Dry lining for new walls and ceilings
Dry lining is the quickest way to create flat, solid walls and ceilings: plasterboard fixed to a frame, to joists or straight onto masonry, and then finished. We offer full dry lining and insulation services for homes and commercial properties across Worthing and West Sussex, and because we are plasterers too, the boarding and the finish can be carried out by the same team.
Metal frame ceilings and partitions
Metal frame (MF) ceilings are a suspended grid of steel sections with plasterboard screwed to the underside. They give a level ceiling below an uneven structure, create a void for services and insulation, and are a common way of bringing a ceiling down to a new height. Metal stud partitions do the same job for walls: light, straight and quick to build, with space inside for insulation and cables.
On our Hurst Road project in Hassocks, where a run down four bedroom house became a six bedroom home, we installed metal frame ceilings to the ground floor, and insulated and plasterboarded the loft area, partition walls and ceilings throughout before the whole property was plastered.
Tacking and dot and dab
Tacking is fixing plasterboard to timber joists and studs, ready for a skim finish. It is how most ceilings, loft rooms and timber partitions are boarded. On our Aldwick Bay new build, the scope included tacking to the loft area, the internal first floor partitions and the ceilings throughout, before every wall and ceiling was skimmed.
Dot and dab fixes plasterboard straight onto a masonry wall with dabs of adhesive. It is quick, avoids the drying time of wet plastering and leaves a small cavity behind the board. It can then be skimmed, or taped and jointed.
Insulation
A wall or ceiling that is being boarded is the ideal time to insulate it. We install all forms of insulation, including Celotex insulation boards, rock wool and EPS systems. Insulated plasterboard can line cold external walls, rock wool can fill stud partitions and ceiling voids, and rigid boards can sit between and below the rafters in a loft. The right choice depends on the space available, what is already there and what the insulation needs to achieve.
Sound proofing and fire proofing
Dry lining is also how rooms are made quieter and safer. Sound proofing usually combines denser boards, insulation in the void and careful sealing of gaps, because sound finds its way through the smallest openings around sockets, pipes and junctions. Fire proofing uses fire-rated boards and details to slow the spread of fire between spaces, which matters in loft conversions, between an integral garage and the house, and in commercial buildings. We carry out both, and on the Bosham country home described on our projects page, our work included fire rated plaster to the chimney.
Boarding that takes a good finish
Good boarding makes good plastering. Boards fixed straight and firm, with staggered joints and screws at the right spacing, give a flat surface that takes a two-coat skim without cracking along the joints later on. Corners, window reveals and junctions with existing walls are where poor boarding shows, so that is where most of the care goes. Our plastering page explains how boarded walls and ceilings are finished.
Where dry lining fits
- Extensions: new partitions, ceilings and insulated external walls.
- Loft conversions: insulated slopes, ceilings and stud walls, boarded and skimmed.
- Refurbishments: dropping or levelling tired ceilings, lining uneven walls and adding sound proofing between rooms.
- Commercial fit-outs: metal stud partitions and suspended ceilings.
For free, no-obligation advice on your extension, loft conversion or refurbishment, call 07824 165672.
