Features and use of knauf reinforcing tape for drywall

Recently, almost no repairs in the apartment, office, cottage or in the country can not do without the use of drywall. In addition to its proper installation, great attention is paid to the treatment of the joints of the plasterboard, especially in the corners.

A reinforcing tape is widely used to strengthen the material and prevent cracking of the putty. Knauf company produces several types of reinforcement tape for drywall.

Drywall - a material that is largely subject to fluctuations in temperature and humidity in the room. This is due to the fact that at the edges it has an unprotected chamfer of an oblique cut. Especially negative environmental conditions affect the joints of the CC sheet. If a special tape is not used to seal the seams, then over time, cracks are formed on them, which are capable of disrupting not only the appearance, but also the strength of the structure constructed of plasterboard.

The use of reinforcing products allows to avoid these negative aspects, and also facilitates the subsequent filling and finishing. The use of tape smoothes irregularities and roughness, which are formed at the joints and makes the surface smooth, which allows for a more qualitative subsequent color of the material.

Knauf produces several types of reinforcing tapes for GK constructions.

Consider the most popular options for builders.

• Perforated. Perforated tape is made of cellulose with the addition of fiberglass, which provides the necessary strength of the product. Perforation applied to the adhesive side is needed for better adhesion to the surface.

Knauf offers several varieties of paper tape:

1. ALux (cornering) - paper tape with the inclusion of metal inserts. This reinforcing product can withstand stretching and other mechanical effects. Increases the strength of the structure and strengthens the seams, allowing the plasterboard to be subjected to significantly greater loads. For convenience of sticking seams in the corners, the tape has a hall in the center along the entire length, which makes it easy to lay it in the necessary places.
2. Knauf kurt is a product of cellulose with the addition of synthetic fibers.It is used for reinforcing the seams of gypsum boards with any types of edge edges. It has high strength, easy to fit and does not give a "wave" when puttying. Width 50 mm, available in rolls of 25 m and 75 m.

Among the disadvantages of paper reinforcing tape can be noted the complexity of the work with it. Therefore, to use such a product without experience with drywall is not recommended: the risk is high to get poorly processed seams.

• Serpyanka. It is a self-adhesive mesh with dimensions of 45 mm or 50 mm. Made of fiberglass and produced in rolls of 20 m, 45 m and 90 m.

In addition to the obvious advantages, the Serpyanka has its drawbacks. So, the level of its strength is inferior to paper tape, and to fix the product should carefully select the appropriate type of putty. In addition, care should be taken to ensure that the putty is applied evenly across the entire width and length of the gypsum joint treated with serpyanka.

• Damper. Used when laying drywall on the floor. It consists of polyethylene foam and has excellent waterproofing properties. Its main advantage - it compensates for the expansion of the floors of the GCR.In addition, it is easy and convenient to work with.
• Sealing. Knauf-Dikhtungsband is a self-adhesive polymer tape used for tightly fitting metal profiles, which are used during the installation of gypsum boards. Provides tight fit as well as excellent sound insulation.

After joining the gypsum board, they begin to putty and reinforce the resulting joints.

The following tools and materials are needed for this:

• chamfering plane;
• putty knife;
• putty;
• reinforcing tape;
• construction mixer;
• capacity for mixing putty;
• water;
• scissors;
• sandpaper;
• construction knife

The most suitable for Knauf reinforcing tapes is Uniflot putty from the manufacturer of the same name. According to the reviews of masters, it is durable, well applied and ideally combined with both paper tape and serpyanka.

Consider the sequence of sealing seams of drywall structures:

• The surface is carefully prepared. To get rid of construction dust, a vacuum cleaner is used, and the remnants of the solution or irregularities are removed with a spatula.
• Bevels are chamfering with a planer. Only cut sheets are subjected to such actions, but if a factory cut, it is not necessary to prepare it. The cut angle is 25-45 °. It is important to bevel the chamfer on both sides, this will facilitate the application of putty.
• Joints are primed.
• After the soil dries (time depends on the type of primer, as well as on the parameters of temperature and humidity in the room), the seams are puttied with a suitable mixture. It is applied evenly over the entire length of the joint and carefully leveled with a spatula.
• After that the reinforcing tape is pasted. It is important to put it on a still wet putty, which will provide a stronger connection. The surface is leveled with a spatula.
• After drying, the seams are rubbed with sandpaper.

• When working to strengthen the joints between the FCL, it is necessary to take into account certain nuances.
• The heads of the screws should be recessed by 1 mm in a drywall sheet. Otherwise, the output will be irregularities that will not be possible to smooth out.
• To avoid the appearance of cracks, before reinforcing the seams one should make sure that the sheets of drywall are installed correctly and the metal frame is properly fixed.
• If there is no chamfer at the joints, it is necessary to apply it yourself, otherwise the tape and the seam will burst after sealing.
• In order to avoid microcracks in the corners, it is necessary to fill them with putty very carefully and evenly.

• If a special tape is not used for the corners, then the usual one must first be folded in half and then glued to the seam.
• It is important to read the information on the packaging of the putty or follow the recommendations of the manufacturer of reinforcing tape. Some compositions are simply incompatible with the reinforcing tape and will not be able to keep it at the junction.
• When bubbles appear on a paper tape, they need to be pierced with a needle, and then carefully glued these places.
• If the GKL joint is very large in length, it is possible to facilitate the gluing of the reinforcing tape. To do this, it is cut into small pieces, usually not more than 1 m, and carry out gluing in stages.
• Some plasterboard drywall compounds dry quickly. This information should be taken into account and should not be applied to the entire length of the joint at once.

The choice of the desired type of Knauf tape depends on several criteria:

• Skill level In the absence of experience, a serpyanka should be preferred, and a paper tape should be abandoned, since it is more complicated to install.
• For corners, it is better to use a paper tape, preferably a cornering one.
• Do not use serpyanka for seams, which will be subjected to significant mechanical stress, since this material has the ability to stretch, which adversely affects its reinforcing properties.

Tape to strengthen the seams between the gypsum board is a necessary element that, when properly used, can increase the service life of the structure up to 10 years.

For how to properly stack the reinforcing tape, see the following video.