Modern interior design is extremelydiverse. When carrying out major repairs in a room, many resort to such a design solution as constructing a niche in the wall, with the help of which the room can be made more comfortable and attractive. A wall niche allows you to get additional free space that can be used profitably, for example, for installing a TV, storing books, etc. To make such a recess in the wall, you do not need to put in much effort. Therefore, below we will consider how to make a niche in the wall with your own hands.
Figure 1. A niche can be made in almost any wall, be it a reinforced concrete, brick or plasterboard structure.
Preparatory work
You can make a niche in almost any wall,it's just that each type of foundation will require its own set of tools. A load-bearing reinforced concrete or brick structure creates more problems when constructing a niche in it. For a plasterboard covering, you don't need to spend a lot of time and effort, since this material is quite easy to process. Having decided on the location of the future niche, you need to choose its shape. It should be taken into account that the horizontal option will fit perfectly into the interior of a living room, which is furnished with long and low furniture (for example, a sofa or a cabinet). Also, a horizontal niche can visually lengthen a short wall. A vertical recess will look great in a room near a door, window, closet or large chest of drawers.
Figure 2.The supporting structure for the niche in the plasterboard wall should be made of starting profiles, vertical guides and guides for the shelves. After the appearance of the niche has been selected, you can proceed to developing the drawing. The dimensions of the recess will depend not only on your preferences, but also on the design features of the wall where it will be located. It should be taken into account that it is not recommended to create deep niches in load-bearing elements (partitions, columns, walls), as this can lead to weakening of the supporting structure of the building or its destruction. Immediately before the start of the main work, all furniture and equipment in the room must be covered with something, because during the repair process a lot of construction waste and dust can form, which will settle on surrounding objects. Return to the table of contents</a>
Designing a niche in a concrete or brick foundation
Before making a niche in a wall made of brick or concrete, you need to prepare the following tools and materials:
- perforator;
- a diamond with a diamond;
- a hammer;
- chisel;
- level;
- roulette;
- pencil;
- reinforcement;
- finishing material.
The first thing to do is to do it on the wall according to the drawingcontour of the future recess. It is recommended to increase the dimensions of the product by 4-6%, which will allow you to eliminate possible errors in the future and produce a high-quality finish of the niche. After this, you can proceed to the selection of excess building material from the wall. It is recommended to do the selection not over the entire marked area at once, but in separate blocks.
Figure 3.In order for a niche in a plasterboard wall to blend in with the wall, its color scheme should match the color of the walls. The process of constructing a niche begins with drilling holes along the contour, after which they are followed by a grinder. As a result of this work, you will get a line along which the excess part of the base will be cut out. Further work is done manually using a chisel and hammer. Load-bearing walls can be additionally reinforced: reinforcement along the contour of the recess or insert a welded structure made of metal corners. This will increase the reliability of the niche and protect its walls from crumbling and cracking. After this, the gouged out hole is finished with the selected material and decorated. In this case, you can use lamps, install shelves or pendants (Fig. 1). Return to the table of contents</a>
Designing a niche in a drywall wall
Creating a recess in a plasterboard walldiffers from the first option not only in the technology of the work, but also in its simplicity. The use of this material allows you to implement various design and construction ideas. Before starting the repair, you should accurately calculate the required amount of material to create the frame and its cladding. If necessary, it is necessary to provide for the reinforcement of individual structural units, which may require additional materials and space for their installation. After all the calculations have been made and the drawing has been created, markings are applied to the wall for fastening the supporting structure. For horizontal and vertical evenness of all lines, you can use a plumb line and a building level. After this, you can proceed to installing the frame. To do this, according to the drawing, starting profiles, vertical guides and guides for the shelves are attached to the walls, floor and ceiling, because these elements will bear the main load (Fig. 2). During installation work, the evenness of all elements must be periodically checked with a level. At the next stage of the work, it is necessary to measure and cut the sheets of drywall. For this, you can use a jigsaw. The cut plasterboard elements are attached to the profile using self-tapping screws. After all the elements are installed and secured, you can proceed to finishing work. First, all the joints need to be leveled using a reinforcing mesh, and the corners should be secured with corners. Then the surface of the niche is covered with a deep penetration primer. This will improve the adhesion of the finishing coat. Next, the surface of the niche is putty and sanded. At the last stage, the final finishing of the recess is carried out. You can use various design options (for example, painting or wallpapering). It should be remembered that the chosen color scheme must necessarily match the color of the walls or be in contrast with it. In the first case, the niche will merge with the wall, and in the second - it will stand out (Fig. 3). When renovating a niche in a house or apartment, remember that this is an excellent solution for giving the room uniqueness and sophistication. This product, designed with your own hands, can become the highlight of the entire room.
