Wall to WallGypsum wallboard offers a range of opportunities to make greener selections.
- By Katy Tomasulo
- Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
- Publication date: 2011-05-01
Historically, most building pros likely haven’t given their drywall selections much thought. But with new products that target mold and moisture, extend durability, and enhance noise suppression, builders and remodelers can expect to find lots of options for this supposed commodity product. Today’s gypsum offerings also offer opportunities to go green. From recycled content to local manufacturing to long-term durability, it’s getting easier to make sustainable choices. Here’s what to look for.
Raw Materials
Most North American manufacturers have been using recycled-paper facing on their panels for decades, and some incorporate leftover end product; more recently, the introduction of synthetic gypsum has upped the category’s reuse opportunity even further.
Unlike traditional gypsum, which is mined from quarries, synthetic products use waste material from coal-fired power plants. The two materials arrive in different states—natural is a rock, synthetic comes in wet form—but the chemical makeup, and as such the look and performance, is the same. According to the Gypsum Association, synthetic has grown to nearly 30% of sales. Most manufacturers offer both types, so be sure to specify synthetic when ordering if you plan to seek certification points for recycled content. Also note that synthetic drywall is easier to obtain in the East; the high recycled content isn’t very green if you’re shipping it across the country.
Many manufacturing plants are now built next to or near the source, so gypsum materials may also qualify for regional credits. But, says Glenn Miller, architect specialist at Temple-Inland, some supply may come from Canada or Mexico, so ask about the origins of the raw materials as well as the manufacturing facility.
The residential building market was rocked in 2008 when reports of “toxic drywall”—wallboard that was emitting a sulfur-like odor and allegedly corroding household metals—surfaced in Florida and elsewhere on the southern coast. The root of the problem turned out to be gypsum manufactured in China, purchased during the building boom from 2005 to 2007 when there was a shortage of North American product.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission received more than 3,600 reports from residents in 38 states claiming health symptoms from defective drywall; complaints from all sources number more than 6,000. A recent article by COASTAL CONTRACTOR magazine, a sister publication of BUILDING PRODUCTS, indicated that some physicians and homeowners worry about the longer-term health effects for occupants of homes with the defective drywall. Regardless of findings, the perception is expected to take a toll on the resale values of the affected homes.
Manufacturers here say the best prevention is to stick with brands you know and trust, to buy North American–made product, and to know where your materials are coming from and what your subs are installing. Product made here will be labeled; if you have panels that aren’t, ask. –K.T.
Durability
“The essence of sustainability is durability, longevity, and performance,” says Barry Reid, sustainability manager at Georgia-Pacific Gypsum. “If you have to replace it, it’s not sustainable.”
One of the factors driving gypsum’s evolution over the past decade was the influx of mold lawsuits. Though the crisis wasn’t caused by drywall—blame construction practices, particularly faulty window installations and poor ventilation—it was the walls that got moldy as a result of water infiltration. The first step, naturally, is to manage the moisture so that it doesn’t enter the wall system in the first place. As a backup, manufacturers developed wallboard featuring moisture-resistant cores combined with treated paper facings or integrated fiberglass mat surfaces.
Most of these specialty panels carry a premium, but can be substituted for traditional products in areas where moisture and humidity may become a problem, including bathrooms (except behind the tub and shower surround), above kitchen sinks, in laundry rooms, and in finished basements.
In addition to improving product life span, preventing mold and mildew growth helps promote optimal indoor air quality, the industry says. And while traditional wallboard is considered a low-emitting material, several manufacturers have obtained product verification for IAQ, particularly as polymers and other features have been added for moisture resistance and sound attenuation.
To help specifiers wade through claims, UL Environment now offers a certification program for the gypsum category. Released in mid-October, the technical standard for ULE100, UL’s Sustainable Standard for Gypsum Wallboard, provides a multi-attribute label that evaluates a number of product traits—including recycled content and indoor air quality—as well as elements of the manufacturing process and a manufacturer’s social responsibility.
Recycling and Reuse
Like many areas of the built environment, the first step to keeping gypsum out of landfills is to create as little waste as possible through proper planning and design. Still, some scraps are inevitable, so consideration must be given to recycling and other disposal methods.
Recycling options vary by market, and there is no national reuse stream yet, although a few manufacturers will take back unused product from select contractors to be reused in manufacturing. Local waste recyclers are the likeliest option; the Gypsum Association recommends searching the National Institute of Building Sciences’ Construction Waste Management Database at www.wbdg.org.
Finally, some builders opt to grind up the material on site for soil amendment.
Bonus features
A lesser-known component of sustainable building, sound attenuation for areas such as media rooms can lead to a more comfortable home clients will want to live in longer. Sound-control panels, combined with smart building practices, help reduce noise transfer.
And manufacturers continue to experiment with wallboard in other ways. CertainTeed’s AirRenew, for example, is said to absorb and encapsulate formaldehyde emitted from other interior products. National Gypsum is testing ThermalCore, which has a Micronal PCM paraffin wax in its core that absorbs heat when it isn’t needed and releases it when temperatures drop below 73 degrees F.
With developments such as these, a continual focus on durability, and increasing attention toward sustainability, gypsum has moved quickly from commodity afterthought to high-performance material. —Katy Tomasulo This article originally appeared in EcoHome.
