Most often the boards are fixed to metal frames, but the method where the plasterboard is directly glued to the wall is also popular. This method requires skill and experience, good organization and precision as the adhesive dries out fast and no corrections can be made to the already glued boards. It is not advisable to glue plasterboards to reinforced concrete walls as the adhesive cannot penetrate the concrete and it cannot provide good cohesion.
Plasterboard should not be glued to plaster as well, as plaster can easily come off together with the whole plasterboard wall. In this case we use metal frames and wall plugs and other similar constructions. One should take into consideration that the plasterboard does not provide good noise insulation so if you are looking to achieve that an additional insulation layer has to be placed – most often rock-wool.
Plasterboard insulation can also be used on outer walls (on their internal part). Compared to external thermal insulation this method has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it uses about 5 to 8 cm of the living area of the property (this includes the construction for fixing the plasterboard and the insulation layers) and a metal frame must be placed as well, otherwise the glue plays the part of a thermo bridge and transfers the low temperatures from outside to the interior of the property which makes the thermal insulation pointless.
Internal thermal insulation is not effective if there is mould and if there is already dampness on the walls of the rooms. If this kind of insulation is made in such a case it will only make the problem worse and it will allow the mould to spread even further under the plasterboard wall, which is unacceptable and dangerous for the people using and living in the room. If there is mould in the room the most effective solution is external insulation.
On the other hand, the advantages of internal thermal insulation with plasterboard is the lower price compared to the price of external thermal insulation. The walls in the property become perfectly even and the different cables can be organized much more easily in the process of putting the plasterboard instead of making cable ducts in the wall itself.
Such repair works with installation of internal insulation can be done at any time of the year, regardless of the season and the weather outside, without the need of scaffolding or any other special method of installation.
The insulation itself is good and reliable, but as we already mentioned it must not be placed in rooms where there is already mould and dampness on the walls or the result would be the so-called sick building syndrome.
This term is popular in America, where a large number of the pre-fabricated houses there have become dangerous to their inhabitants, because the bad insulation and poor ventilation in the rooms, combined with high humidity, have made the buildings grow mouldy and the mould has penetrated the walls.
In such cases the only solution is replacement of the mouldy walls and in the most severe cases – the rebuilding of the house. Fortunately, this problem is not that widespread here, but taking into consideration what happens when there is already dampness and mould in a property one must select their insulation carefully - and we know how to do that.
When the plasterboard is well installed and provides good noise insulation it is a very valuable tool for arranging internal spaces. It is a light material that is often used for changing a room’s layout and for other purposes of interior design.
