Wall Coverings

Basics

• A general term for materials used to:
  • Make structural walls more aesthetically appealing
  • Increase Insulation (Sound, Thermal, etc)
  • Make adding temporary fixtures (Such as Posters, Framed Paintings, String Lights, and so on) via Pushtacks or Nails Easier
    • Especially relevant in Mass Wall Construction as unlike Framing based construction which until a covering is used (Typically Drywall ) it is Bare Studs and thus largely empty
    • So it is largely empty, then almost always covered by drywall'
• Examples Include:
  • Carpet (Think of that grey/black carpet used to cover the insides of vehicles etc)
  • Plaster Board
  • Paneling (Wood, Plastic, or Composite)
  • Some sort of Laminated Engineered Wood product such as Homasote , Masonite, etc

Most Common

Plaster Board

• At least according to (English USA) Google Search Results, "Drywall" seems to be the most common term and thus will be used in most cases to describe Plaster Board/Gypsum Board On-Wiki
• Most USA Homes use Drywall over the Dimensional Lumber Framing to form walls
• Drywall is a Sandwich Panel of sorts; A Layer of a Dried Plaster like material in between two pieces of paper
  • There are sometimes with added Reinforcing Fibers (Such as in Glass Fiber Reinforced Gypsum) and Flame Retardant (Such as in Type C Fire Resistant Drywall
• This is typically made with
  • Pulped Paper Recycling based Paper Layers
  • A Mix of
    • "New" Gypsum Powder
    • Recycled Gypsum
  • Other additives

Unknowns

• Recyclability
• Gypsum seems to be VERY common and mined in quarries
• Main issue with drywall seems to be it is hard to produce small scale?
• It is fire-resistant (need to get more hard info)
  • This does depend on Drywall Type and Other Design Aspects of the Building
    • ie most North American houses are not fireproof due to Standard/Pressure Treated Dimensional Lumber Framing, and has Paper Backing on both sides

Simple Washes/Paint

• A Thin Coat of Plaster, or Paint
• Improves aesthetics, doesn't add much else, but is easy to do
• Would make nails still not very practical (need to dig for info)
• It can however also allow for:
  • Use of magnets to attach things via Magnetic Primer
  • Use of Textured Paint to allow for use of lower Drywall Finish Levels especially on areas such as Ceilings

Engineered Wood

• Compared to Drywall, it is easier to make at a small Scale, the main issue is Flammability
• MAY be able to use some sort of Flame Retardant in the mix, as is done with Fire Resistant Plywood
• Also would work well with other needed workflows:
  • Paper Recycling
  • Pulp Compression Molding
  • Sawdust Recycling

Internal Links

• Cement Board (See Also/Merge With "Plaster Board" once that page is made?)
• Laminated Ferrocement
• Similar concepts, albeit only for aesthetics:
  • Tile / Mosaics
  • Stone Veneer / Stone Cladding
• Similar Concepts but for Niche Uses:
  • Acoustic Tiles
  • Fixed Permanent Wall Radiation Shielding (Such as in a room for Medical X-Rays or Industrial CT Scanning among other things)

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on This Category
• On the difficulty of hanging things in masonry walls (also goofy bit on european culture compared to USA Culture)