Drywall is used as a modern building material that is available in large panels such as 4 feet by 8 feet. The standard drywall panel has a gypsum core which has been sandwiched between two faces of heavy paper. These heavy paper faces are commonly constructed from recycled paper products. One of the faces is very smooth and the other is rougher like Kraft paper. The smooth face is the surfacing face. The purpose of drywall was to replace older types of processes for interior finishing that required lath and plaster and were significantly more labor intensive.

Drywall is aptly named as it goes on dry rather than wet like some materials such as plaster. There are a number of different proprietary names that are used to describe Drywall, including Sheetrock, Gyp Board, Plaster Board, Gypsum Board and Wallboard though many of these names refer to specific brands and types of Drywall and not to Drywall in general.

There are numerous benefits associated with Drywall, including that it is generally inexpensive, can be used in a wide variety of different applications, is easy to work with and is also capable of being used in place of plaster walls. Drywall is capable of readily accepting a wide range of different finishes and paints and it is also easily cut into the right shape using a sharp knife. Once it has been taped in and sanded down, Drywall allows for near immediate painting and finishing. Another important benefit of Drywall is that it is a non combustible material.

Drywall has a unique shape and unique construction. It has recycled face paper around its edges, protecting and reinforcing the core. The short edges are smooth and square cut. The long panel edges have special shaping that involves tapering, allowing for joints to be properly reinforced with the use of special tape and then properly concealed using special finishing compounds. Once the joints have been properly taped and then finished, an installation that is well done will be nearly invisible.

For most typical residential applications, drywall is capable of being used on ceilings and walls. Drywall also comes in many other different types, different thicknesses and also different sheet sizes depending on what type of application you have in mind for it. The most common panel size for residential dry wall is 4 feet by 8 feet and ½ inch thick although there are other thicknesses and other panel sizes as well for residential construction, to repair severely cracked plaster ceilings, for door frames and window frames, for one-hour fire rated walls, and for purposes where walls need to be water resistant. There are special types of water resistant as well as mold resistant drywall boards that can be used for wet applications such as bathrooms and kitchens, and these boards and panels have green paper faces.

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Drywall, Handy Man

Tags:

building material, combustible material, Drywall, face paper, gyp board, gypsum board, heavy paper, kraft paper, lath and plaster, paper faces, plaster board, plaster walls, proprietary names, recycled paper products, residen, sharp knife, sheetrock, smooth face, two faces, wallboard