Gypsum board is a flat sheet with a gypsum core between two papers. It makes false ceilings, partitions and wall linings inside a building.
The boards are screwed to a frame of galvanised steel sections. Only the joints are finished wet, so the work is quick and clean. Pro Max is our imported gypsum board, made on German machinery.
A Pro Max board is 1220 × 1830 mm and 12 mm thick: 4 ft by 6 ft, or 24 sq ft. One board weighs 15.3 kg.
The long edges are tapered and wrapped in paper, for a flat, hidden joint. The face paper is ivory and smooth. The back paper is brown and carries our logo.
Divide the area in square feet by 24, round up, and add for cuts and waste. A 1,000 sq ft ceiling needs 42 Pro Max boards before waste.
For a partition, count both faces. Sections, screws, tape and joint compound are separate. The calculator on the Pro Max page does the sum.
A Pro Max board carries more than 660 N along the board and more than 280 N across it before it breaks. IS 2095 (Part 1) asks 500 N and 180 N of a 12.5 mm board.
The figures are minimums from the supplier’s test certificate, for a 12 mm board. They are test loads on the board, not loads that you can hang from it.
A lighter board is easier for two people to lift, and it puts less weight on the ceiling frame.
One Pro Max board weighs 15.3 kg. The unbranded boards of the same size that we see in the market weigh 17 to 18 kg. On a 1,000 sq ft ceiling of 42 boards, that is about 640 kg of Pro Max, and about 90 kg more with the heavier boards. Choose the frame from the span table of the section maker.
Use Pro Max inside the building, in dry areas. Do not use it in a bathroom or outside.
It is a standard board for false ceilings, partitions, wall lining, bulkheads and coves, in homes, offices, hotels, hospitals, shops and schools.
The ivory face faces the room. The brown back, with our logo, goes against the frame.
The ivory face is the smooth side that you joint, prime and paint.
A frame of galvanised steel: ceiling sections for a ceiling, and studs in a floor and a ceiling channel for a partition.
Common practice for a 12 mm board:
The span and the load set the final spacing: use the span table of the section maker. A flat ceiling starts with a level frame. We make Metal-Max steel sections at Panvel.
Score the face paper with a knife along a straightedge, snap the board, and cut the back paper. Fix the board with drywall screws into the steel sections.
- Lay the boards across the ceiling sections, and stagger the end joints from row to row.
- Keep screws 10 mm from a paper-bound edge and 13 mm from a cut edge.
- Set each screw head just under the paper. Do not break the paper.
Put joint tape and joint compound in the tapered joint. Let it dry, sand it lightly, then prime and paint.
Tape and fill every joint before you paint. Every board end must have steel behind it.
Store the boards flat, off the floor and under cover. Do not stand them on edge.
Pro Max boards come in pairs. One tape closes each pair at the two short ends. To open a pair, start the tear at one end of the tape: it opens along its middle, and you need no knife.
A gypsum board ceiling is made of factory-made boards that are screwed dry to a steel frame. A POP ceiling is made with plaster of Paris on site.
With boards, the thickness and the surface are the same from board to board, and only the joints need wet work. That makes the work quick to fit and to paint.
