Are you going to plasterboard wall or ceiling? Perhaps you have plans for the construction of complex shapes from this versatile material? In any case, you will not be able to do with whole sheets, so it is important to know how to cut drywall at home and what you need for this.
Drywall is a convenient material in work, from it you can build almost any design. Even a novice without a special tool can afford it. Professionals have their own methods and devices to make cutting a large number of sheets quick, easy and accurate.
In this article, we will consider the whole variety of tools, both for the home master and for real pros. We will tell you how to cut drywall flat stripes, make a hole in it, give the sheet or cut any shape. As a bonus, we’ll show you how easier it is to clean the house after this dusty lesson.
Choosing the right tool
Drywall combines high load-bearing capacity with ease of processing: you can cut and saw it with almost anything.
So that you can choose the best option, we describe the main devices, their advantages and disadvantages.
To mark the cutout
It is best to mark the cut line on the sheet with a simple pencil - clerical, or a thicker construction one.
A marker or pen can shine through a thin layer of putty. They are best used only for marking on the back of the sheet.
Measure the desired dimensions, the distance from the edge of the sheet to the cutout is most convenient with a tape measure.
To keep the lines straight, draw them under a rule or a long ruler. For perpendicular intersections, use a square, and for round holes you may need a compass.
Hand sawing and cutting tool
Office or construction knife - The easiest, most affordable and most popular tool for cutting drywall. It is used by both beginners and professionals. The knife cuts the cardboard, and the gypsum layer breaks.
The method is simple, creates a minimum of dust, the edges of the cardboard are smooth. Among the shortcomings - the uneven edge of the gypsum layer sometimes requires refinement, it will not work to make a round hole or cut a sheet fixed on the wall.
With a roulette knife, you can measure on the wall and cut off a strip or circle from the sheet, bypassing the marking stage. For a smooth cut you will need training
The knife is usually made even cut, that is, the sheet can be reduced or spread into strips. More complex figures with this tool will be problematic, but possible.
Hacksaw - a universal option, it cuts through the sheet through, can be used for holes and lines of any shape, before or after installation of drywall. At the same time, it is inexpensive and is available in almost every home. It is better to choose a hacksaw for metal - its small teeth do not tear cardboard, and a thin canvas bends at the rounding.
Specialized drywall hacksaw The "fox" has a pointed nose for driving into a leaf or teeth on both sides of the blade.
Knife Cutters able to cut cardboard at once from two sides of the sheet absolutely symmetrically, in one hold. It is quick and convenient, but not everyone has such a tool. Used for cutting only up to the stage of installation of the material. U-shaped models with parallel emphasis will help cut the strip, but its width is limited by the maximum length of the tool.
Magnetic cutters consist of two separate soles that are attracted by magnets to each other through the sheet. To direct the magnetic disk cutter along the drywall exactly along the marking line, training or additional devices will be required.
A saw with a wide drywall blade is used only for direct cutting. It turns out quickly, smoothly and practically without dust.
You will need a hammer if you need to make a hole in drywall, but there is nothing besides a knife. The result is not too accurate, but sometimes this is enough.
Drywall Cutting Tools
From a universal power tool, drywall is cut with a jigsaw with a sheet of metal or a hand circular with a disk on wood. You can cut several sheets at the same time, which significantly speeds up the work. For even strips, it is convenient to use a parallel stop - it is usually included in the tool kit.
The cut is smooth, but at high speed or with a dull canvas, the cardboard can be undermined, it will get a fringe. The main disadvantage of these tools is that a lot of gypsum dust is created: it’s hard to breathe, and then to clean it in the house.
It is also not always convenient to arrange a large sheet of drywall so that it does not break, and under the place of the cut there is space for the saw to move freely.
A circular saw - the only tool that can easily cope not only with drywall, but also with the profile. This will help out if you need to cut a hole that was not foreseen during cladding and now it falls on the profile.
Reciprocating Saw - a rarer tool, very similar to a jigsaw, but capable of sawing almost without support: the sheet may not be fixed, stand upright or at an angle. The tool is cordless, independent of sockets, but the cut is less accurate.
A jigsaw is usually used to cut drywall before installation, and a reciprocating saw - more often after fixing the sheet
Drill or screwdriver with various nozzles are used for round cutouts, as well as for the starting hole for the hacksaw blade.
Feather drill, often used when installing wooden doors or windows, is suitable for small diameter holes. The maximum pen size is 60mm, but often used up to 25 - 35mm - for example, for wiring.
Crown - a metal cylinder with a guide drill in the center. Used for round holes up to 10cm in diameter.
Most often, cutouts made by a crown are needed for recessed lights, sockets and switches. They can be cut even after the repair is completed.
A ballerina nozzle will help to cut a hole up to 40 cm in diameter - for example, for a fan. Its base is a cross, on the shoulders of which blades are fixed. By moving the knives, you can change the diameter of the hole.
How to align the cut?
The edge of the drywall sheet, mounted end-to-end or forming an angle, is usually covered with putty through a reinforcing mesh or corner. This means that any irregularities in the cut and slit will disappear, no additional processing is needed.
If there are bulges on the cut that impede installation, or for some reason the protrusion will be covered with putty without using a corner, the edge of the sheet is leveled with this tool:
- peeling planer, rasp;
- sandpaper;
- stationery or construction knife;
- file.
Choose a tool depending on the shape of the cut and what is at hand.
Drywall cutting methods
To cut drywall exactly, precisely, without spoiling a single sheet, you need to know some rules.
In this section, we will consider how to use the tool described above in each case.
Method number 1 - cut in a straight line
Such a cut is necessary in any repair: after most of the area is sewn up with whole sheets, stripes and small rectangles will inevitably be needed to fill in the gaps, as well as to create decorative designs.
From drywall, you can make a cabinet, shelves, a raised fireplace, steps, columns and many other decorative and functional structures. The more complex the shape, the more you need to cut
Most often, strips of drywall are cut with a knife. The procedure is as follows:
- Measure the required width on the wall.
- Put this distance on the drywall sheet, put marks on its back side.
- Attach the rule by marks, draw a line.
- Pressing the rule tightly, cut cardboard and the upper layer of gypsum along it. Lead the knife with pressure, several times.
- Break the sheet along the cut line so that the cut opens. If the material lies on a table or other elevation - slide it with a cut to the edge of the table; if the sheet is standing - fold it by pulling the edges with your hands, knocking the knee on the whole, uncut side.
- Cut a layer of cardboard on the second, front side, along the obtained fold line.
- If necessary, trim the edge of the gypsum layer with a knife or a planer.
Using specialized disk cutters, you can cut through 2 layers of cardboard at once: you just have to break the sheet.
If you combine them with a parallel focus, then time is also saved on the markup.
In this way, you can cut elements of any size, but only rectangular. The error in the width of the stripes will be 1 - 2 mm, which in most cases is not critical
If you need to cut an arched gypsum board reinforced with fiberglass, or cut through several sheets at once, use a jigsaw or a hand circular saw. It also makes sense to cut with a jigsaw on a parallel stop if high precision is required.
In other cases, the choice of a manual or power tool is a matter of taste. The speed of work with a certain knack with a knife can be even higher, moreover, it does not raise a cloud of dust.
When cutting with a jigsaw, select a blade for metal and drive the tool slowly. Marking is better to draw a marker so that it can be seen through the dust, but only on the back of the sheet.
A hand saw or a saw for long straight cuts is rarely used - this is not rational.
Method number 2 - rectangular and square holes
The easiest way is to cut a rectangle or square under the communication or revision hatch at the edge of the sheet.
For this:
- Mark up.
- Saw the edges perpendicular to the edge with a hacksaw or a jigsaw.
- Cut the cardboard along the remaining edge with a knife.
- Hit the resulting door, breaking it.
- Cut the second layer of cardboard.
If the hatch is in the middle of the sheet, it is convenient to cut it out after fixing the sheet on the wall. To immerse a conventional hacksaw into a sheet, drill one or more holes in a row.
When using a conventional hacksaw for metal, with a blunt nose, you first need to drill holes in each face of the future cut
It is convenient to use a hacksaw on drywall - a fox. Her sharp nose is driven into a sheet until it passes through, and then sawed along the marking line. For each face, the saw is driven into the sheet anew, with a new blade direction.
Cope with cutting drywall already on the wall and a reciprocating saw, if you have one.
Such holes are cut out by a grinder if they fall on a metal profile. Each cut is longer than the edge of the hole. This is not scary - the extra slots will be hidden with putty.
Method number 3 - round holes
A circle of small diameter, as a rule, is cut after installing drywall on a wall or ceiling.
The fastest way to make a cutout is with a drill or screwdriver. Depending on the diameter of the hole, use a pen drill, a crown or a ballerina. The marking of the entire circle in this case is not needed: just the point in the center for the guide drill is enough.
The hole will turn out perfectly smooth and with neat edges - the main thing is to hold the tool firmly during operation and not to press it too hard
You can do with a manual hacksaw if its canvas is narrow enough to rotate.The marking is applied using a compass, or a pencil is drawn around the box, the socket, for which the cutout is intended.
Then they drill a hole under the hacksaw blade and carefully saw drywall according to the markup. If the saw deviates significantly from the intended line, start cutting the other way from the start hole.
A hacksaw for metal or a fox saw on drywall is suitable for holes of medium and large diameter, at least 5 cm
This method most often gives holes of imperfect geometry. They are easy to modify with sandpaper or a file, cutting cardboard with a knife.
Method number 4 - cutting without a tool
When you need to make a cut, but there is no special hacksaw or other tool, you can do with a knife and a hammer. The scheme is simple: you need to cut through the cardboard and the upper layer of gypsum on one side of the sheet, tap the hammer on the edge of the figure, squeezing it. Then cut the cardboard on the back side along the convex contour, finally squeeze out the figure, freeing the hole.
With this treatment, the gypsum layer crumbles along the contour of the cutout, so the edge is sloppy, soft. It is easy to fix with putty.
Method number 5 - curly cutting
From drywall, you can create shapes of any intricate shapes.
Bends of large radius are cut with a jigsaw or a hand hacksaw. To do this, you need to conveniently place the sheet on a hill: 2 chairs, piles of other sheets or something similar. Make sure that the area of the support is sufficient and the sheet does not break under its own weight.
Large curved lines - for example, for covering a wall with an arch - it is better to cut before mounting the sheet on the wall or ceiling
Mark the sheet, for example, by tying a pencil on the thread, fix the second end of the thread in the center and draw a circle. Complex shapes are drawn by hand or by pattern.
Guide the jigsaw or hacksaw along the marking slowly and with minimal pressure so as not to break the sheet. First go around the sharp corners gently: refine them already on the finished figure with a hacksaw, file or knife.
Some figures, especially angular ones, are more convenient to cut with a knife along the patterns. Procedure:
- make a pattern - the model of the figure that you want to cut. It is better to use wooden boards;
- measure the location and circle the pattern with a pencil on one side of the drywall;
- drill a through hole in several corners of the figure;
- Focusing on the holes, attach and circle a pencil on the other side of the sheet. For asymmetric figures, do not forget to turn the blank over, mirroring the image;
- check if the patterns on both sides of the sheet match;
- attach the pattern again and cut the sheet with a knife exactly along the contour as deep as possible;
- repeat on the other side of the sheet;
- gently extrude or hammer out the cut figure;
- Modify the cut lines, corners with a knife or file.
Sometimes it makes sense to make a cutout of complex shape after the sheet is fixed. An ideal tool for such work is a reciprocating saw.
You can use a fox or an ordinary hacksaw to create complex shapes by pre-drilling holes along the width of the canvas in the corners of the picture
The location of the cutout should be foreseen before attaching the drywall to the wall or ceiling, so that then the canvas does not get on the metal profile.
How to remove gypsum dust?
When cutting drywall, very fine dust is formed, which is then difficult to remove. On smooth surfaces, it leaves white stains even after you wash the floor for the third time, and in porous or corrugated it clogs very tightly and reliably.
The easiest way is to prevent pollution. Using a jigsaw or other power tool, connect a vacuum cleaner to it. As a rule, a special round connector is on the case at the back.
Cover the floor with newspapers or oilcloth. If they are moistened, the dust will settle and hold better, but if moisture gets on the drywall, it can ruin it.
Prefer cutting with a clerical knife or disk cutters: when breaking a gypsum layer, dust is practically not formed
Before cleaning the floor, vacuum up the bulk of the gypsum.
To clean a porous or opaque coating - porcelain stoneware, textured linoleum - prepare a mixture of vegetable oil with water. The ratio is 1: 100, that is, in a 10-liter bucket of 100 ml of oil. After washing the floor with such a solution, you draw in particles of the floor from the pores and recesses: they will all gather in an oil film on the surface. Finally, you can clean the floor with a solution of vinegar.
A glossy floor, such as a tiled floor, will relieve white stains of a warm light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
This video shows a tool for quickly cutting strips based on a magnetic disk cutter:
Here is a multifunctional construction knife - a cutter with a built-in tape measure:
Cutting drywall, even without experience and a special tool, is a feasible task for a home foreman. However, using some tricks and devices, you can facilitate and speed up this work, as well as cut out the most intricate forms.
Have you already encountered the need to cut drywall? What tool did you use, were you satisfied with the result? Join the discussion in the comments.