Plasterboard the wrong way around

[ARWadsworth]

I have just dot and dabbed a bathroom wall.

It turns out that the piece of plasterboard above the window (the bit in the recess) is the wrong way around.

Does it really matter or should I swap it in the morning?

[Phil L]

It doesn't make a blind bit of difference, I've put full boards on back to front and it's no different.

[NT]

it doesnt matter. There's greater risk of minor blemishes on the other side, but plastering or filling take care of those.

NT

[John Rumm]

The dark side is slightly less flat, than the finish side, and may have a slight visible paper seam on the edges. Makes naff all difference if its being skimmed, and not much if being finished directly.

[ARWadsworth]

Thanks to both of you.

I'll leave it as it is.

[Roger Mills]

I once asked a plasterer about this, and he said that one side is more absorbent than the other - and gives less time to work the plaster - but the difference is small, and doesn't really matter. ISTR that he also said that you use one side for skimming and the other side for Artex.

[polygonum]

Ask the manufacturers. They say, use the white side for plastering and decorating of all kinds.

Differences are:

The actual paper - absorbency, smoothness, etc. Voids under the paper (I think they make it white side down so any air bubbles will be under the grey side). How the paper wraps - it is double-thickness near the edges on the grey side.

But as half the plasterers who are asked seem to get it wrong, I'd imagine a lot of plasterboard has been fitted and plastered the wrong way round. And in non-critical situations it probably makes very little real difference.

[Tim W]

Last time I used it the principle difference was that the edge was tapered, on one side only. This was to accommodate the nasty european habit of taping the join, filling the taper but not skimming the whole face, just painting or papering onto the plasterboard. In British practice it meant that if you nailed the edge of the board with it the wrong way round you got a nail head through the skim, or a piece of broken plasterboard.

Tim W

[S Viemeister]

Typical US practice, too.

[geraldthehamster]

I suggest you don't buy tapered board if you're going to skim it.

Cheers Richard

[Martin Bonner]

I was taught this as the preferred approach on a DIY plastering course in Britain recently too.

[John Rumm]

Its partly historical - the makers used to specify one side for skimming and the other for decorating. These days they specify light side for both. Many builders etc do not respond well to learning new tricks!

[sm_jamieson]

And Australia. I'd like to have a good look at some taped rooms, particularly around the window reveals and the wall / ceiling joints, to see how good it can be. Judging by the small number of white "dots" you usually see, they don't appear to use many screws in the boards. With larger houses in general (US, OZ etc,), I can see that skimming a whole house would become very expensive. Watched Grand Designs Australia yesterday. Quite interesting. Simon.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Reminds me, before I could do my own plastering, I had boarded a ceiling and then got a plasterer in to skim it. Part way through, he said to me, "Next time, can you put the board on the other way up?". I asked him if he really wanted to plaster straight onto the foil, at which point he looked a bit sheepish, and carried on skimming.

[Peter G]

replying to Tim W, Peter G wrote: It begs the question why British plasterboard is tapered if the "nasty" habit is European. Basically whether skimming or not (and my research shows this seems to be a habit confined to UK) the joint is enhance by having a "valley" created by the two tapered edged butting together. Fill the valley with tape and jointing compound and you will not get cracking. Butt the non tapered sides together and all you have to cover the Joint is the skim. Only exceptional good luck will prevent a crack eventually appearing. Here skimming is not done. Feather the jointing compound. sand it with a 240+grit paper (I like 400) and the joint should be smooth enough to run a finger nail over it without detecting it. Apply a sealer and an undercoat (or a combined product) and you will never detect where the joint is, even before the topcoats. And I am an accountant not a professional plasterer.

[Peter G]

replying to geraldthehamster, Peter G wrote: You need to have tapered board to do a proper join. Any doubts just go to

and look at their instructions. fill the tapered valley with jointing paper and compound. Let dry. Sand smooth if not skimming and seal and undercoat. Skim if desired; but even they say skimming is an option these days, not a necessity.

[ARW]

So you are good with numbers then?

Here is one your you.

In what year was the post that you replied to made?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Have you ever tried to remove wallpaper from plasterboard which wasn't skimmed?

[Andrew]

Not to mention the damage that everyday knocks and bumps does to an unskimmed plasterboard wall from about 3 feet downwards.

Builders just like to tape'n'seal'n'paint because they don't have to pay an expensive plasterer, and it can be done with semi-skilled people (=cheap).