APPEARANCE
Before drywall, most homes and building relied on plaster walls. Plaster was a time consuming process, that was often hard to perfect. Then came drywall, which made wall construction in buildings and homes much easier. Not only was the process quicker, but the walls and ceilings were much more attractive.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Although there have been other types of materials used for walls in the past, nothing comes close the the energy efficiency of drywall. Drywall helps improve insulation and helps to retain room temperature much better than any alternatives.
FIRE RESISTANCE
Not only is using drywall better for your energy bills, but is much more fire resistant than other alternatives. This means that fire will not generally spread as quick and can better contain fires, which could save your home. More importantly, it could save your life.
TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW
Drywall is a construction product commonly used to finish building interiors. For hundreds of years prior to its development, the interior walls of buildings were usually made of plaster. This was applied in layers over narrow boards called laths that were nailed directly to the studs. The plaster was pressed into gaps between the laths to make it adhere, and was built up in progressive layers. This building technique called for a fair degree of craftsmanship and experience, but allowed the builder to incorporate interesting textures or decorations as the plaster was worked.
In the mid-twentieth century, drywall, also called plasterboard, sheetrock or gypsum board, came into widespread use, and now almost all buildings have drywall walls. Drywall has a number of advantages over plaster, ease of installation being the most obvious. Any reasonably handy person can refinish a room with drywall, and you don’t have to take any training or join a guild to learn how to do it.
Drywall is made using gypsum plaster, which is then covered on both sides by fiberglass matting or heavyweight paper. Depending on the manufacturer, certain additions, such as anti-mildew and fire-resistant materials, are mixed with the gypsum plaster before applying the paper.
