How To Place Drywall In Dry Construction With Laser Levels

One of the essential factors in everything type of constructionAs well as in dry construction, it is the correct leveling and plumbing of the base structures, and of any element that is part of the building itself.

As essential, these leveling and plumbing processes must be performed with great care to ensure accurate and correct results. That is why various manufacturers of tools They have relied on advanced technology to design work instruments that allow these tasks to be carried out with the greatest possible precision. Between these tools are laser levels, which will be the focus of our article.

With the use of laser levels you can save time and money, since the task that previously required various work instruments such as tape measures, squares, plumb lines, spirit levels, can now be carried out with the use of a laser level. On the other hand, the laser level it can be operated by a single person without any inconvenience.

In this post we will be describing the step by step of how to place drywall in dry construction with laser levels.

Placing drywall in dry construction with laser level

Prior to the installation of the plasterboard, it is essential to verify the leveling and plumbness of the area where the work will be carried out. The leveling of the floor and the plumbness of the walls should be carefully checked. In a previous Demaquinas y Tools article, we already explained floor leveling with a surface laser level and plumbing a wall with a point laser level, so we will proceed with the next steps.

If at the end of the verification of the area, differences or irregularities are found, they should be corrected using putty, wedges, remodeling and even demolition. The leveling and plumbing of the work area is essential to proceed with the installation of the plasterboard on the dry build.

Installation of the base structure – dry construction

Once you have a completely plumb and level work area, you will proceed to draw the lines where the metal or wooden structure that will support the plasterboard will be located.

• A starting point is taken as a base to place the tape measure or laser distance meter, and from that point the place where the first wall will be placed will be defined, extending the tape measure or projecting the laser line of the Distance Meter. In some cases, the location of the first screed can be defined, with the use of a line laser level, as seen in the image below. Once the exact place has been defined, the line where the respective screed will be installed is traced with chalk on the floor. Once this is done, said screed is installed.

• To draw the line of the upper screed corresponding to the screed that has just been installed, use is made of the laser level plummet. To do this, you just have to place the level on the sill installed on the floor, turn it on, wait for it to self-level and activate the plumb line option. In this way, a laser point will be projected on the ceiling, which will be the mirror of the point projected on the floor on the installed floor. The point on the ceiling will serve as a guide to draw the respective line, and proceed with the installation of the upper sill.

Laser level – laser plummet

Note: some models of laser level They have stands or tripods that allow you to place them firmly and safely in different places. In this case, it could be firmly placed on the sill installed on the floor, to project the point on the ceiling without any error.

• To define the location of the other walls, you can select the first installed bottom sill or any other central point as the starting point. From there and with the use of a point and line laser level, you can project the future location of the other walls. You can take advantage of the laser level, wait for it to calibrate and leave it on with the projected lines and dots, while you install the horizontal screeds on the floor and ceiling, and the vertical ones for the edges.

Point and line laser level

• Once the screeds (with their respective anchors) that define the frame or edges of the walls have been installed, you can proceed to install the studs that divide or section each wall. These must be installed at a certain distance from each other; distance that is generally defined by the manufacturer.
• In case you had to cut the size of the studs to install them, you need to make sure that their dies are perfectly level, as you will need to run the electrical wiring through them. This leveling can also be carried out with the use of a line laser level. When installing the first stud, have one of the level lines pass through the die. When you are installing the rest of the studs, validate that the laser line passes through the corresponding die.
• Once the entire structure of the dry buildwe proceed with the laying of the cables and the installation of the outlets.

Placing the plasterboard

Upon completion of the previous steps, the wall plasterboarding continues.

• The plasterboard will be placed vertically and parallel to the studs. Due to this, it is essential that the plates are installed completely plumb, since otherwise problems could be generated with the wall in general, causing the plates already installed to detach.
• Once the laser level is placed, it turns on, you wait until the device self-levels and begins to rotate. The level will project a line onto the four walls of the work area.

Note: Depending on the laser level model, the projected lines can be green or red. The green lines are much more visible in general terms.

• We rotate the level on its support or we rotate the tripod (depending on how the working instrument has been fixed), so that the projected line reaches the upper edge where the plasterboard will be installed. The laser level is then adjusted to that position.
• We hope that the device will self-level again and we proceed to check that the beam of light is perfectly horizontal in relation to the upper edge where the drywall will be installed.
• When placing each plasterboard, align the top edge of the plasterboard with the line drawn by the laser level. The plate is then fixed to the studs using the respective screws.

Dry construction – plasterboard fixing

• Once all the plasterboards have been placed on one side of the structure, proceed in the same way with the plates that will be installed on the opposite side of said structure.
• When the job is finished, the laser level and disassembles from its support.

Using a laser level they can be placed plasterboard in a dry construction without any difficulty. It is enough to follow the simple instructions in the manual of the device, to enjoy all the advantages and facilities that it offers.