How an arch is made. How to make an arch with your own hands: types of arches, necessary materials and tools for installation. Video: monumental arch with columns

Do you dream of creating an original interior on your residential squares and bringing some zest to this space? Pay attention to the design of interior openings, which can become the central object that sets the tone for the entire design. Arches with different shapes and decor are becoming very popular.

The arch in the apartment creates beauty, comfort, emphasizes the refined taste of the owner.

If your apartment has openings of at least 1000 mm and you do not want to hide the room behind interior doors, then we will tell you how to make an arch in the apartment. At first glance, it seems that this activity is not for an amateur. But having studied the features of arched openings, the possibilities of modern finishing materials and detailed instructions for installing the arch, you decide to make it yourself.

The correct shape of the arch will emphasize the dignity of the apartment.

This is, of course, a rhetorical question. Many people who are interested in art are familiar with the arch, they have been in beautiful buildings with high ceilings and large passages, they have looked at the interiors of country houses in the photo. In many places it is a subject of admiration and a connecting element of the interior. The shape and size of the arch depends on the opening in which it is created:

- semicircular;

- elliptical;

- rectangular with small rounded edges;

rounded on one side of the passage.

The list is endless, because each passage and room is individual. But there are certain arch standards that have a specific shape and name:

- classic;

- modern;

- ellipse;

- romance;

- portal;

- trapezoid;

- transom;

arch with top elements.

We offer you to see a photo of the listed elements:

Choose the shape of the arch that is appropriate for your apartment. Consider the features of the room, especially the height.

For yourself, you can choose a ready-made option on how to make an arch in an apartment with your own hands or turn on your imagination, take into account the features of the opening and create your own template.

You can come up with your own design of the arched structure by looking at ready-made options.

Just remember one caveat - in apartments with low ceilings, you can choose more elongated shapes so that the arch does not give the impression that your ceilings are lower than they really are. Otherwise, the arch helps to expand the space, to exclude the overlap of rooms with a door leaf. But you can’t make an arch in an apartment if the design doesn’t match this. Before making a decision, we advise you to look at different photos of how to make an arch in an apartment and which form to prefer.

Arched structures are appropriate not only in interior aisles, but also in the design of the walls, where a beautiful baguette or vase will be located.

Arches can be created not only in interior openings, but also complementing the design of the room with them.

Often there are fireplaces, the upper part of which is made in the shape of an arch. Perhaps in your apartment you can make such elements so that the interior arch does not look lonely.

Having talked about what an arch is, let's move on to the practical part of our conversation, namely how to make an interior arch in an apartment, what material can be used for this.

How to make an arch in an apartment: choose the material, prepare the opening

To properly make an arch in an apartment with your own hands, study the interior opening. It should be smooth, without holes, distortions, reliable. If in doubt, clean and level the surface with plaster, primer. Decide what the wall is made of - brick, blocks, wood. This is important, because you can fasten the arched structure with different fasteners, depending on the material of the walls.

Materials for arched structures in the apartment

You can make an arch with your own hands from different finishing materials available to you at a price:

- drywall (GKL);

- plywood;

- fiberboard;

- board;

- brick;

- stone;

- plastic (for example, wall panels);

- stucco;

finished arched structures.

Perhaps, after studying the information, you will have your own ideas of what to make an interior arch in the house with your own hands.

The easiest to work, affordable is drywall.

Drywall is better than other materials for making an arch with your own hands. The material is easy to cut and bend in skilled hands.

In skillful hands, you can make any design object with it, including an interior arch. It can be bent to the desired shape, and this is important for the arch, because the lower part of the portal will be exactly curved. The sheet area allows you to cut a large semicircle. This is also very convenient. GKL is sawn with a jigsaw or a clerical knife, leaving no dirt in the room. The rest of the materials are also available for independent use in creating an arch, but they will require more skill, time, and tools. For example, a brick must be laid out beautifully, after taking care of a reinforced metal frame. The weight of the structure is large and can threaten to collapse if improperly laid.

Wood has the property of drying out, arching, which also affects the quality of the final result. It will take the skills of a carpenter to make an arch with your own hands from an array.

Ready-made arches from the array look perfect, but require careful preparation of the doorway.

It will be more affordable to buy a ready-made arched opening from an array, if funds allow. But even here there are some nuances - the interior opening may not correspond to the factory set. Then you have to adjust the opening for the finished product.

What is required to create an arch in the apartment

The key to the success of any work depends on the preliminary preparation of everything necessary, measurements of the object. We will need:

- dimensions of the doorway;

- future arch template;

- GKL sheets;

- metallic profile;

- fasteners for wood / metal (depending on the walls);

- roulette;

- level;

- drill;

- jigsaw or stationery knife;

- metal scissors;

- screwdriver;

- roller with spikes;

- primer;

- putty;

decorative finish for an arched structure.

Having decided on the shape of the arch, it is necessary to make the correct measurements of the arched structure in the apartment. The main parameters are the width and depth of the interior opening. With a sufficient height of the ceilings in the apartment, there is no need to particularly think about the height of the arched rounding. Here the size will be dictated by the shape of the arch and the width of the passage.

Even the simplest arch requires the correct measurement of the interior opening.

Having received the dimensions, transfer them to a sheet of drywall. It is necessary to make a template on cardboard so as not to spoil the main material.

1. Draw the shape of the front part of the arch. To do this, you can use a compass made by yourself. Take a simple pencil and a tight rope that does not stretch. The length of the rope must correspond to the radius, which corresponds to the size of the arch. Tie a string to a pencil. Set the stylus in the center of the sheet and draw a line of a semicircle or other chosen shape. The facade template is ready.

1. One more detail is needed - the lower part of the arch, covering the wall along its depth. The width of the part is important here. It corresponds to the distance from the wall of one room to the wall of an adjacent room. Take the length with a margin, because only a specialist can accurately calculate the size of the arc. And then we cut off the excess.

We transfer the template to the drywall sheets - the facades of the arch are two pieces, the bottom bar is in one copy.

We assemble a metal frame for a beautiful arch in the apartment

The metal profile must be prepared before installation in the interior opening. Scissors for metal will help to give the desired bend. It is necessary to make small cuts along the entire length of the profile. Consider the step from the shape of the arch. You can attach the profile to the front part of the arch and bend it along the contour of the part, making cuts at the bends. There should be two such elements, on both sides of the interior passage.

We fix the radius profile to the wall with self-tapping screws for metal or wood. You can pre-screw the dowel into the wall for better adhesion of the profile.

Mount a metal frame from a profile to secure the drywall arch elements into the opening.

Now we need to strengthen the structure. This will require a straight profile, which is set according to the depth of the arch. How to make a frame for a beautiful arch in an apartment can be seen in the photo:

We collect the interior arch in the apartment

It remains quite a bit to the logical conclusion of the process - to fix the parts to the metal frame and decorate the surface of the walls.

1. Let's take one front part of the arch and fix it to the wall and metal profile. It is more convenient and faster to screw screws into the arch frame with a screwdriver. It's good if you have an assistant. It is very difficult to keep the parts even and tighten the fasteners alone. There shouldn't be any twists. The beauty of the future arch in the apartment depends on this.

1. We do the same with the second part of the arch, fixing it on the back of the opening.

1. Now we will install the lower bar of the arched structure. This is a little more difficult because the drywall needs to be curved. To do this, the GKL should be wetted with a damp cloth along the entire length and left for a while near the wall. The sheet will begin to bend forward, then you can take the part and carefully begin mounting it on the wall. A roller with spikes is also used to smoothly bend the sheet. Pass them over the entire area of the plasterboard, the plaster will begin to take the desired shape. Fix the part in the opening with self-tapping screws and cut off the excess, if any.

1. The vertical walls of the interior opening can also be decorated with drywall, if no other finish is provided.

1. Check the result before finishing. The caps of the self-tapping screws should be slightly recessed into the GKL so as not to interfere with further finishing.

The surface is ready for decorative finishing to match the rest of the walls or something else.

Arches for the doorway have been used since ancient times. The arch is very aesthetic, today it is not only beautiful, but also allows you to save space, complement the interior and do the work yourself, with your own hands.

As a rule, drywall is used, it is not expensive, it is easy to work with it and you can make any arched opening. The framing of the arches can be anything, you can put a platband and a variety of finishing materials.

Shape selection

The type of arch can be any, even from several levels, with different rows and functionality, the correct measurement of the doorway is initially made. The main types of arches are presented in the table:

arch type:	Description:
Parabolic arch:	Beautiful and easy to make arch. It is made of flexible plastic, for example, a threshold. A mark is made in the middle, which will be the top point of the arch. Further, the material bends in the form of an arc. The arc is applied to a plaster or other sheet and a template is made, on which the arch blank will be ready.
Circular arch:	It is necessary to fasten a self-tapping screw into a wooden material (bar) and tie a twine to make a compass. They can make an arch pattern. Next, with a compass, you need to draw a circle of the arch on the sheet.

When the contours of the arch are drawn, the shape should be cut out using a jigsaw or a regular knife. All cuts are made exactly along the lines, the quality of the arched opening depends on this. The classic version of the arches is made according to the following principle:

It is necessary to measure the doorway and calculate the material.
The instrument is being prepared.
A template of arches is cut out, a semicircular view, round, oval and others.
The frame is mounted in the opening using a metal profile or wood.
Polyurethane, drywall, plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, foam plastic or other selected material is installed.
The bottom of the arch is cut out and screwed to the side parts.
Puttying and finishing, decoration of the arch is carried out.

Important! When deciding on the type of arches, it is necessary to pay attention to the height of the ceiling and the width of the door opening. Some types are suitable for a wide but low opening, the other vice versa.

The main forms are as follows:

Portal - U-shaped arch, according to the device it can be in the form of waves or with many angles, one of the most popular types of opening.
Classic arch - recommended for ceilings from 3 m, with a passage width of 90 cm.
Romance - it is recommended to set if the width of the opening is large, but the height to the ceiling is small.
Modern - an alternative to any type of arches, can be used in Khrushchev, where every centimeter of space is important. The corners of the arch are made sharp or rounded.
A semi-arch is an ideal arch for zoning rooms.
Straight arch - suitable for loft, hi-tech, modern style.

The photo shows ready-made false arches from Leroy Merlin, which do not need to be framed:

Knowing what types of ready-made arches for doorways exist, you need to decide on the materials and start working with your own hands.

Do-it-yourself drywall arch (video)

Work materials

You can’t just build an arch, you need to choose the material and prepare all the inventory. A drywall sheet is more often used, it is easy to work with, if desired, you can redo the arch, its cost is low. Therefore, an example of working with GCR will be described step by step below. Arched interior opening requires:

GKL 9.5 mm.
Profiles 27x28 mm and 60x27 mm.
Self-tapping screws to fix drywall 3.5x25 mm.
Dowels to fix the frame in the opening 6x60 mm. Used for brick or concrete.
Self-tapping screws with a press washer 4.2x12 mm.
If the doorway is made of timber, then wood screws are needed.
Putties for GKL.
Needle roller.
Perforated corners.
spatula.
Pencil and tape measure to measure and make a drawing.
Screwdriver.

Having prepared the material, you need to mark and measure everything.

measurements

Before , how to make a drywall arch in doorways measurements are taken. The size of the opening itself is taken in height and width. When there is a width, it is divided in two to create a perfect semi-circle arch. The shape of the arch is determined; for the classic version, it will be necessary to additionally align the walls using putty and beacons. Naturally, the opening must be completely disassembled, prepared, removing dirt and dust from it, and, if necessary, seal cracks and voids with mortar. When the opening is ready, you can proceed to the next steps.

Installation of an interior arch

On the GKL, an arch design is made for a private house or apartment, the necessary picture is drawn, and then cut out with a knife, strictly along the lines. When one piece is cut correctly, a new side is drawn along its contours and another piece is cut out. Having prepared both pieces, you can mount them on the frame, but before that, the correct frame is built. Step by step, the work will look like this:

At the top of the opening, profiles are fastened using dowels if the opening is brick. After that, the profile must be installed on the walls of the opening. The frame is mounted at two points in the doorway.
Next, a profile is made in the form of an arc. Scissors need to cut through the metal every 5-10 cm, after which the metal is bent in the desired shape. For the template, previously cut pieces of drywall are used. Installation is carried out with dowels, and the frame is sheathed with drywall using self-tapping screws. For arches you need 2 arcs.

In order for the frame to turn out to be strong, bars or profile pieces are installed between the arcs.
The frame is ready, but the arch itself has not yet been made. You will need to bend drywall for installation at the bottom of the arch or make a typesetting element, the prefabricated bottom is made from pieces of drywall, and when bending, you need to cut off a piece, adding 10 cm in size from the sides. So that the material does not crack, it is moistened with a little water, passed with a needle roller and left for a couple of hours so that it is flexible. After that, you can bend the material and attach it to the frame, using initially adhesive tape, and then self-tapping screws.
After 12 hours, a beautiful arched opening will be ready and it remains to decorate and decorate the arch.

Here's how easy it is to install an arch in a doorway with your own hands. Using these tips, the production of arches will be fast. All voids in the arch can be left unchanged, or you can use mounting foam, pouring it inside, according to the instructions. Next, you need to veneer your creation.

Decoration of the doorway

It is known from what to make arches in the doorway, but how to finish the arch in the doorways? You can decorate the finished structure with different materials. Often the design is done using MDF, you can finish it with modern material, for example, artificial stone, wood, wallpaper, paint and use an array. When the arch enters the kitchen, it is recommended to fix the curtain by installing fasteners in the arch immediately. Before sheathing and decorating the arch, you need to do a number of works, step-by-step instructions below:

The surface of the arch is sanded with sandpaper, removing irregularities, creating a rounded edging.
Seams, joints and places of self-tapping screws must be sealed with putties, but before that, a perforated plastic corner is placed on the corner, it must be fixed directly into the putty.

When the putty dries, everything is sanded again with sandpaper to remove irregularities.
The arch is smeared with a primer and when it dries, a finishing putty is applied and sanded for the last time.

The arrangement of the arch is completed, you need to pick up the finish and put it on the finished opening. As you can see, it is easy to make a home-made arched opening, any person, not necessarily a master, can assemble the frame and fix the drywall, even if the work experience is small. It is recommended to make an arch, the same as the window in shape, so that the interior is uniform, although the opening itself can be modernized so that the house or cottage is transformed and functional. Finally, a video showing the process of work, how much material is needed and how a rectangular arched opening with a rounded top is made:

Photo gallery of finished works

Types of arches

Interior or corridor arches can have a different shape. They differ mainly in the shape of the upper part and sometimes in the way they are connected to the vertical parts. Their main types are shown in the photo.

This group lacks one of the most popular lately - the semi-arch. They have a rounded corner on one side only, on the other it remains straight. Hence the name - semi-arc. It looks good in modern interiors: minimalism, hi-tech, maybe in art deco.

The classic is distinguished by the correct shape of the top. This is strictly a semicircle, the radius of which is equal to half the width of the doorway. This view looks good with an opening height of at least 2.5 m. It fits well into any interior, but looks best in a long corridor, or instead of the front door to the kitchen.

The arched opening in the Modern style is distinguished by a small radius of curvature and a sharp transition at the junction with the vertical components of the opening. It looks good if the walls and ceiling have a more or less simple design. Looks great on the site of the former balcony door, good at the entrance to the office.

The arch of the “Romance” style is rather just rounded corners (mostly masters call it that). It looks good with a large width and not the greatest height.

The "romantic" shape is good with a large width and small height

The shape of the "ellipse" is very close to the "romantic". It differs only in greater curvature in the middle part. Also suitable for low and wide openings. It just looks a little softer.

A trapezoid is a non-standard design consisting of broken lines. It is hard to play up in the interior, therefore it is used infrequently: for some non-standard designs.

One of the design options is a trapezoid

It is very similar to a regular opening, but in fact it is, only without a door leaf. For greater originality, it is often accompanied by wooden carved elements in the form of columns on the sides. In this form, it is good for classic interiors, as well as ethnic style - Greek or Roman, depending on the type of columns.

For decoration in modern styles, another example is used - next to the main arch, smaller portals are located. This technique allows you to "beat" a simple form.

Another version of the arch "portal"

Before you start making an arch, you need to decide on its parameters. select the type, and then the options: where it will start from, and what the radius of curvature will be. It can be a really sharp bend, or it can just be some rounding of the corners.

To understand how your chosen shape will look, you can cut a template out of cardboard and attach it to the doorway. Rate the effect. If everything suits you, you can make a blank according to this template. But only one - for one of the sides of the opening. The second must be done in place, otherwise it will turn out crooked.

Step-by-step instructions with photos: the fastest way

Do-it-yourself drywall arches are made in different ways. This takes the minimum amount of time. Having decided on the form, we proceed to installation. On the prepared opening - cleaned of peeling plaster and relatively leveled, we fix the frame according to the size of the future arch. It is made from a profile for drywall or a dry wooden block of a suitable size. Sometimes, if the wall is narrow, you can only pick up wood.

To begin with, we cut out a rectangle from drywall according to the size of the future arch, find its middle, mark it, and then temporarily screw it into place. We retreat from the edge of 12.5 mm - the thickness of the drywall sheet. If the adjacent walls are already plastered, add a couple more millimeters to the putty so that the surface can be leveled.

Now we take a piece of a profile or a hard corner, set aside half the width of the opening from one edge. At this place in the corner we make a hole, insert a carnation into it. We stick this nail into the middle of the doorway marked by us earlier on the sheet. It turns out a kind of compass, with which it is easy to draw a perfect line.

Arc delineator

By changing the height of the mount, you can get a more or less high arch. If you need a flatter curve, increase the length of the "compass".

Having removed the sheet, we cut out the arc along the outlined contour. This can be done with a special drywall file, a metal saw with a fine tooth for a smoother edge, a jigsaw (there will be a lot of dust). If the cut is not very even, we level it with sandpaper fixed on a grater. With this device we achieve a perfectly even curve of the shape we need. The cut out fragment of the arch - the side wall - is again fixed in place.

If everything is smooth, there are no distortions or irregularities, on the other side of the opening we attach the same drywall sheet as a few steps earlier - a rectangle or a square - depending on the shape. It must be fixed strictly vertically. Now transfer the shape of the arch to it. We take a square, at a right angle and with one side we press against the drywall, on which we transfer the arch, with the other side - to the arch. Having set the square perpendicularly, we mark a point with a pencil. We make such points along the entire arc. The more often they are made, the easier it will be to draw a line and the match will be more accurate - there will be less grinding.

Why is it so difficult and not just to make a copy of the first sheet? Because few openings are symmetrical. As a result, it is very problematic to install the second sheet so that the lines of the arch coincide.

Having noted all the points, we remove the sheet, draw a line, cut it out along it. We mount in place. Now again we take a trowel with sandpaper and now we level both edges until they completely match. One point - the trowel should be wider than the opening so that both walls of the arch are captured in one pass.

We measure the length of the arc, cut out a piece of the profile of the same length, make notches on the walls every 3-4 cm. This tape will need to be fixed along the arch of the arch from one side and the other.

We fasten it to self-tapping screws, carefully, pressing the profile and holding it with a bar, and not with your fingers: it is elementary to get into your fingers with a self-tapping screw. By the way, you need to work with a cut profile with gloves. If not, you will cut your hands for sure.

By the way, the back of the profile can be set along the edge - it’s easier to work, and then the joint will still have to be sealed. Screw the strip to the other side in the same way.

This is a bottom view - profiles are attached to the sides

There is a second way to attach the profile - to put it on a quick-setting universal glue, such as liquid nails. This method is acceptable if the width of the opening is small. With a large thickness of the arch, the adhesive may not withstand the mass of drywall, which will be attached from below.

The next step is to attach the jumpers. First, the depth of the arch is lost, 1-1.5 cm is subtracted from it. This will be the length of the jumpers. Cut pieces of a profile of this length.

Jumpers are cut from the same profile

In the places where the jumpers are attached, the “petals” are cut off, the prepared fragment is installed and fixed. It should not rest against the walls, it is located approximately 5 mm from the back. Jumpers are needed to make the design more rigid, otherwise it “walks” when pressed.

Next, from the drywall, you need to cut a rectangle that will cover the structure from below. Its width is determined simply - from the outer edge of one sheet of plasterboard, to the outer edge of the second sheet. The length is measured with a flexible tape (it can be tailor-made) or a tape measure with an assistant. We fasten this sheet with screws to the arch frame. The sheet has to be bent, and how to do this, read a little lower - towards the end of the article.

Arched opening made of drywall: the second method (photo report)

This method is good if the thickness of the partition is small: try attaching the profiles if the gap between them is several centimeters, and then attach the jumpers. It all starts the same way: the first wall of the arch is cut out, fastened and transferred to the second sheet.

After the width of the gap between the two sheets, wooden crossbars are cut out, which are attached along the edge of the arch to self-tapping screws.

The cut-out strip of drywall is fixed, starting from one side. To make it more convenient, you can fix it with clamps, since the thickness of the wall is small. When attaching the strip, you can focus on the screws with which the bars were screwed. That way you'll hit the crossbar for sure.

Then it remains only to fix a special perforated corner along the corner and level the irregularities.

A corner is attached along the vault of the arch, everything is puttied

It is also more convenient to level the dried putty along the arch of the arch with the entire plane of sandpaper fixed on a grater. It is unpleasant that dust falls into the eyes, so it is almost impossible to work without glasses.

How to make an arch instead of a door: the third method - typesetting

Another way to make drywall arches with your own hands is stacking. The vault is broken into segments and assembled from pieces that create close to the required curvature.

They are attached to putty, diluted with a mixture of PVA and water. Such a batch dries quickly, so first we cut the plates and try them on. It can be folded on the table, only the vault will turn upside down, but it will allow you to evaluate how correctly the plates are assembled.

Then the plates begin to be attached to the opening, for reliability, periodically reinforcing with self-tapping screws. Washers are placed under the heads - so as not to push through the cardboard. Remove excess putty immediately. If it gets stuck, it's impossible to tear it off. The finished surface is primed to improve adhesion (adhesion), and then puttied, leveling the arch. To make it easier to display, you can use a template attached on both sides.

Making sharp bends using this technology is not easy, and for rounded corners and semi-arches it is a great way to do without profiles.

How to bend drywall

One important detail: standard wall drywall does not bend well. For curved surfaces, a thin one was specially invented - 6 and 6 mm thick. This bent part is easier to make from it. With a slight curvature, such a thin sheet can be bent easily and without tricks. If there is no desire to buy thin GVL, there are two ways to bend the standard one.

The first- take a needle roller and roll the cut segment well on one side. You need to roll with effort so that the plaster breaks. Then the leaf is wetted with water and left for two to three hours. After such procedures, it should bend well. Take it, fix it on one side, and gradually pressing it against the arch frame, bend it, screwing it gradually around the edges with self-tapping screws. The method is not bad, only with a lack of experience and insufficient processing of gypsum, the sheet may burst. You will either have to mask the gap later, or start over.

Second way to bend drywall: on one side, make notches with a knife about every 4-5 cm. The notches should cut the paper. Such a strip is also gradually fixed, breaking the gypsum as necessary. It bursts along the incision lines from a light pressure.