As an alternative to using batten fixing for dry-lining a solid wall, tapered-edge plasterboard can be bonded directly to the wall with dabs of plaster or adhesive. Rectangular pads about 100 x 50mm (4 x 2in) cut from remnants of plasterboard are used for levelling the wall. The pads are bonded to the wall in lines as substitutes for battens and allowed to set. Dabs of plaster are then applied between the pads and the plasterboard is temporarily nailed to the pads while the plaster sets.

Boards 900mm (3ft) wide are normally used for this technique. The wall must be prepared in the usual way.

Set out vertical chalk lines on the wall 450mm (1ft 6in) apart, working from one corner or from an opening . Draw a horizontal line 225mm (9in) from the ceiling, one 100mm (4in) from the floor and another centred between them. If the wall is more than 2.4m (8ft) high, divide the space between the top and bottom equally with two lines. The pads are placed where the horizontal and vertical lines intersect.

Using a spirit level and a straightedge that is almost the full height of the wall, check at each vertical line, noting high spots at the intersections of the lines.

Apply thick dabs of bonding plaster to the wall with a trowel (2) over an area for one board at a time. Space the dabs 75mm (3in) apart vertically. Do not let the plaster overlap the area of the next board. Using the straightedge to press it evenly and a footlifter to position it, press the board firmly against the pads so that the plaster spreads out behind it.

Check the alignment, then fix the board with plasterboard nails driven

Bond a pad on the most prominent intersection point (1), using a bonding- coat plaster or a proprietary tile adhesive, and press it in place. This pad forms the datum point from which the rest of the pads are levelled.

Bond and plumb the other pads on the same vertical line, then complete a second vertical row, two lines from the first. Check these pads for level vertically then diagonally with the first row. Work across the wall in this way, then fix the remaining pads on the other intersections. Allow two hours for the adhesive to set.

into the pads round the edge. Do not drive the nails in fully. Fix the next board in the same way, butting it to the first, and work on across the wall, scribing the last board into the internal angle. When the plaster has set, remove the nails with pincers or a claw hammer, protecting the plasterboard surface (3).

Work round angles and openings (see opposite) and, when all surfaces are covered, fill and finish the joints.