What is Drywall?

Drywall, also known as plasterboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper. Drywalls are usually used to make interior walls and partitions. Drywalls have replaced lath and plaster today because of it is quick to work with.

There are different types of drywall –
• Drylining System
• Interior Partition
• Performance Drywalls
• Wet Area Drywalls

Each of these are used as per their features and requirement.

Features of Drywall Interior Partition

• Quick Installation – Drywall are easy to be placed and also need less labor as compared to masonry construction. Also in masonry construction, work needs to be done faster to hand over the job for electrical wiring and other services. While with Drywall, such services like electrical are offered in the system itself. This makes the process easy and quick.

• Dry Construction – Masonry i.e. brick and block construction is quite a laborious task which requires ample of water curing. Whereas with Drywall (as name suggests), is a water free application. It therefore can be put up much faster and also is an easier process.

• Light Weight and Flexible – Drywalls are 8 to 10 times lighter than masonry walls. This lessens a lot of load of the structure. Drywalls are an advantage especially for high-rise structures where not only structural cost is reduced, but also the burden of moving up the heavy material. Studies have shown that having Drywalls saves upto 15% cost.

Light-weightiness of drywalls make them flexible allowing easy customization for interiors. The versatility of drywalls allows one to create space within space.

• Sound Insulators – Offer exceptional acoustic insulation (you can call it sound insulators). They prevent sound movement from one room to other.It can deliver almost 70dB+ level of sound insulation.

• Fire Resistant– Drywalls can withhold fire resistance for almost 4 hours of stability, integrity and insulation. In case fire breaks out, it can be confined to certain area, which gives enough time to the occupants to evacuate the structure.

• Thermal security-Drywalls have low thrermal conductivity but high thermal resistance. This property lowers electrical consumption, reducing the load on air-conditioning units.

• All types of finishes – Can take all types of finishes i.e. like paint or wallpaper or laminates, etc.

• Durability – Drywall Interior Partitions are strong and full-bodied and can characteristically last for lifetime of a building unless they are subjected to alteration.

• Cost Effective – Lastly, drywalls are super cost effective alternative to masonry walls that takes time to build.

In comparison to wooden partitions too, Drywalls prove to be much safer and cheaper. Say if a wooden partition is costing you around Rs.50,000 , then the same thing will cost Rs.10,000 if Gypsum board or Drywall is used. Also Wooden partitions can pose a fire threat and are poor sound insulators.

Drywalls are more predominant for commercial purposes especially in offices, hospitals, hotels. Schools, theaters, etc.

Installation of Drywall Interior Partition

Drywall is truly a wall system consisting of GI steel frame which is encased in gypsum plasterboard.The Drywalls are attached to each other on either side with self-drilling drywall screws.For huge partitions and walls, the joints are taped and finished with gypsum jointing compounds.