Drywall arch Knauf: pros and cons, how to bend

Our life is changing day by day, new technologies are being introduced to the market. The materials are being improved, and what until recently seemed like science fiction turns into the most mundane things. Such a novelty is arched drywall 6.5 mm thick. Thanks to this invention, the implementation of interesting ideas involving the use of complex curvilinear shapes, and designer imagination got the opportunity even more spread your wings.

What is flexible drywall?

In fact, it’s traditional drywall sheet, consisting of a gypsum core, which was reinforced on both sides with fiberglass recessed into it. This finishing material is used in construction and decoration. GKL differs from usual GKL in almost half the reduced thickness. The remaining overall parameters largely correspond to the standard ones, for example, the size of the sheet of arched gypsum board from Knauf is 1200 × 2400 mm.

Due to its reduced thickness and special additives, arched gypsum plasterboard has gained high elasticity. It is his ability to bend well in both directions that is widely appreciated by interior designers, since it helps to create the most bizarre figures. Using arched drywall are made:

• rounded niches;
• columns;
• domed, strongly curved structures;
• arches;
• rounded corners;
• wave lines on ceilings and walls;
• freakish forms of arches.

Flexible drywall has found application in creating high-tech and modern designs. The photo below shows the arch portal made of arched gypsum plasterboard.

Unfortunately, reducing the thickness by six millimeters did not have the best effect on the strength of the finished structure. Therefore, in some cases, the sheets are mounted in two layers, for example, if it is not about the arch, but about figured shelfcapable of deforming under the weight of things installed on it.

Advantages of Flexible GCR

The flexible arched sheet of drywall has the following advantages:

• Ease of bending. Conventional GCRs to give them the desired shape must be moistened, passed on their surface with a needle roller or incised before use. Arch GKL with a bending radius not exceeding 100 cm, it is enough to stretch in the longitudinal direction. Direct bending, both along the inner and the outer radius, should be done along a long edge. This requirement is due to the longitudinal arrangement of fiberglass yarns.
• Installation speed. Dry bending the material allows you to erect structures, eliminating a number of processes: you do not need to wet the sheet, attach it to special stencils, wait for it to dry completely. This has a positive effect on the overall duration of installation work.

• Moisture resistant. Ordinary drywall are not used in rooms whose microclimate is characterized by high humidity (kitchens, bathrooms, showers, basements, balconies). Otherwise, it may lose strength, and if saturated with water, it will become covered with mold. The resistance of flexible drywall sheets in this indicator exceeds even GKLV, and the additives in the core will prevent the development of the fungus.
• Simplicity of construction. During installation, there are no significant differences between the arched type of drywall and the usual one. Its installation takes place on a frame made of a metal profile. True, its flexible variety is used, with cuts and perforations. As fasteners, ordinary screws are used.
• Design features. Using this new product, it will turn out to be easy to make not only arched interior niches, but also many more complex structures: fireplace portals, spiral staircase lining and much more. A smooth front surface requires a minimum of preparatory work before applying the finish.

Note! To protect the brittle edges of the sheets from destruction after installation, special arched corners made of plastic and metal are installed on them.

Nothing is perfect: material flaws

This statement also applies to flexible drywall sheets.

1. The addition of fiberglass and other special additives to the core for reinforcing simultaneously increases the density of drywall. Therefore, it is more difficult to cut such sheets, fix them with screws, and process them with a planer.
2. In structures requiring additional rigidity, as mentioned above, arched gypsum plasterboard is laid in two layers, which is associated with additional labor costs.
3. The price of the described material is 330-370 rubles. per sheet - exceeds the cost of standard wall and ceiling plates, and if two-layer installation is planned, the difference will grow even more.

Arched Sheet Technology

Knauf offers the following bending methods for its Knauf sheets:

1. Dry, the minimum bending radius when using which is 100 cm.
2. Wet, with a permissible bending radius of 30 cm or more.

The procedure for dry bending:

• The frame of the structure is being prepared.
• The sheet bends along the frame, fastens with screws from the middle to the edges. The pitch between the screws is 15-17 cm.

Wet bend:

• A template is being made.

• The compressible side of the sheet is rolled with a needle roller, placed on gaskets to prevent moisture from entering the back side. If the other side gets wet, cardboard may tear during bending.
• The workpiece is wetted with water with a brush or sponge until the liquid is no longer absorbed.
• The sheet is installed on the template, its center should coincide with the axis of the template. The edges are pressed by the bars, the workpiece is left in this position until it dries completely.

Summing up, it is worth noting that the advantages of the arched version of drywall exceed all its possible disadvantages. Flexible GCR are widely used in modern construction for the construction of complex structures. Features of working with arch sheets - in the video below.