Drywall square recommendation needed - UK

[Brunel]

Hi,

I need to build a studded wall and want to get a drywall square to mark out the plasterboard (sheetrock to the yanks). I've seen ones by Stanley, Empire, Johnson, Swanson, Irwin, and Marshalltown. Any recommendations?

I don't need an adjustable one, just a fixed 90 degrees. I'll want to use it for woodwork in the future, and accuracy is very important to me

Thanks!

 

[dutchgray]

I like Empire stuff, but any in your list should be fine, personally I have never used a square on plasterboard, just do everything by measurement, the sheets come square.

 

[engineer2]

I have a Johnson and it works fine.

I have used it for plywood construction, but if you are making furniture, you need a higher level of precision. Measure twice cut once, or as Russians say, measure 7 times cut once.

In the USA I've heard all 3 terms used (drywall, plasterboard, sheetrock). Drywall and sheetrock are the most common though.

So what sizes are plasterboard in the UK? Here the most common is 4 ft x 8 ft x 1/2" thick.

 

[dutchgray]

8' by 4' by 1/2" or 3/8" thick, well metric equivalents anyway, 2400 by 1200, if your doing a wall with plasterboard one side and ply the other, you have to cut every sheet of ply down.
1800 by 900 is relatively common, for loft conversions etc
You could get 1200 by 400 "laths" at one time, not seen one in years though, never seen a sheet bigger than the 8 by 4 though myself.
There are a lot of grades as well, fire, water, sound resistant, insulated backed, plain edge for plastering or taper edge for tape and fill.
There was a time when they came with the edges joined by the paper, so in pairs and you had to split them, you were expected to carry the 2 sheets on your own anywhere, about 115 lb.

 

[engineer2]

There was a time when they came with the edges joined by the paper, so in pairs and you had to split them, you were expected to carry the 2 sheets on your own anywhere, about 115 lb.

That's how they are sold here, but the stores have no problem with you tearing the paper edge off to separate them. A double sheet of 4x12 takes 2 people to carry at 154 lbs. We also use 5/8" thick "firestop" for ceilings and certain areas.

 

[dutchgray]

They don't come in pairs here now, just singles all the same way up on a pallet.
Our fire resistant stuff has some fibers in it to make it hold up, plus its a denser mix I think, or you can use 2 layers of standard 12mm instead