm), but the remainder of a standard sheet is also suitable, since with a small width of the strip it is not difficult to give it the required shape. The size of the blank for the arch in length is equal to the distance between the marks on the plinth, and in width - to the thickness of the wall in the opening. The narrow sides of the workpiece are cut at the ends along one side of the corner so that the arch fits more tightly at the ends of the walls of the opening.

Forming the frame of the arch

The supporting frame for the walls is usually made of a metal rack profile. Depending on the materials of the partition and its thickness, the profile width may vary.

So if the arch is mounted in an opening where the walls are made of gypsum plasterboard, then the same rack-mount CW profiles are used that are in the supporting structure. In this case, the profiles are fixed in the opening with self-tapping screws for metal.

For walls made of bricks, building blocks (gas or foam concrete, gypsum), monolithic concrete, the width of the rack profile is selected individually. It is often easier to use a double frame (for each side of the arch) from a narrow CW profile with a 50 mm back, than to select a wide profile for a single frame. For fastening to the wall, dowels are used, and for each material they select their own type of fastener. If the frame is mounted from a narrow profile, holes for the dowel are drilled at an angle so that the edge of the opening does not crumble.

For side posts, the profiles must have a length equal to the distance from the overlap of the opening to the mating points with the arch. Since the arch "fits" in the opening to the partition at an angle less than 90 °, the lower corners of the profile are cut so that they do not protrude beyond the edge of the walls of the arch.

If the frame is mounted in a plasterboard partition, then you can clearly see how it must be fixed so that the arch is flush with the wall surface.

For partitions made of other materials, when fixing the frame, it is necessary to retreat from the edge of the wall at a distance equal to the thickness of the gypsum board plus the thickness of the finish (which is at least 1-2 mm per layer of putty for wallpapering or painting).

If the wall has a layer of decorative plaster or is lined with wall panels, then the frame must be fastened to the main wall material so that the walls of the arch are in the same plane with the surface of the partition itself, and not its decorative finish. This rule is followed on each side of the arch.

Arch installation

The walls of the arch are fastened with self-tapping screws with a distance between the attachment points from 15 to 25 cm, but at least three points on each side. The distance from the corner to each extreme attachment point should be within 5-10 cm, and the attachment line should be at a distance of 15-20 mm from the edge of the arch wall.

If a built-in backlight is provided in the arch, then the wires should be laid in advance, leaving leads or loops at least 15 cm long

After both walls are fixed, two strips of an arched profile are screwed to them from the inside through drywall to fasten the arch. If there is no arched profile, then it is made from a CD profile, symmetrically cutting wedges on the sides at a distance of 4–5 cm from each other.

To bend the strip of the workpiece with an arc, it is moistened with a sponge on both sides before installation. Then, on one side, they are rolled with a needle roller (another method is to prick with an awl over the entire surface by 1/3 of the sheet thickness) and once again moistened only along the perforated side. They are placed on the floor at an angle to it and the wall. When the workpiece begins to bend under its own weight, it is screwed into place to the arched profiles.

Finishing works

The final stage begins when the vault is dry:

  • the surface of the drywall is primed;
  • the seams and joints with the wall are reinforced with a serpentine, and the ribs of the arch - with a plastic perforated corner;
  • putty, rubbing the attachment points, seams and joints;
  • Angles at the ribs are "taken out";
  • dry and grind.

The arch is ready. You can start decorative finishing.

Do-it-yourself drywall arch: step-by-step instructions

With the help of drywall, vaults of any configuration can be made - oval, semicircular, arcuate, trapezoidal, lancet. Interior arches can visually expand the space and divide it into separate functional zones, as well as give the living space a designer personality. To carry out the installation of a drywall arch with your own hands is within the power of any man in the street, there would be a desire. And in order to remove all the questions that may arise during work, I give detailed instructions below.

Preparation of material and tools

We begin work with the preparation of tools and materials. You will need:

Let's prepare from the tools:

  • level;
  • tape measure, marker or pencil;
  • screwdriver or drill;
  • jigsaw;
  • construction knife and scissors for metal.

We draw a sketch and cut the workpieces

We begin the work on making an arch with our own hands from drywall by drawing a sketch and preparing blanks:

1. We measure the existing opening, from the top point to the place where the arch will end.

2. Cut out two rectangular elements from the plasterboard, corresponding to our previous measurements.

Advice: Cutting the material is very simple, for this you need to markup with a simple pencil or marker, cut through the top layer of the material using a clerical knife with strong pressure, then slightly break the sheet along the cut, connect it, turn it over and cut it completely on the reverse side.

3. On the cut-out workpiece, we find the center and, stepping back from the bottom edge of about 1 cm, we screw a self-tapping screw, tie a fishing line or cord with a loop at the end to the self-tapping screw, insert a pencil into the loop, determine the required radius of curvature, pull the fishing line and draw a semicircle with a pencil.

4. Using an electric jigsaw, cut out the blank of the arch arch clearly along the drawn line. Then we combine the resulting blank with the second sheet, draw markings on it with a pencil and cut out a semicircle.

Arch installation

After preparing the blanks, you can proceed directly to the installation of the arch with your own hands from drywall:

Step 1... According to the dimensions of the prepared workpiece, we cut the required number of the U-shaped profile 60 * 27. You should get 4 vertical and 2 horizontal elements equal in height and width to our workpiece.

Step 3... We attach both drywall blanks to the prepared frame. For a more reliable fastening, the interval between the screws is maintained at 15 cm, the screws are screwed to the surface without pressing them into the base, otherwise we will have to seal the hollows with putty, which will add unnecessary work.

Important: For the installation of gypsum board with a thickness of 12.5 mm, the craftsmen recommend using self-tapping screws for wood with a size of 3.5 * 35, for thinner sheets of gypsum board, you can use screws and smaller.

Step 4... To stiffen the entire structure and fasten the lower part of the arch, a curved profile 28 * 27 must be installed along the edges of the fixed sheets. This is done as follows: carefully measure the arch and cut off the required section of the profile with metal scissors, then make cuts on the side edges of the profile every 10 cm and give it a bend in accordance with the contour of the arch. then we attach its edges to the frame and every 10 cm we fasten it to the walls of the gypsum plasterboard.

Step 5... We fasten the lower part of the arch. For this purpose, we need a curved strip of drywall, in order to bend the gypsum board, how we need to do the following: measure the length and width of the arch, cut out the strip of gypsum board corresponding to the dimensions taken, mark vertical lines every 10 cm with a pencil, it is very important that the marking was perfectly even, and along the marked lines we cut through the paper layer of gypsum board with a clerical knife.

Next, we combine the notched strip, with cuts up, with the edge of the arch, moving to the opposite edge, give the necessary bend to the gypsum board. Then, in the middle, we fasten it with self-tapping screws to the guide profiles and, moving from the center to the edges, we fix the entire remaining strip with self-tapping screws. We maintain the interval between the fasteners at 10 cm. Protruding edges, carefully cut off with a clerical knife.

In principle, on this, the assembly of the arch with your own hands from drywall can be considered complete, the question remains only about its decoration, but this topic is too extensive and we will talk about it in the next publication.

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Plasterboard arches - do-it-yourself replacement of standard rectangular doors with an original design

By removing the swing doors, the owners increase the usable area. The device instead of a plasterboard arch is the simplest and most affordable option.

Drywall arches create a very different shape, differing mainly in the upper part. Many styles have been developed - from the simplest to the most complex. We will focus on those that even people without special skills can do. Having mastered the basics of creating arched openings, you can move on to more sophisticated designs.

One of the popular styles is classic with a strict top shape. It is a semicircle with a radius equal to half the width of the doorway. It looks good in an apartment of sufficient height when the doorway is at least 2.5 m. Suitable for any interior, but the best application is the entrance to the kitchen or a long corridor.

The portal is close to the classical style, only it has a strict rectangular shape along the entire height. The option is ideal for wooden houses, apartments with clear horizontal and vertical lines. Right angles in this design look elegant. Often they add additional originality with carved wooden decorative elements.

The style of a classic semicircular arch in an elliptical one is practically preserved. Its arch is made of different heights. Formula: The height of the vault is half the width, does not apply. Ideal for apartments with low ceilings.

An even more simplified vault is characteristic of the romantic style. The craftsmen gave it the name “with rounded corners”. The shape allows you to create structures of large width and relatively low. Ideal for decorating a passage to a balcony connected to a room.

The top of the Art Nouveau arch has a small radius of curvature, a sharp transition at the junction with the vertical parts. Looks good in rooms with simple design. Often installed instead of a door to a balcony or office.

The trapezoidal shape attracts supporters of custom design. The asymmetrical interior arch also emphasizes the originality of the taste of the owners. A popular form of recent times is the semi-arch. One side is semicircular, the other remains straight. Fits into modern styles of minimalism, hi-tech, art decor.

The shape and design must match the overall design. The width of the arch, the height of the room are taken into account. Before making the arch, we determine the parameters, especially those related to the radius of curvature. The classic is suitable for apartments with ceilings from three meters. For arches in place of standard doorways, rounded corners are recommended. It is better to arrange a wide opening in the Art Nouveau style.

Advice: to visually assess how the door arch will fit into the interior, we make a template and apply it to the doorway.

We start with a project that we draw to scale. We outline the location, the view of the arch. We indicate the dimensions and all the distinctive features. It is even better to make a template that will help for further work, especially for a novice master.

In the work you will need tools: a perforator with a drill, a screwdriver or drill, a jigsaw, a drywall knife, a hammer. For measurements, you will need a tape measure, a level. We fix everything with self-tapping screws, if the opening is brick - with dowels. We purchase UD and CD profiles from the materials. For a wooden frame, you will need pieces of timber. We buy drywall for ordinary rooms simple, for places with high humidity - moisture resistant.

Next, we prepare the doorway: we dismantle the canvas and the frame. Depending on the intended size, you may need to expand the space. Plastering the sidewalls is not worth it: everything will be covered with sheets of drywall. We remove the peeled plaster, level the side parts. We do not achieve an ideal vertical state: it is important that the sidewalls are more or less even for reliable fastening of the profile rails.

If we are planning a backlight, we bring the wiring in advance. On uneven walls, the depth of the arch is determined by its greatest thickness. We carry out all measurements in several places so as not to be mistaken. The arched vault takes up to 15 cm, and the distance to the ceiling is required at least 20. Do not forget about this, calculating and marking the arch.

Cut off two pieces of a metal profile along the width of the arch. Four more are needed for the sidewalls. Their length is equal to the height minus the thickness of the profile rail. For installation on a concrete or brick wall, we make holes with a puncher, install dowels, fasten the profiles with self-tapping screws. For fastening to wooden walls, we do without dowels, we use self-tapping screws 50 mm long.

We retreat from the plane of the wall to a distance equal to the thickness of the drywall. For the plaster, add another 2 mm. After 50 cm, we install reinforcing cross-members, which reach from below to the place where the upper arcuate piece of drywall will dock with the sidewalls. To fix the arcuate element, you will need to install additional profiles, but at this stage we do not mount them. We have come out with a base to which we will attach the skin.

For some reason, for many, an arched detail causes special difficulty. You can read many instructions for making it with calculations and formulas. Maybe math lovers use them, but in practice everything comes out much easier, you don't need to remember the school course.

We take a piece of plasterboard, equal in width to the doorway, from which we will cut an arc. You will need a straight, preferably a wooden rail, at one end of which we drive in a carnation. Find the middle on the sheet, draw a line. For a classic arch, from the second end of the rail, we also drive in a nail at a length from the first, equal to half the width of the arch.

Along the centerline, we retreat from the top of the sheet so that the upper nail is at its edge, and the lower one is pressed into the drywall. We've got a kind of compass. We take the top of the plank and draw a semicircle, leaving a mark from the top stud. We have outlined the dimensions of the upper part of the classic arch. If you need an oval one, move the lower point down the axis, as much as you want to reduce the height, and outline the cutting line.

Cut out an arc along the outlined contour. We do this using a drywall file or for metal. You can use a jigsaw, but there is a lot of dust from it. The uneven cut, which may be obtained, is leveled with sandpaper, ensuring that the curve comes out in an ideal shape.

We perform further actions in the following sequence:

  1. 1. Using self-tapping screws, fasten the rectangle with the cut-out arc to the frame. On the opposite side, temporarily screw the same.
  2. 2. Take a square, put it on an unmarked piece of paper and draw points with a pencil that correspond to the cut out arc. We make them larger in order to draw the most accurate curve along them.
  3. 3. Remove a piece of sheet and draw a line along the points. Cut off the excess and set the second arc to a permanent place.

A copy of the first arc should not be made: asymmetry is not excluded, therefore, installing the second sheet with an absolute coincidence of the contours is problematic.

We take the ironing trowel so that its width is enough for two sheets, and we level them. Then we install profiles between them. They need to be bent. We make cuts in the sidewalls with scissors, bend them, adjust them in place. Fasten with screws to drywall, holding the rail with a bar so as not to injure your fingers. We set the back of the profile rail flush with the edge of the arcuate element.

Having attached both strips, we install jumpers between them. We cut the profile into pieces with a length that is less than the depth of the arch by 1 cm. In the places where the jumpers are attached to the installed profile, we cut out the sidewalls from the inside and install the prepared fragments. The lintels provide the required rigidity.

Next, we fasten the sidewalls on both sides. The arc also needs to be closed with drywall. To do this, you have to bend it. To the uninformed, this may seem impossible, because they are convinced that the standard gypsum board is both fragile and tough - it does not want to bend, it breaks. How to give it the desired bend, we will talk later.

For surfaces with curved lines, thin drywall is available. You can buy a sheet and set the required segment. But the logic turns on: why buy a whole one if you need a small piece, which is full of purchased sheets of standard thickness? In general, everything is correct: a thick sheet can also be bent.

Usually a simple and quick method is used. Place the cut-to-size workpiece face up on a flat surface. We take a square and, after 10 cm, draw lines across with a pencil. We make cuts along them, approximately ⅔ of the thickness. The square is optional, but desirable: in parallel, the bend will turn out to be of better quality. For arches with large curves, this is the most suitable method.

Turn the workpiece over with notches upward, apply it to the arch. We fix the upper part with self-tapping screws. From the center we gradually move towards the end. We screw in the self-tapping screws every 10 cm on both sides. The effort required is small, the sequence is mirrored. We do everything gradually, slowly, then the gypsum board will bend almost perfectly.

For those who do not like or do not know how to plaster, a different method is recommended. Indeed, on drywall, curved according to the previous method, you will have to apply more than one layer of plaster. A very sharp bend in the proposed method, which is called wet, is difficult to obtain, but possible. Its advantages are that the bent fragment remains intact; you will not have to mask the damage with plaster: an ordinary finishing layer is applied.

You will have to buy a roller with needles and make a template for bending. No special skills are required, but the process is lengthy, technological breaks must be observed. We do as follows:

  1. 1. Cut out semicircular templates from a fairly rigid material. We install them vertically and fasten them together.
  2. 2. A sheet of drywall of the required size is laid on a plane and rolled with a roller. Moisten with water, but not too much so that it appears slightly damp.
  3. 3. After 10 minutes of exposure, place the blank on the template - the unrolled side from below. The workpiece itself begins to sag, we help carefully, without exerting excessive efforts.
  4. 4. Wait about half an hour until you feel moisture to the touch. There is no need to wait any longer, it may dry out and fragility will return.

The frame sheathed with plasterboard is a semi-finished product; it was better not to start without high-quality finishing at the finish. Many people do not like this stage - it is better to cut, drill, fasten than to deal with mortar and sandpaper. Yes, the work is not easy, but necessary, since we have undertaken to do everything ourselves.

First apply a primer and let it dry. Those who ignore this step, wanting to save money and time, are wrong. It is the primer layer that allows the plaster to reliably adhere to the surface and not be torn away over time. We use acrylic putty, but it is better to apply a special one for drywall joints on the seams. It is more durable, does not crack later.

We close up the joints, possible defects on the drywall and the heads of the screws. We try not to apply a lot of putty, otherwise we will have to remove it later. We pass with a spatula, taking away the excess. To hide irregularities, to give strength, to prevent cracking, we glue the joints with fiberglass mesh. We put the pieces of the required length on the fresh putty. We make sure that there are no folds. If it fails to align, it is best to tear it off and try again.

We glue the arch bend with a mesh. Wrinkles will definitely appear here. To eliminate them, we cut a mesh in these places and glue it. Immediately apply the second layer over the mesh. We are waiting for it to dry: it will become completely white. Smooth the surfaces with sandpaper. Do not overdo it: the mesh should not be exposed. If this happens in some places, it is undesirable, but not scary.

We clean it from dust and apply the next layer over the entire surface. Again, we wait until it dries, and we grind, but with paper with a finer grain. Apply the finishing layer on a thoroughly cleaned surface. We are waiting long enough for the putty to dry well. The next day we grind using the finest sandpaper.

Sometimes it is enough to paint the arch to give it a finished and elegant look. But many want to achieve originality using the following techniques:

  • sheathed with wood or plastic;
  • we paste over with wallpaper, veneer;
  • we use artificial stone decoration;
  • decorate with mirrors, mosaics;
  • decorate with stucco, columns;
  • we arrange backlighting.

You can use any option, the main thing is harmony with the general style.

Induction heating: do it yourself