Installation of a plasterboard screen under a bathtub with an inspection hatch

Recommendation points

• What is a bathroom screen
• Drywall screen. Features and Benefits
• Step-by-step installation of a plasterboard bathroom screen
• Stage 1. Drawing
• Stage 2. Prepare tools / materials
• Stage 3. Preparation for installation. Markup
• Stage 4. Frame installation
• Stage 5. Installation of gypsum board
• Stage 6. Puttying
• Stage 7. Laying tiles

The bath screen is undoubtedly an aesthetically pleasing and functional design. You can make it yourself from a variety of materials. But, perhaps, the simplest and cheapest option is drywall frame cladding for tiled cladding.

The bathroom in every home performs several practical functions at once. This is not only a place for swimming, but also a room in which personal hygiene items, household chemicals, rags and sponges for cleaning are usually stored..

It is very important to use the space to the maximum functionally and at the same time ensure proper sanitary conditions. One of the most practical designs that help solve several of these problems at once is the bathroom screen.

What is a bathroom screen

This construction of the perimeter or U-shaped type, installed under the sides of the bathroom, can serve as:

1. Additional space for inconspicuous and at the same time safe (which is important for families with small children) storage of household chemicals, rags.
2. Camouflage structure to hide pipes and an aesthetically unappealing space under the bathroom.
3. Sanitary protection of hard-to-clean places, because with the help of the panel you can protect them from the accumulation of water, and, therefore, from the growth of bacteria and mold.
4. A means of design expression. The screen can be made in an individual style and decorated taking into account the materials and shades used in the decoration of the room.

Drywall screen. Features and Benefits

The structure can be created from a wide variety of materials – wood, bricks, plastic panels, and so on. Recently, frame screens made of plasterboard for tiles are gaining more and more popularity..

The advantages of using GKL panels include:

• quick and easy installation;
• budgetary materials used;
• maintainability;
• a good degree of adhesion with tile glue with almost any type of tile;
• the ability to adapt the material to almost any shape of the bathroom.

Step-by-step installation of a plasterboard bathroom screen

You can create such a structure without the help of professional finishers. To do this, you just need to carefully follow the simple step-by-step instructions..

Make a plan for the work ahead. It:

1. Schematic drawing of the future design.
2. Purchase of materials and preparation of tools.
3. Surface preparation and marking.
4. Installation of the profile frame.
5. Facing with GKL panels.
6. Puttying, installation of corner elements.
7. Finish tiling.

Let’s analyze the order of work in more detail.

Stage 1. Drawing

The drawing will allow you to understand how appropriate this screen is in the bathroom and how you would like to see it. You should even think about what kind of tiles it will be faced with. After its installation, it will be problematic to change something and dismantle the tiled field without harm to the overall structure. In the diagram, provide for a convenient and practical location of the inspection hatch, necessary for unhindered access under the bathroom to the pipes, as well as for using the space for storing any items..

Stage 2. Prepare tools / materials

You will need the following materials for the frame:

1. Rack profiles PS 50×50 or PS 50×40.
2. Guiding profiles PN 50×40 or PS 50×37. You can also use the ceiling profiles PP 60×27 and PN 28×27. The type of profiles depends on the width of the bath rim itself. Calculations of the width of the structure for the correct selection of the required materials are made approximately according to the following principle – the width of the profiles + the width of the gypsum board + a small layer of putty + 3-4 mm of tile glue + the thickness of the tile + 3-4 mm for adjusting the structure to the side.
3. Corner plaster profiles.
4. Self-tapping screws for metal 13 mm with a press washer.
5. Self-tapping screws metal-wood 25–32 mm.
6. Dowels.
7. Wooden bars.

For cladding:

1. Sheets of moisture resistant plasterboard 12.5 mm thick.
2. Self-tapping screws for plasterboard 25-27 mm.
3. Inspection hatch.

For puttying:

1. Putty
2. Serpyanka.
3. Corner profiles for tiles.
4. Primer.

For installing tiles:

1. Sealant.
2. Tile.
3. Tile adhesive.
4. Crosses for seams.

And also clean working tools:

1. Rotary hammer (with the possibility of drilling) with a drill.
2. Carry drill or screwdriver.
3. Level.
4. Roulette.
5. Pencil.
6. Metal scissors.
7. Construction knife.
8. Spatulas.
9. Tile cutter.

Stage 3. Preparation for installation. Markup

Before proceeding with the installation, carry out the preparatory work:

1. Check all pipe joints and connections carefully.
2. Dry the space under the bathroom.
3. Firmly fix the bath itself and glue the sound absorber to its bottom (optional).
4. Then you can start marking.

Having set the level, mark the vertical level of the edges of the side, passing along the walls. Draw horizontal lines for starter profiles.

Stage 4. Frame installation

Install horizontal guide profiles. To do this, it is necessary to stick a sealing tape on the back of the shelf. Then, if you already have floor tiles installed, take a hammer drill with a suitable diameter and at the lowest speed, drill the holes for the dowels. Many people try to drill with a victorious drill and drill, but this is far from the cheapest (if you take a quality product) and effective method. Then fix the guides with dowels.

Vertical racks are installed every 40 cm, simultaneously with the upper starting ones (as there is nothing to fix them). If the structure needs to be reinforced, you can create bridging cells using cuts of the same PS profile. The profiles are fastened to each other with self-tapping screws for metal with an anti-corrosion coating. Cut off the excess length of the profiles using metal scissors, along the previously marked lines.

Racks and lintels for the inspection hatch are mounted after fitting the hatch itself. They need to fix the previously dried and processed bars (embedded) to strengthen the frame. Fasten the hatch through the hinges to the profiles on metal-wood screws 25–32 mm.

Stage 5. Installation of gypsum board

Sheets of drywall are cut in such a way that their joints fall in the middle of the rack profiles with a screw pitch of 30 cm.The distance of the screws from the edges should be at least 1 cm.The sheets are fixed with the colored side outward (more often it is green on the gypsum board).

A small gap of 1-2 mm is left between the wall surface and the sheets.

Stage 6. Puttying

Before applying the putty, it is necessary to apply a primer on the surface of the gypsum board and continue work only after it has completely dried.

Puttying begins with sealing the seams with a serpentine, covering up the screw caps and installing corner profiles, as well as on other structures made of gypsum plasterboard. Then apply the first layer of putty, after it dries, prime.

Stage 7. Laying tiles

You can put almost any tile on the screen. Apply the adhesive solution to its inner surface with a notched trowel at one angle, so you will ensure uniform adhesion to the surface of the screen.

Cut the tiles, if necessary, with any convenient tool – grinder, tile cutter, glass cutter.

Mounting tiles on the surface of a bath screen is generally no different from mounting tiles on any other plane, only in this case the installation of corner tile profiles is still more obligatory than desirable. The cost of plastic products, in principle, is not so high, but none of your loved ones will accidentally hurt themselves on the tiled corners, and the screen will look more aesthetically pleasing with them..

After finishing the installation, carefully coat the joints with the floor and the bathroom with a sealant, the grout will not work for these purposes, even the most persistent will wash out over time.

You can use the bathroom a day after the end of the work.