Options for Drywall
People often refer to all varieties of gypsum board used as wall covering as "drywall." However, there are actually many different varieties of drywall. The type that you use for your particular application depends largely on the type of room that you are building and what characteristics in your walls you put the highest value on. Does this Spark an idea?
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Standard Drywall
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Standard drywall is the material found on the vast majority of interior walls in homes around the country. This material is basically gypsum that is covered in a thick outer layer of paper. Standard drywall is available in different thicknesses, starting at 1/4 inch and ranging up to 5/8 inch thick. Most standard drywall comes in sheets that are 4-by-8 and fit easily on standard stud-framed walls, but higher sheets for taller rooms are available.
Green Board
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Moisture is a problem for regular drywall. If it permeates the paper layer, it will be absorbed by the gypsum, where it causes molds and mildews to grow. To avoid acquiring rot in drywall boards, high-moisture areas are often covered with a special green variety of drywall, usually just called green board. The boards repel moisture because of an oily coating placed over the surface of the board, which only resists small amounts of moisture, however. Direct water contact for prolonged periods would certainly still penetrate and ruin green board.
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Soundproof
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Another common variety of drywall is designed to stop sound from penetrating the wall. This type of drywall is heavy and has an increased density over other types of drywall to stop sound from traveling through the boards. Regular 5/8-inch drywall will stop a lot of sound, but it won't work as well as specialized sound-resistant drywall. This material is useful for interior walls facing a garage or workshop, for instance, to prevent loud noises from tools and engines from constantly traveling into the house.
Fire-resistant Drywall
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This type of drywall is also sometimes called "Type-X" drywall. The gypsum core of the board has other materials mixed in with it to make it more fire resistant. These include glass and boric acid. This type of material is often used in commercial buildings where fire is a hazard and where building codes specify that it must be used. Many regions have building codes that require Type-X drywall in furnace rooms, for example, because of the potential risk of fire.
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