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How to make drywall niches in the wall with your own hands? Various niches and their drywall constructions, preparation and installation How to make a frame for a drywall niche

A niche is a built-in recess or ledge; it is intended for equipping storage areas, zoning, and as a design object. Drywall is often used on walls and ceilings. Since this is an easy-to-process material, it lends itself well to cutting, and a special arched one can even bend. The structures are light in weight and visually. You can make them in the bedroom or living room with your own hands, without the help of professionals, using a detailed drawing.

  • Replace cabinet furniture. Wall recesses are suitable for use as cabinets, shelving or shelves in the living room, nursery or bathroom.
  • Hide unwanted elements (beams, pipes, heating radiators, curtain rods).
  • Divide the room into zones. Niche with shelves instead of deaf wall fit to distinguish between a studio apartment or a nursery for several kids, as well as a bedroom combined with a workplace.
  • Complement the interior or become its main focus.
  • Correct the geometry of the rooms. Horizontal ones give visual volume, vertical ones raise the ceiling.

Suitable for any premises: residential and non-residential, heated and not. To finish the bath or balcony, you will need moisture-resistant drywall. Pay attention to the thickness of the sheet, it can be from 0.65 to 1.25 cm. The thinnest one is for arches and decorative niches that will not carry any functional load. GKL 0.9 cm thick is used for multilevel ceilings and recesses in the walls for light objects. A thicker one is used when mounting shelves for heavy objects - aquariums, flowers, large figurines. It is permissible to assemble the frame both from wooden bars and from a metal profile. The latter option is preferable, as it is faster and easier to work with.

Drywall niches are of two types:

  • Open. They are used as a decorative element, a storage place for collections, photos, books, TV placement. Most appropriate in the living room, nursery, bedroom.
  • Closed. Suitable for clothes, household appliances and other things that need to be hidden from prying eyes.

GCR can be painted, wallpapered, decorated with decorative stone. Spot lighting or LED strip around the perimeter will help to complement the finish, they will make the design even lighter and more airy.

We make a niche for the TV with our own hands

One of the most popular ways is to place the TV in the living room or bedroom. This is justified not only by aesthetic qualities, but also by the ability to install the device at a convenient height, hide sockets and wires. The screen will be visually built into the wall and will not protrude much above the surface.

The work consists of several stages:

  • Preparation (measuring the dimensions of the structure, creating a drawing, calculating materials).
  • Frame construction (marking working surface, installation of electrical wiring, profile installation).
  • Niche trim drywall sheets.
  • Seam sealing.
  • Decorative finish.

It takes only a couple of days to assemble a simple do-it-yourself built-in drywall niche with several shelves for books and interior details.

1. Preparation.

When drawing up a diagram, it is necessary to measure the width, height and depth of the structure. When calculating the latter, consider the dimensions of the objects that. If this is a TV, then you need to measure its width and add a small gap for sockets and ventilation. The shield must be recessed or flush with the outside.

Apply three main measurements on a sheet of paper in frontal and lateral projections. Next, mark the location of the shelves. When calculating their dimensions, be sure to take into account that they must be larger than the objects placed inside in width and height. Otherwise, it will not work to fix and connect a TV or audio equipment, since the hand simply will not pass.

Based on the resulting sketch, it is easy to make an approximate calculation of materials. But there must be a margin, since the sheets and the profile will have to be cut into many parts. Also for work you will need:

  • fasteners. Self-tapping screws for metal (black with a funnel head) for fastening the plasterboard to the frame, dowels for mounting guide profiles to the floor, ceiling and walls, short self-tapping screws with a drill for connecting racks to each other.
  • Rack and guide profiles, suspensions, connectors, corners.
  • Instruments. Tape measure, level, pencil, screwdriver, metal shears, construction knife, spatulas, sandpaper on a block, puncher.
  • Materials for sealing seams. Primer, putty, mesh-serpyanka.

If you decide to make a niche with backlight, then lay out the wires in advance and install sockets, provide access to them. There is no need to ditch the walls, the wiring will not be visible anyway.

2. Mounting the frame.

The working area must be freed from furniture and mark the location of the niche on the floor and recesses on the walls.

Step-by-step instruction:

  • Fix the guide profiles on the floor and ceiling with dowels with a fixation step of 30-40 cm.
  • If the main plane is flat and will be visible through the niche, then the guides will need to be installed on the side walls, at the level of the shelves and in places where the plates are perpendicular to the base surface. If the base has drops, use hangers and sew back wall GKL.
  • Place the racks that will become the basis of the frame, at least every 40 cm, strictly according to the level.
  • Make horizontal jumpers from the rack profile, first in places where there will be recesses, then the rest, which serve to strengthen the crate. Fix them with metal screws.

Additional jumpers should be installed where you plan to install heavy objects, for example, an aquarium or a live flower in a large pot.

3. Frame sheathing.

It starts with measuring and cutting suitable fragments. First, the vertical sheets of the front part of the structure are fixed, then the horizontal ones - the shelves, then - the side and upper walls of the recesses. GKL is mounted using self-tapping screws for metal with a hidden hat in increments of 15-20 cm. The fasteners should go deep into the slab by no more than 1 mm.

At this stage, you need to make holes for the fixtures and lay the wiring to them according to the diagram. If the niche in the plasterboard wall is illuminated from the inside, then when installing the recess, an indent from the base should be provided equal to the width of the box for led strip. It is not necessary to install lighting fixtures yet.

4. Sealing.

Puttying is a crucial stage, since the quality of the performance of these works largely depends appearance structure and its strength.

Seam guide:

  • reinforce all outer corners of the niche with perforated corners;
  • at the joints of drywall sheets on the plane, make a triangular groove and strengthen them with a sickle mesh;
  • before puttying, check with a spatula whether all self-tapping screws are recessed;
  • on the finished structure apply a primer and dry;
  • cover all joints: corner and on the plane - with gypsum putty;
  • after drying, rub to smoothness with sandpaper.

Next stage - finishing. If the work is done perfectly, then it is enough just to paint or paste the wallpaper. Helps cover up minor imperfections decorative rock, liquid wallpaper, tiles and other materials. One of the big advantages of GKL is the ideal basis for many types of finishes. When the niche is completely ready, it's time to start installing the backlight, the wiring has already been laid, it remains only to fix the lamps and connect to the network.

Common Mistakes

Experts with experience will tell you how to prevent serious violations:

  • The thickness of the drywall and the grade of the profile must correspond to the load on the finished structure. Do not use ceiling materials in wall installation.
  • Do not choose for the first time an option with complex elements, curvilinearity and small details.
  • It is better not to make the niche too deep. It will look bulky.
  • Do not neglect work that improves strength. Additional jumpers and perforated corners will significantly increase the service life of the structure.
  • It must not be mounted on a curved base surface (with a difference of more than 2 cm) without a rear panel cladding.
  • Don't skimp on lighting. Backlight - great tool for a finished look.

Such a voluminous decorative element allows you to remove a lot without destroying the base. domestic problems. When assembling drywall niches with wall mounting (this is more correct definition the essence of the work) various goals are pursued - arranging a place for storing toys (if it is for children), installing household appliances, optimizing the usable space, which allows more rational placement of furniture in the room, additional decoration of the room or otherwise.

There is no need to consider all options, since the specifics of cutting and fixing drywall (and for a niche built by one's own hands, GKL is the most best material) remains unchanged, regardless of the implemented plans of the owner. If the reader understands all the features of each technological stage, then without any difficulties he will be able to make a drywall niche with his own hands according to his own drawings - of any size and configuration. The nuances of designing and assembling the box is the topic of the proposed article.

Preparatory activities

Drafting

No one will work "blindly". Therefore, you need to choose a place and spend everything necessary measurements taking into account the volume of the niche and the convenience of attaching its frame to the wall, not only with your own hands, but also with the help of the tool available in the house. Especially for such a one-time job, it is hardly reasonable for the owner of a city apartment to acquire, for example, a “grinder”.

The remains of the material after cutting it are, as a rule, extra costs. And whether cutting profiles, slats or small fragments of gypsum boards will be useful in the household is unknown and unlikely. All necessary for homemade Niche materials are sold in the form of blanks in standard sizes.

To reduce the amount of waste, it is desirable to correlate them with the dimensions of the place where the structure is supposed to be installed, thereby optimizing costs. Therefore, the design features depend on the products (samples) that are supposed to be purchased. By the way, it is this nuance that is often not taken into account if something is done in the house with your own hands.

Niche compartment dimensions in those places where it is supposed to be installed on shelves Appliances(for example, TV) should be several more sizes technology. This is due to the need for natural cooling of the equipment in the operating mode. Otherwise, overheating and equipment failure are inevitable.

Material selection

For frame

There are few options for a niche - wood or metal profiles. From the point of view of practicality, it is better not to mess with a tree, regardless of the specifics of the room. main reason- it gradually dries out, and changes in humidity and temperature affect. As a result, the entire structure will “lead” over time.

And since drywall, by definition, is a rather brittle material, it takes a long time for a niche, the frame of which is assembled from wooden slats, will not stand still.

It can be different, so it’s wiser to opt for aluminum - and the weight is less, and the workpieces are cheaper, and the processing is easier (since the material is soft).

For lining a niche

There are several for sale. One thing is certain - for a niche it is necessary to choose products of the "moisture resistant" category. But in terms of thickness, one should focus not only on the shape and dimensions of the box, but also on the purpose of the shelves. If something massive is not supposed to be placed on them, then arched drywall is quite enough. Its thickness is less than analogues of the ceiling and wall (about 6 mm), respectively, and the cost is lower.

The order of construction of a niche

Wall marking

Nothing complicated - a drawn drawing is projected onto it (taking into account the scale).

Foundation preparation

There is no need to talk about her thoroughness, since the niche will close all the flaws. But in order to evaluate the convenience of fastening in this particular place, you should attach a profile rail to the wall and see how tightly it fits, and if there are any significant distortions. If necessary, at least partial alignment will have to be done. The technique is selected depending on the size of the defect.

It is easy to bring down the bulge (chisel + hammer), seal it into the recess with a solution. In some cases, to give a profile right position you can use wedges, linings and the like in the process of attaching it.

Laying el / wiring

If it is decided to highlight a niche, then about the connection method lighting fixtures need to think ahead.

Recommendation - in order not to gouge the wall under the gate, you can put the main part of the line under the plinth. By the way, plastic products are just designed for secret laying of wire (cable) communications. Comfortable and modern.

Frame assembly

The specifics of the work depends on the dimensions of the future niche.

If the box is small, and the base for mounting is fairly even, then it is more convenient to assemble the frame first, and then fix it on the wall.

What to consider - when assembling the skeleton of the box, one cannot do. To check the correct geometry of the niche frame, it is advisable to use a square. It is easy to make it yourself, and the length of the "rays" of this device should be commensurate with the smallest side of the mounted three-dimensional form. Then the total value of inevitable measurement errors will be reduced to a minimum.

A niche of impressive dimensions is mounted in parts, like any prefabricated structure. According to the markup, the carrier profiles are attached. They also serve as guides. The appearance of the niche and its stability under load depend on how accurately (according to the drawing) and reliably they will be fixed on the wall.

Recommendation - if the niche is designed so that it reaches the floor, then you should not be limited to only wall mount rails. At the bottom, they should all be “fastened” (if possible) to the floorboards as well. Such installation will give the entire assembly additional stability.

All that remains is to assemble the niche frame from individual parts (sections of the metal profile) and check its geometry and resistance to deformation.

Plasterboard sheathing

Fragments of the required dimensions and geometry are prepared in advance. Immediately after cutting, each should be tried on at the place of its installation. If necessary, adjust to the required size. At the same stage, drilling holes for self-tapping screws is also performed.

What to consider when sheathing

  • The heads of the niche fasteners must be recessed into the drywall sheet. Therefore, chamfers are necessarily made with a larger diameter drill.
  • How will the finishing of the niche be done. Based on this, the need and method for sealing the joints of sheets in the corners is determined. There are several options for this work. Since it is unlikely that it will be possible to make cutting ideal with your own hands, you can remove a part of the gypsum along the edges (in the form of a chamfer). After joining the GKL fragments, the seams formed on the surface of the niche can be easily filled with putty, leveled and sanded. Additionally, it is recommended to stick a serpentine tape on top and paint over with a thin layer.

niche finishing

If the niche is supposed to be painted to match the walls, then its surface should be prepared. Firstly, the paint on the “clean” drywall will lie poorly, and secondly, it will partially soak into the gypsum, and the sheet will swell. Therefore, it is advisable to first process the entire box with finishing putty. Its difference from analogues is that all solid fractions in the composition of the mixture are microscopic. After leveling such a coating, it is polished with the finest sandpaper.

For all other types of finishes (for example, wallpapering), all sides of the niche should be treated with a primer. It will significantly increase the adhesion of surfaces and provide a stronger bonding of the cladding.

If it is necessary to equip a backlight in a separate compartment of a niche, then it is more expedient to use (cords). Installing spotlights is a more complicated process. First, you have to drill drywall. Secondly, calculate the optimal power of the bulbs. In addition, the tapes can be shifted at any time by changing the lighting and design of the room. You won’t be able to experiment with lamps in this way, except by turning off one or more of them.

When using lamps with light bulbs, the circuit should be powered through a step-down Tr (36, 24 or 12 V). More high voltage, given that the frame of the niche is metal, it is not recommended to use it.

When arranging a niche with your own hands, do not be afraid to experiment. There is no standard for such prefabricated structures. If desired, swing or sliding doors can be made in separate compartments.

Niche - a recess in the wall, acting as a decor or furniture - to accommodate a cabinet, shelf, flowerpot, sculpture. It is convenient to equip it when sheathing the wall with panel materials. For example, assemble from GKL sheets on a frame, followed by painting, plastering the wall. How to make a drywall niche with your own hands, and what kind of finished wall decor can be?

Why do niches in the walls

Modern decoration uses niches as functional elements. They can not only place cabinets and shelves, but also install various techniques TV screens, loudspeakers, objects electronic engineering. They can also equip, arrange a night light.

Niches are often used to mask protruding objects - for example, heating radiators. Or to visually enlarge a small space. Narrow vertical recesses in the wall “raise” the ceilings, and horizontal recesses “expand” the rooms.

Therefore, their arrangement is often used in small spaces, one-room apartments, Khrushchev. Also, recesses in the walls are often made in those rooms where there should be a minimum of furniture - corridors,.

On a note: in the same room can be successfully combined various options plasterboard finishes - niches, arches and columns made of plasterboard.

Shapes and sizes

A niche is a recess that can have a different shape, size and additional decor. What it might look like:

  • Shape - can be rectangular, square, with an arched vault. It can be placed vertically or horizontally. Possible unusual shape- rounded, with curved lines.
  • The shape of the recess - can be a step with a right angle between the side surface and the wall. Or you can equip a rounded recess in the wall.
  • Perhaps the presence of lighting in the form of built-in lamps - spot LED lamps.
  • There may be other electrical equipment - sockets, switches, if you plan to put a TV, home theater, music center, speakers in a niche.
  • There may be doors on the sides - such recesses in the wall are called closed niches. Recesses without doors are called open.

Tools and materials

To equip a niche in the wall with the help of GKL sheets, you will need the following materials and tools:

  • Drywall sheets - for living rooms use ordinary plasterboard, for the kitchen - moisture-resistant drywall boards. Moisture-resistant panels do not dampen, and for a visual difference they are produced painted in green.
  • Aluminum profile - sold in various sizes section, with a length of up to 4 m. For the arrangement of plasterboard walls, a profile with a section of 27x60 mm is often used.
  • Fasteners: plastic dowels with metal screws or dowel-nails - for fastening the profiles to the wall. If the wall is brick or concrete, take self-tapping screws 40 mm long. Self-tapping screws for attaching profiles to each other - often take the so-called "bugs" with a thread-drill 9 mm long. Self-tapping screws for fastening GKL - a length of 25 mm is sufficient if 1 layer of drywall is used.
  • Drywall knife or grinder, electric jigsaw, hacksaw for cutting drywall sheets, metal shears for cutting profiles.
  • Screwdriver, drill and screwdriver - for tightening screws and self-tapping screws.
  • Level or plumb - for measuring horizontals and verticals.
  • Ruler, pencil, tape measure - to determine the size.
  • Serpyanka tape - reinforcing tape for sealing seams, joints.
  • Corners - to strengthen the outer corners and give them a perfect smooth shape.
  • Spatula - for applying and leveling putty.
  • Putty for drywall - "Start" and "Finish".
  • You will also need materials for subsequent wall decoration - paint, plaster, wallpaper.

    On a note: since the niche should be a recess in the wall, when arranging it, it will be necessary to sheathe with plasterboard not only the cavity itself, but also the entire wall or most of it.

    Sequence of work

    We list the sequence of work that allows you to decorate the wall aesthetically and correctly:

  1. Marking - drawing on the wall the location of the recess, its shape and size. It is done with a pencil, tape measure and ruler. In the presence of electrical equipment, indicate the place of supply electric cable and the location of the built-in socket, lamp.
  2. Mounting on the wall frames made of metal profile- for this, metal guides are cut to size and connected in the form of frames. Inside the frame, jumpers are made across the width - every 400 mm. The width of the frames determines the depth of the future niche.

    For cutting profiles, you will need scissors for metal. To connect them together - small self-tapping screws with a drill head, 9 mm long. The frames are screwed to the wall at the markup. They are placed perpendicular to the wall. The horizontal and vertical profiles on the wall are checked with a level. For curvilinear and arched forms, a flexible profile is used.

    On a note: if the walls of the room were initially uneven, it is necessary to align them, make a “base”. Otherwise, there will be gaps between the side surfaces of the niche and the wall.

  3. If there is a backlight or sockets, an electrical cable is laid.
  4. According to the assembled frame, sheathing with GKL sheets is performed. To do this, they are cut under certain size. Cut them with a drywall knife. Swipe with the tip of a knife on the surface of the GCR and after that - lightly hit the GCR sheet. The sheet breaks at the point of cutting with a knife. After that, the finished pieces of drywall are applied to the frame and screwed with self-tapping screws. To do this, use self-tapping screws 25 mm long and a screwdriver, a screwdriver.

    Sheathing sequence - first side surfaces. Then all the others. In the presence of sockets and lamps, holes are cut out at their locations. For curvilinear and vaulted recesses, arched drywall is used - it is bent, as in the arrangement of arches and round columns.

    Important: the caps of the self-tapping screws deepen flush with the surface of the gypsum plasterboard, “turn flush”. This will facilitate the filling of joints and recesses, will allow you to get a completely flat interior surface.

    Further operations are performed if drywall is planned to be covered with paint, plaster or wallpapered.

    1. Primer- performed with an adhesive mixture. Priming the surface improves its adhesion, ensures high-quality fastening of the future putty to drywall.
    2. Leveling and termination joints, seams with reinforcing serpentine tape. It is glued on PVA. Before gluing the sickle, the edge of the GKL sheet is cut to a chamfer, approximately 25 °. This will align the joints without bumps.
    3. Sticking perforated corners- for better design outside corners.
    4. Putty- is performed for the final alignment of the entire surface of drywall, smoothing the putty at the joints.
    5. Surface grinding- for final alignment.
    6. Primer- impregnation of the putty with an adhesive mixture, improves the adhesion of the putty surface, is necessary for good fastening wallpaper, paint, plaster.
    7. Finishing- painting, plastering, wallpapering. It is also possible to install decorative panels - gluing laminated chipboard, MDF, in the bathroom - PVC or plastic. But for such a finish, the previous operations of priming, puttying, gluing sickle and perforated corners are not needed.

Drywall niches are another clear proof of the versatility of the material, with which you can now create not only walls and partitions, arches or wall cladding, but also wonderful shelves and niches for decorating household electronics.

Judge for yourself, it is much more convenient to place decorative lighting, a plasma TV, stereo speakers in nice niches than just on top of the wall, hammering a couple of dowels. And, if you have a desire to decorate your home with such beauty, we will describe the process in detail right now.

Decorative and functional niches in the walls make the geometry of the room interesting, help to implement different design ideas. You can build a niche with your own hands even in the wall where it was not there before. Moreover, this solution does not hide the space, but even visually expands it. The functional load of such structures is multivariate - a niche for a TV, a shelf for books, a place for an aquarium, mirrors or paintings. Such a recess looks especially advantageous in the hallway or bedroom interior, where the design provides for a minimum of decor and furniture.

Before you make beautiful niches with your own hands, you need to clarify the size and depth. When choosing a place for deepening, one must take into account the location of the furniture - it should not block the opening.

Niche design can be arranged vertically or horizontally, there are also floor options, where the built-in is placed decorative fireplace, large vases with flowers, other decorative details, the height of which does not exceed 80 cm.

A beautiful niche, especially in the hallway or for the bedroom, can be closed or open. In the first variant, sliding doors according to the closet principle. The design of niches is complemented by mirrors, lighting, polystyrene baguettes and other materials. Before installing the backlight, it is necessary to plan in advance the placement of the liner with switches. Decorative lighting is provided by spot or decorative lamps, electric fireplace. In the latter version, the niche is designed in the form of a fireplace portal, the finish is stone or wood.

Choosing tiles, wood or other finishing material, it should be borne in mind that without effective lighting, a niche can give the impression of a dark hole, especially if its color is darker than the walls. Visually expand the niche space of a mirror or finishing with glossy ceramic tiles.

Another touch - the design of a niche in the walls is ideally combined not only with the complex geometry of the walls, but also with suspended multi-level ceilings.

DIY ideas for beautiful niches (video)

What is necessary

First of all, we take measurements, draw a project, purchase materials and start creating a niche.

Do not forget about the finishing materials that you need to think over and purchase in advance, you can even with the drywall itself, profile and fasteners.


Beginning the process

So, we are starting to create a niche, let it be for a plasma TV, which must be placed on the wall in front of the sofa and armchairs. How to do it right?

Initially, sketch the simplest plan, just for myself, to make it easier to work in the future. After that, make markings on the prepared wall, where you apply all the dimensions of the TV, niche, its decor, finishes. Do not forget that you must immediately bring power into the niche, a satellite or ordinary cable, wires for sound, and so on, and fix it all inside the future niche.

When preparatory work finished, we proceed to the preparation and cutting of materials.

Remember that here you will need to take into account not only the markings on the wall, but also the depth of the niche.

Metal frame installation

Installing the frame and sewing it up is quite simple, since we have already learned this several times, but we will repeat the most basic points. Immediately fasten the profile to the walls, strictly according to the level, on correct fasteners thus creating a framework for drywall niche. Further, having set the required depth of the niche, build up the frame with a profile as much as necessary (it will be much easier for you to work this way). After the frame is installed, we proceed to plasterboard sheathing, which should already be cut strictly to size.

sheathing

Any person who has at least once encountered drywall works or visited our site. Everything is very simple here - you apply the finished pieces of plasterboard to the metal frame and, using a screwdriver and metal screws, sheathe a niche.

Do not forget that you need to make your work easier initially, and for this, be sure to turn the fastener caps flush into pieces of plasterboard.

putty

Now that the plasterboard niche has been finished, you need to move on to the next step - priming and puttying. First primer in two layers, allowing each of them to dry well, and then apply putty on the material. There are a lot of corners in our design, and therefore, we recommend that you definitely use auxiliary elements- perfougly and sickle.

These elements are attached to starting putty, and after careful leveling and drying, they are finished with finishing putty.

Finishing

The final stage is the finishing of the GKL niche, which can be made using a lot of materials, but since we did a good job of puttying and sealing joints and corners, apparently, we will paint the niche water-based paint. You can also always paste over some of its parts with wooden decorative panels, laminated chipboard, special decor, everything is up to you, but it’s better not to paint the internal parts right away, since mirrors can be placed there.

Assembly steps

Step-by-step instructions for assembling niches with your own hands includes milestones, on each of which questions or difficulties may arise. The advice of experienced professionals will help you to better perform work at all stages.

  • The niche device begins with the choice of a place, then they think over the shape and dimensions, taking into account the thickness of the frame and the plasterboard.
  • The detailed drawing must take into account the cabling and lighting.
  • The design is marked on the wall with a tape measure, ruler and pencil, indicating the places where the frame is attached. Measure the depth of the niche from the wall, add the thickness of the plasterboard (13mm) and mark the profile attachment line.
  • With the help of a plumb line, the markup is transferred to the ceiling.

  • With small screws, a frame of metal profiles and guides is fixed on it. The guides must match the marked lines. For rigid fixation, the vertical segments of the profile are placed opposite the horizontal ones.
  • Connect the vertical segments with jumpers from the metal profile. Control the process with any building level.
  • Drywall strips on the frame are fixed with self-tapping screws, sequentially sewing up the entire niche: first the side parts, then everything else
  • Finishing a niche with your own hands begins with fixing the joints with reinforcing tape, then sealing the seams and processing the corners, applying several layers of putty.
  • After drying, the surface is treated with sanding paper.
  • Prime and decorate the surface. Finishing - wallpaper, tiles, wood, moldings and paint.

How to make a drywall niche (video)

In the hall

Niches decorate any room. If there is a dead end in the hallway, it can be fenced off without problems in order to rationally manage this area. An open or closed niche in this part can be equipped with a hanger or dressing room.

In the kitchen

In the kitchen, every centimeter of space is taken into account, so the niche design here is not just shelves - you can mount them in kitchen appliances(washing or dishwasher, refrigerator, etc.).

If a niche in the kitchen is intended for appliances, additional space must be taken into account for air access to electrical appliances and communications.

To work in the kitchen, it is necessary to select GKL of a greenish color, which withstand well high humidity and temperature difference.

Near the window

If a niche in the kitchen or in utility room made under a gas boiler, meters or a heating radiator, the opening can be closed with a perforated grille finish.

For niches near the utility window, fire-resistant or waterproof drywall is used.

GCR is fixed on a metal frame or glue - depending on the load.

Corner niches

Even in small apartment for a niche in the kitchen or in the bedroom, you can always sacrifice a corner. This dead zone usable area will eat a minimum, but an ergonomic dressing room or a decorative fireplace looks very impressive.

Design for the bedroom

In the interior of a bedroom, a niche can serve as a decorative element where you can place a collection or flowers, as well as a functional element, for example, a TV shelf, where it is convenient to hide all the cords.

If you make the TV niche closed, you can lock it, controlling the time that children spend in front of the TV.

To make a niche by the window, in the hallway or for the bedroom with your own hands, you do not need to be a qualified builder. It is enough to stock up on drywall sheets, self-tapping screws, a metal profile, a grinder, a drill, a tape measure, a plumb line, a reinforcing tape, a spatula, putty, a building level, and most importantly, a fantasy and a desire to update the interior design without special costs and overhaul.

Advantages of a drywall niche, varieties, design and calculation of materials, installation of the structure and plasterboard sheathing, features of finishing and decorative work.

The content of the article:

A niche in a plasterboard wall is a multifunctional design that is very popular in the decoration and design of apartments. Modern designers who strive for minimalism when furnishing rooms replace many interior items with such niches. You can create it with your own hands, moreover, it is a practical object that you can use at your discretion.

Functions and types of niches in a plasterboard wall


Modern designers practice the use of niches in the wall of various shapes, sizes and depths. The use of these structures in the premises allows you to solve a number of such issues:
  1. Zoning of the apartment space;
  2. Convenient placement of household appliances, books, toys, collections and other things;
  3. Organization of additional usable area for furniture installation;
  4. The ability to give the room a unique individual design.
You can create niches from GKL in any room: hall, bedroom, bathroom, corridor, balcony. In each of them, it will perform its functions.

AT modern apartments you can find several types of niches and partitions that can be made using drywall. Their design depends entirely on what they serve the purpose. Decorative ones are placed in the hall, living room, bedroom, above the windows. Their function is to create original design in the room, room zoning. They can accommodate paintings, figurines, vases, books, Spotlights(sometimes colored).

Functional niches can be found in any room of the apartment, including a toilet and a balcony. In the bedroom, such niches are used to accommodate wardrobes or dressing room. In the toilet, they are used to store hygiene items, cleaning products and detergents.

With the right design of a niche in a drywall wall, you can visually adjust the space. So, if it is horizontal, then with its help you can make the wall wider. A vertical niche will emphasize the height of the ceilings.
The two-level design of the wall and ceiling can make the interior exclusive and unique. Thus, the geometry of the room breaks down and a unique design is created.

It is worth noting that doing this species work can be done independently, without the involvement of outside workers and with small financial investments. After all, among a large assortment building materials It is drywall that is considered the best option for finishing work. But, if you don’t know how to make a drywall niche, contact professional designers who will help you compose interesting project.

Please note that before you begin the installation process of a niche, you need to decide on its purpose. This will allow you to make the correct calculation of materials for the frame and cladding.

Preparatory work before installing a drywall niche


Before starting work, it is necessary to carefully measure your future design and draw up its drawing. If the niche is planned under household appliances, then it is necessary to take into account the gap for natural ventilation air and prevent drywall heating. If you plan to run electrical wiring into the structure, then mark this point on your plan.

In addition, you should decide in advance on the type of drywall and frame material. When constructing a drawing, they must also be taken into account. In interior decoration, as a rule, wall drywall (12.5 mm thick), ceiling (9.5 mm), arched (6.5 mm) are used. It is also recommended to use either universal GCR, if we are talking about bedrooms, living rooms, or moisture resistant, if you plan to create a niche in the bathroom, kitchen.

The next step is the calculation required amount Supplies. To build a niche, you will need: profile guides, drywall profiles, self-tapping screws, tools for working with metal, corners, levels, a drill, drills, screwdrivers, a hacksaw.

For guides, you can choose wooden or metal profiles, judging by the photo of the niches in the plasterboard wall. The first option has a number of disadvantages, among which are the specifics of wood processing, exposure to temperature changes, which can adversely affect the shape of the niche itself. The best option are aluminum metal guides. The material is easy to process, has a low weight, easily changes its shape.

Before starting work, a plan of your future design is applied to the wall, indicating the locations of shelves, sockets, lamps, arches, curly elements. Thus, the installation process is greatly facilitated.

Before applying the plan of the future structure to the surface of the wall, it is necessary to clean it of dirt and evaluate its evenness. To do this is quite simple - attach the rail to the wall and see how it fits. Small bulges are easily removed with a chisel. If necessary, the wall can be plastered.

Installation of a frame for a niche on a plasterboard wall


The metal frame of the future niche should be assembled clearly according to the drawn contours. We work in the following order:
  • We place the guides and fix them with dowels strictly along the marking lines with a step of no more than 40 cm. If your design has straight lines, then this operation will not be difficult. The process will be harder if the niche is provided with curved lines. Then you have to cut the profile at the bend and give it the desired angle. In modern stores you can find guide designs different shapes. This will make the job much easier.
  • When the guides are fixed, we make the future design three-dimensional. To do this, we attach profiles to the ceiling and to the floor. At the same time, their ends must be made strictly vertical. Therefore, when carrying out this stage of work, it is imperative to use a level.
  • To create the front side of our design, we bend the profiles at an angle of 90 degrees. After we fix it on vertical guides with self-tapping screws.
When creating a metal frame for a drywall niche, remember that a polyurethane tape should be laid between the concrete main wall and the profiles.

If you are considering creating a niche in a backlit plasterboard wall, then it is worth planning its placement before starting the installation of the box. The future location of the backlight must be applied to the wall when marking the structure. Thanks to the presence of plastic hidden boxes, you do not have to lay a strobe in the wall. And the wiring itself from the junction box can be put under the plinth.

If the design of the niche in the drywall wall is different small size and simple lines, and the installation surface is smooth and even, then assembly can be done metal frame from profiles separately on the floor, and then fix the finished structure on the wall.

Important! This operation requires permanent use level. This will allow you to get flat surface with rectangular corners. In addition, do not forget about the square.

Installation of shelves and stiffeners for a drywall niche


The presence of shelves inside the niche makes it more rigid and stable. Their installation is carried out in several stages:
  1. The first step is to determine the place of their future location and make a mark.
  2. Then we set the plane using a level and a square.
  3. After that, we fix the shelf using self-tapping screws. To give it rigidity and stability, it is necessary to strengthen the structure from the inside using load-bearing profiles.
This procedure is especially important in the manufacture of wardrobes. Indeed, in it the load on the shelves will be higher than in a conventional niche.
If you plan to install shelves in a niche that are not decorative, but functional, then you should make them not from plasterboard, but from plywood or chipboard. In this case, only profiles are initially prepared for them, and their installation is carried out at the stage of finishing work.

If shelves are not provided in your design, then you need to take into account the presence of stiffeners. They can be made of wood or metal profile. This moment is especially relevant if your niche is located from the ceiling to the floor. When sheathing the structure, additional fastening of drywall sheets will be made on them.

The technology of sheathing a niche with drywall sheets


When carrying out the skin, it is important to remember some important points:
  • We start fixing the GKL on the box with geometrically irregular elements or small fragments. We cut them out and immediately try them on for the future installation site. Customize to size if necessary. After that, you can drill a hole in the drywall. In this case, the size of the drill should be slightly larger than the self-tapping screw. This is due to the need to completely "drown" the head of the fastener in drywall.
  • When finishing the inside of a niche, it is best to use one continuous sheet. Thus, the design will receive greater rigidity.
  • Lastly, we sheathe the front of the box with sheets of drywall.
Remember the rule according to which plasterboard joints should not be allowed near openings and corners. Also, you can not interrupt the sheet at the end and beginning of the niche, its ends must necessarily go into it.

The sheathing process will be easier and faster if there are few curved, small elements and joints in the frame. This is especially important if you are new to the business.

To make your niche have soundproofing properties, lay a layer inside it mineral wool or foam. With small structures in the hall, this is not particularly relevant. However, if a niche is installed in a toilet, bedroom or bathroom, the soundproofing pad is important point. Otherwise, any sound will be echoed.

For ease of further finishing and ease of joining drywall sheets before installation, it is recommended to chamfer them.

Rules for finishing a drywall niche


After you have sheathed the niche with drywall, you will need to carry out Finishing work. You should start with puttying the seams and recesses from the screws.

We carry out work in the following order:

  1. We embroider the corners with a grater, and the joints with a knife.
  2. We check the horizontalness of the lines and fasten the perforated corner using a stapler.
  3. We apply the starting composition of the putty to the seams and, until it is dry, we fix the sickle.
  4. We apply the next layer of putty and carefully level it with a spatula.
  5. With a narrow spatula, we apply putty to the places where the self-tapping screws are deepened in the GKL.
  6. We wait for the complete drying of the putty and proceed to the grouting procedure using sandpaper.
  7. The finished niche, as a rule, is painted with acrylic or water-dispersion paint or covered with wallpaper.
You can not putty the structure if you plan to lay tiles on it in the future, fake diamond etc. You can walk on the surface with a primer. This will improve the adhesive properties of drywall.

If you plan to install fixtures or lighting in a niche made of plasterboard, then it must be carried out at the stage when the structure is fully assembled and puttied.

Quite often, the inner surfaces of niches are finished with mirrors, glass or decorative elements. Such decoration must be planned in advance, when drawing up a plan for a future design. Installation of these elements is carried out immediately after sheathing the box with drywall before carrying out puttying and painting work. To secure them, additional fasteners are used (corners, staples, liquid nails, etc.).

There are a couple of popular ways decorative finishes niches in the plasterboard wall. This is its design in the same colors as the whole room, or a color accent on it through darker paint. However, it is not recommended to paint niches too dark colors, otherwise they will create the effect of "holes". This is very striking, especially if the walls light shade.

If your niche is small, then it can be painted from the inside with paint a couple of tones lighter than the rest of the walls. In this case, a trifle on the shelves will look more attractive. It is possible to design a small niche in the wall using an unusual picture frame.

How to make a niche in a drywall wall with your own hands - look at the video: