Drywall is a construction material known as a wallboard or gypsum board. It creates walls and ceilings in homes, buildings, and commercial structures.
When installing drywall, be sure to use a tool to remove electrical outlets and light switches. A thin spiral saw is a great choice for this job. Contact Plumber Buford GA now!
Drywall is the most common construction material for walls and ceilings. It’s also used in other interior elements such as trim and molding. The main ingredient is gypsum plaster sandwiched between thick sheets of paper. Some types of drywall are coated with additives to make it soundproof, fire resistant, or rot-resistant. Other types are designed to meet specific project needs such as moisture resistance or mold resistance.
Drywall has been around for over 100 years, making home construction and renovation faster and easier than before. Before drywall was developed, most houses were built with lath and plaster walls that were hand-applied. Today, drywall is the standard building material in most homes, and it’s available in many different thicknesses to suit the space and use.
The simplest drywall is white or gray and comes in various sizes including 1/2, 5/8 and 3/8 inch. The thinner 3/8-inch option is often used for curved walls or covering existing drywall.
Specialty drywall is also available such as green or blue board. This type is ideal for areas prone to high levels of moisture such as kitchens, bathrooms and basements. It is slightly more expensive than regular drywall but offers the benefit of being mold-resistant.
Other types of drywall include type X, which is fire-resistant and has a liner-backed gypsum core. This drywall is more difficult to cut than regular drywall, but it’s a good choice for walls in garages, boiler rooms and other areas with increased fire risk.
Type C drywall is similar to type X but has an improved core that is less likely to shrink or crack. It’s also water-resistant and has added strength.
Another type of drywall is called level 5, which features a smooth surface that eliminates the need for a final skim coat of plaster. This type of drywall is ideal for rooms that will be painted or where lighting conditions can highlight imperfections. It’s a bit more expensive than regular drywall but saves time on the job because it doesn’t require a final plaster coating.
Waterproof Drywall
Drywall is essential to building and renovating a home or business, but it can be susceptible to damage from moisture. If the proper types of drywall are used, this type of damage can be prevented, and moisture-prone areas of the home or business will remain safe from mold and mildew growth.
In some rooms of the house, like basements, bathrooms and laundry rooms, drywall can be exposed to moisture and humidity that can damage the gypsum core and paper cladding. When this happens, it is only a matter of time before the drywall will start to disintegrate and show signs of water damage, including bubbles and wrinkling. Mold and mildew will also start to grow. If left unchecked, the only solution is to rip out the drywall and replace it. This is expensive and time consuming, so preventing this from happening is crucial.
One way to prevent a problem like this is to apply a waterproofing primer over the entire surface of the drywall after it is installed. This can be done by a professional or DIY homeowner. However, another option is to purchase waterproof drywall that has already been treated with a moisture-resistant primer. This type of drywall is usually called green board or moisture resistant drywall. It is similar to regular drywall, except that the face and back papers have been treated with a waxy coating and chemicals that make it more resistant to mold and moisture.
Another type of waterproof drywall is fire-resistant, which can be used in certain applications where the drywall must pass a specific fire rating test. This type of drywall has the same gypsum core as regular drywall, but it is thicker at 5/8 inch and has a liner-backed gypsum core that is infused with noncombustible glass fibers. This type of drywall is often used in apartment buildings, garages and other applications that must pass a one-hour fire resistance test. Both types of mold and fire-resistant drywall are available in green, pink, yellow and white.
Foil-Backed Drywall
Foil-backed drywall is ideal for exterior walls and ceilings in new construction or remodeling on furred masonry, wood framing or steel frame. Pb Lam laminates a Foil Scrim Kraft (FSK) to the back side of manufactured gypsum wallboard. This vapor retarder is non-strippable, heavy-duty, clay-based and mildew resistant. It has reflective properties for radiant energy that help to keep rooms cooler and provides a lower permeability of 1 perm versus 3-4 perm for gypsum wallboard installed separately.
This type of drywall can also be used in interior walls but is typically not necessary as other types of moisture-resistant plasterboard are available. This drywall can be installed using the same process as regular gypsum board, and it features GridMarX guide marks that make installation faster and more accurate.
Fire-Resistant Drywall
Fire-rated drywall is essential for meeting building codes and ensuring safety in residential, commercial and industrial construction. Drywall consists of gypsum, a natural mineral that has inherent fire-resistant properties. In a fire, the water molecules in gypsum are released as steam, retarding the spread of flames and smoke. The addition of additional ingredients like glass fibers and other additives enhance these fire-resistant qualities, making fire-rated drywall more effective than standard drywall.
Many local building codes require the use of fire-rated drywall in certain areas such as garages and utility rooms or in walls that separate different living spaces, known as partition walls. This type of drywall is typically more expensive than regular drywall but it can help to save lives and property in the event of an emergency.
In addition to enhancing occupant and employee safety, fire-resistant drywall can also reduce damage to equipment, inventory, and other valuable assets within a building. It also helps to deflect the spread of a fire, giving firefighters more time to contain it and prevent further damage. In some cases, buildings that use fire-resistant drywall may qualify for lower insurance premiums, providing cost savings over time.
In addition to containing and suppressing fires, fire-resistant drywall can also delay the release of harmful gases that may be produced during combustion, thus improving air quality in the surrounding area. This can be particularly important in buildings that store sensitive equipment and materials such as telecommunications, financial data centers, and manufacturing facilities.