A new British-designed tool for fitting plasterboard ceilings is looking for UK stockists, according to Professional Builders Merchant. Board Aid is a support device that holds a board in position against the ceiling while the installer fixes it, with the aim of making overhead boarding quicker and less physically punishing for both trade and DIY users.
The pitch is straightforward: ceiling boarding is one of the more awkward jobs in drylining because a standard 1200 x 2400mm sheet of 12.5mm plasterboard weighs somewhere around 22-25kg, and holding it flat overhead while locating a screw into a joist is a two-person job in practice. The alternatives are a panel lift, which costs money to buy or hire and takes up van space, or a dead man prop, which needs cutting and setting for each ceiling height. Board Aid sits between the two: the manufacturer positions it as supporting and positioning the board so the installer has both hands free for fixing, and says it works for either solo or team installation.
The product is sold through the company's own site, where it is offered as a fixing support tool with a set including two Board Aids plus a "Companion" for larger boards, and free UK delivery. Board Aid is the trading name of Konig Enterprises Limited, based in Mildenhall, Suffolk, and the company states the design is registered in the UK, EU, China and the USA. There is a wholesale enquiry route on the site, which is consistent with the trade-press call for stockists.
What UK trades should take from this: if you board ceilings regularly you have already solved this problem, usually with a lift or a second pair of hands. The interesting case is the smaller operator — the general builder, the landlord's refurb team, the self-builder — doing a room or two at a time where hiring a panel lift is disproportionate. Whether it earns a place in the van comes down to price and how well it holds on uneven or older joists, and the trade press piece did not carry pricing.
Worth watching for whether any of the national merchants pick it up, since a British-made accessory getting merchant shelf space is a reasonable proxy for whether the trade actually rates it.
---