staggering plasterboard

[mah]

hi at the moment im working on a job putting plasterboard on to a ceiling.im currently an apprentice plumber working for a building firm. boss says to me can i do the ceilings, so off i go i worked out the joists,but because they were made for old 8x4 sheets i had problems. the roof space is about 7x5 i didnt stagger the joints,this is the problem some window fitters turned round to the customer and said what i was doing would cause the plaster to crack, because i didnt stagger them any help pls.the way i worked it you couldnt stagger it without problems.

 

[staningrimsby]

Sorry m8 its bot good news you should have staggered the joins, but this does not mean it will deffinetly crack just that the likelyhood is greater. Its the same in most of the trades bricks are staggered, so are roof tiles, plasterboard etc.

 

[Richard C]

In my then ignorance, I inadvertently did the same thing last year when re-roofing an old extension. It was pointed out to me but I was not inclined to take all the boards down again so I taped the joints with 3 staggered overlapped lengths of reinforcing tape instead of the usual 1. You can’t see the extra thickness under the plaster & it hasn’t cracked yet after over a year.

The customer may be persuaded to accept this with a written undertaking to rectify the work if any cracks develop, if you offer a financial incentive. I had other trades on the site at the time but its funny how they never seem to spot your mistake when you’re putting it up, only telling you with a little smirk after you’ve finished!

 

[canny177]

Hi ,
Tell the window fitters to stick to fitting windows. Just tape the joints with scrim tape (jointing tape) and any good plasterer will give it a two coat multi finish skim. The only reason its cracks is if the boards have not been fixed correctly (Movement). Better off using plaster board screw fixed every 150mm ish rather than nails