# curved walls



## D's (Jan 15, 2009)

Hey guys,

I'm quoting a castle right now complete with a 4 story 20' diameter tower. For real! So there's like 2000 sqf of curved walls. Where can I find info on max bending radius of different types of board, most of it is double layer 1/2" Type X, so really don't want to have to put up 4 layers of 1/4". Also wondering how much higher I should price a curved wall vs. straight, any rules of thumb, I'm thinking x1.5?

There's also 30+ windows with 1' radius arched drywall jambs

Many thanks,
D'S


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## penandscale (Dec 2, 2009)

20' radius should not be a problem for bending 1/2" board. i think it is usg that makes a flexible board for radius. as far as labor think about how many straight boards you can hang in the time it would take you to hang the radius. how high is tower and does it have stairs and floors in it. as for radius arched bead its labor intense verses regular bead.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

You're saying the wall is actually a 10' radius, correct? (20' diameter). I would think you could get 1/2" to bend on that(without water) if the framing is spot on and there's tons of it. It might be worth it to take a sheet out there beforehand and try it. I'd also figure that the hanging of the radius walls is going to take twice as long, and the amount of finishing will depend on how many butt joints there are in the curve. Sounds like a fun job!


edit:[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] "Gypsum board, also known as drywall, can be used to form almost any cylindrically curved surface. According to the Gypsum Association, standard 1/2-inch drywall can be bent around curved framing to a radius _*as small as*_ 10 feet" (You're getting pretty close to the minimum there)
[/FONT]


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## D's (Jan 15, 2009)

The internal radius of the wall is 9'. About half of it is fire-rated and requires Type X board which I'm guessing doesn't take a radius that well.


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## Bill from Indy (Apr 26, 2010)

im not going to say you cant.....but i have never got type x board to bend that way without breaking..you have to wet it down because of the fiberglass in the gyp.

if it is indeed spec'd for type x, you got to wet it...I would figure 2x your base rate personally and it would be really nice if it is framed 12" oc..i know your in b.c. and go metric, but my head can't do the conversion right now

if you can get away from it being regular drywall, I would use flex board and stagger your flats on 2nd layer...it will save you a lot of time in labor...both on finish and on hang..thats a lot of board to wet down and not risk breaking handing it up to the guy on the scaffold


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## joepro0000 (Jun 14, 2008)

Bill,

Where you using 1/2" type x that couldn't bend?


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## muddermankc (Apr 6, 2009)

Sounds badazzzzzz,u need to take pics. Also sounds like a job i would rather just stop in and see that a buddy was doing,lol,good luck.More of a taper myself so not sure on the physics of bending the rock but im sure a few of these ol boys can tell ya:thumbup:


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

D's said:


> The internal radius of the wall is 9'. About half of it is fire-rated and requires Type X board which I'm guessing doesn't take a radius that well.


Which means that the external is at most 9' 6" which is smaller than the recommended radius. I'm with Bill that it has to be wet, but doesn't sound like a fantastic scenario. Personally, I like to see framing at 8" o.c. for tighter radii, and I don't think anyone building a castle will balk at the added expense. You almost need three guys to pull it off (with dry sheets)...


Works the starting end and runs the gun
Pushes gently on the middle of the sheet (and can leave half-way through)
Pushes from the end of the sheet _along its length_...this helps the board compress. It's the same principle as hanging arches, you don't just push in the middle and hope it flexes right....you push at the end and in the middle
You can do it with two guys, if they both play part of the roll of the #2 guy...but that's when you risk snapping it. Then again, I could be talking out of my a$$. I don't have _all _the answers.


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

Dry that rock out before you finish it!


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## carpentaper (Feb 28, 2009)

everything in canada except for plans on government jobs ie., schools, govt buildings etc. is all done in imperial. the only time i ever used metric was at tradeschool( govt thing). all of our building materials are all still imperial measurements so layout is still always in imperial. it's kind of ridiculous the way they try and push something like that. as long as big brother down south is still imperial so will all our building materials. i just totally made that last part up.


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## D's (Jan 15, 2009)

Great replies guys, thanks.

The external radius is actually 10' because the wall is built up with two 2x4 walls with a 2" gap between for a special sound absorbing mat between them - since resilient channel don't work on a curved wall.

At the top of the turret is a conical roof with a dropped roof with a 14' diameter. Meaning there is still a conical section that needs to be finished and the framing all around it is way off. I've recommend the owner find a plasterer to do that work as i wouldn't know where to begin. The only way I can think of doing it is to run X-Crack metal around the two curves and screw the board to that. Even then how do you hang a cone? Maybe I should suggest he rip out the dropped ceiling and frame a dome would that be easier?

I will definitely be taking pictures of this one!
D'S


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## D's (Jan 15, 2009)

Holy crap! I just did a search on drywall domes and found this photo stream...

ArchKing


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

D's said:


> Holy crap! I just did a search on drywall domes and found this photo stream...
> 
> ArchKing


your link don't work,and yes take pics of the job if you can D


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## drywallnflorida (Sep 19, 2008)

2buckcanuck said:


> your link don't work,and yes take pics of the job if you can D


http://www.flickr.com/photos/archking57/3984273939/in/photostream/


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

carpentaper said:


> everything in canada except for plans on government jobs ie., schools, govt buildings etc. is all done in imperial. the only time i ever used metric was at tradeschool( govt thing). all of our building materials are all still imperial measurements so layout is still always in imperial. it's kind of ridiculous the way they try and push something like that. as long as big brother down south is still imperial so will all our building materials. i just totally made that last part up.


except big brother down south is not imperial England is remember Canada british colony stayed imperial US through the blokes out.

rebel


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

D's said:


> Holy crap! I just did a search on drywall domes and found this photo stream...
> 
> ArchKing


Here is a museeum here in Germany with curved dome by the way this was done with Vario as base coat


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

D's said:


> Great replies guys, thanks.
> 
> The external radius is actually 10' because the wall is built up with two 2x4 walls with a 2" gap between for a special sound absorbing mat between them - since resilient channel don't work on a curved wall.
> 
> ...


 
here is another maybe this helps


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

rebel20 said:


> Here is a museeum here in Germany with curved dome by the way this was done with Vario as base coat


Gary, is that a Gehry building? That man is an architectural psychopath.

I looked at the arch king link and found this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/archking57/4438612278/

They make it look so easy!


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## Bill from Indy (Apr 26, 2010)

joepro0000 said:


> Bill,
> 
> Where you using 1/2" type x that couldn't bend?


Yes, Joe it was 1/2...but the radius was tighter than 9 or 10ft...i would still wet it down though....the benefit of wetting regular drywall is you can use longer material whereas the flexboard is only 8ft...that ive seen anyways

The downside is that I have found that unless you wet it and tack it till maybe the next day, you have issues with screws popping....10ft radius/20ft diameter isn't a drastic curve though so it may not even need wet down.

the fiber adds strength and heat properties (im guessing).....but answer me this....has anyone ever seen drywall burn?....me, no...because by the time it burns I won't be there to watch it...lol


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

rebel20 said:


> except big brother down south is not imperial England is remember Canada british colony stayed imperial US through the blokes out.
> 
> rebel


what's your point,I don't get it,you yanks tried to invade us twice,and we threw you out too.
when any country in the world deals with 2 measuring systems,they call it Imperial or metric.you guys have one system,and guess where you got it from,Britain.So who's keeping their Imperial ways ???
carpentaper was just saying we know the Imperial/English units/American/customary units of measure that influence our construction trades because of our proximity and trade relations with America.he was just saying America can have a big brother effect on Canada.just the media and government converse in metric here,well the average joe talks in Imperial.
SO since your in Germany ,what type of measuring tape you using,metric or Imperial :whistling2:


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## penandscale (Dec 2, 2009)

the design can be sent to usg and they will custom build the framing out of rigid x
when hanging it think of it as a sliced pie


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

SlimPickins said:


> Gary, is that a Gehry building? That man is an architectural psychopath.
> 
> I looked at the arch king link and found this:
> 
> ...


Ya Slim it is a Gehry project


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## rebel20 (Jun 4, 2009)

2buckcanuck said:


> what's your point,I don't get it,you yanks tried to invade us twice,and we threw you out too.
> when any country in the world deals with 2 measuring systems,they call it Imperial or metric.you guys have one system,and guess where you got it from,Britain.So who's keeping their Imperial ways ???
> carpentaper was just saying we know the Imperial/English units/American/customary units of measure that influence our construction trades because of our proximity and trade relations with America.he was just saying America can have a big brother effect on Canada.just the media and government converse in metric here,well the average joe talks in Imperial.
> SO since your in Germany ,what type of measuring tape you using,metric or Imperial :whistling2:


Well let's see I have 2 with me all the time. 
Boy 2buck you get reiled easy huh before our time the imperial unit was british commenwealth and US customary now its the international inch. It was just a word game. Take a chill pill.:drink:


By the way Congrats on being the new post whore.:clap::clap::clap:


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

rebel20 said:


> Well let's see I have 2 with me all the time.
> Boy 2buck you get reiled easy huh before our time the imperial unit was british commenwealth and US customary now its the international inch. It was just a word game. Take a chill pill.:drink:
> 
> 
> By the way Congrats on being the new post whore.


while,you haven't posted a good joke in awhile to keep us all in a good mood,yours are usually the best,so it's your fault 
I'm the official post whore
yee haw ,yip pee,woh who,yyyyeeeeaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! I did it,party timearty: cazna's buying the beer


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