STEP 5: Correct layout of point profiles

Learn how to correctly lay out Michno System discs and avoid early installation mistakes. This guide shows how to set the first hole, keep the correct spacing and plan the fixing grid so plasterboard joints always land where they should.

How do you mark drilling points to keep the ideal spacing for plasterboards and avoid mistakes right from the start? In this step, we show how to measure out Michno System discs correctly, how to set the first hole and how to plan the fixing grid so that board joints always fall exactly where they should.

Why is measuring out the discs so important?

This is the stage where you can literally “step on a mine”.
A small mistake at the first hole means that:

• the board joint will not land on the disc,

• the spacing will no longer match,

• and the whole structure will require corrections or cutting of boards.

That is why it is so important to plan the hole positions consciously from the beginning and take into account the width of a plasterboard sheet (120 cm).

Step 1: First hole – 10 cm from the wall

Start with the first mounting hole, drilled:

• about 10 cm from the adjacent wall (sometimes 12 cm – depending on wall curvature and how much it “runs out”),

• at the height of the lower edge of the plasterboard – starting from the floor.

Why not closer?
Because walls rarely stay perfectly plumb, and too small a distance could cause the first disc to “mislead” the line and shift the whole fixing grid. Leaving 10–12 cm of clearance gives you a safety margin and full control over the spacing of the next points.

Step 2: Keeping the correct spacing – every 40 or 50 cm

The standard disc spacings in Michno System are:

• 40 × 40 cm,

• 40 × 50 cm,

Vertical and horizontal spacing should be selected according to the type of construction (wall or ceiling) and the expected stiffness of the structure.
For walls finished with ceramic cladding (bathroom walls), the required spacing is 40 × 40 cm, which ensures ideal support for plasterboards.

Tip:
When marking the next points every 40 cm from the first hole, it is easy to keep the rhythm – simply mark lines every 40 cm across the full height and width of the wall. Three moves with a tape measure and, within a few seconds, you have a simple working template on the wall.

Step 3: Checking board width and joint position

The key point is to keep a 120 cm distance between the axes of the discs where the boards meet.
This is exactly where the plasterboards must join to keep the surface continuous and stable.

If the first hole is drilled “at zero” from the wall, the next points (every 40 cm) may cause the last disc to fall too far away – for example at 130 cm instead of 120 cm.
Then the board joint will not land on the disc and you will have a problem when driving the screws.

Solution:
Make the first control shift — let us call it the “starting correction”.
The distance between the first column of discs and the discs near the wall should be 30 cm, so that after adding the next intervals (every 40 cm), the board joint falls exactly on the disc axis.

Step 4: Planning board joints and correcting the layout

At this stage it is worth test-fitting the board – even dry.
This lets you check whether:

• the board edge lands on the disc axis,

• the next joints are parallel,

• there is no “gap” at the end of the wall.

If the difference is a few centimetres, simply shift the first holes slightly instead of cutting boards later.
In unusual rooms (for example walls with recesses or openings), you can make a small shift of the third board and then return to full sheets — a simple trick that saves material and time.

Step 5: Support table and material consumption

In practice, the selected spacings directly affect material consumption:

Common mistakes when measuring out discs

❌ Drilling the first hole too close to the corner — this disrupts the whole grid rhythm.
❌ Ignoring the 120 cm board width — the joint ends up “in the air”.
❌ No “template” marked on the wall — the spacing starts to “float”.

Measuring out the discs may seem like a minor stage, but in practice it determines the accuracy of the entire installation. One mistake at the start is enough for every later board to “run out” by a few millimetres.