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Shouldn't the author have also mentioned cheap drywall? To me that led to worse yet much faster and cheaper construction. It's also so easy to work with that ev
by bigmattystyles 4y ago
Shouldn't the author have also mentioned cheap drywall? To me that led to worse yet much faster and cheaper construction. It's also so easy to work with that even I learned how to do most things (slowly but well). My expensive bay-area wall feels like a carton box and I think it's because i grew up in a masoned house. (I know masoned buildings are not viable in CA due to earthquakes, but man does my house feel like it could just get blown away by a mild gust here)
- csours 4y agoThey have talked about drywall in a previous post.
- maherbeg 4y agoThey actually wrote a whole article on dry-wall and theorizing on what the next iteration of it could look like https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/comparing-process-improvement-in https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/comparing-process...
- hammock 4y agoI read the whole thing and didn’t really see what the next iteration of wall materials (for general household use) would look like. I saw a discussion of mostly plastic alternatives, and some kind of robot drywall finisher.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoIn what ways does drywall make a house worse?
- peatmoss 4y agoThe article linked in this thread mentions the strengths of plaster—the tech that preceded drywall. Plaster has some nice aesthetic properties, good fire resistance, good sound isolation, can be shaped into organic contours. All those things make it great, though I hate the mess of working with old work.
- frosted-flakes 4y agoPlaster and gypsum board (drywall) can be used together. The author's own house uses plastered gypboard, and from what I understand plastered gypboard is still extremely common in Europe and around the world.
- sgerenser 4y agoIt’s also pretty common in New England (Boston area especially) although almost unheard of outside that area in the U.S.
- asmithmd1 4y agoWe had rehab work done when we moved to a Boston area house and they skim coated everything with plaster as standard of practice. That is definitely not the standard anywhere else I have lived. Another regional difference is they put the powder room light switch next to the door on the outside, why? Has anyone seen this in any other area?
- dsr_ 4y agoIt's a Massachusetts standard, explained to me as an early safety procedure before GFCI was invented -- and probably dating back to early exposed wiring. Separation of water and voltage.
- bombcar 4y agoDrywall provides a significant amount of structural strength- it braces the walls something pretty fierce even if you can kick it. It also lets all the “look good” labor be done at the very last moment. In my personal opinion the only thing that comes close is shiplap and it don’t look as good to some and doesn’t fireblock as well.
- danans 4y agoIt also can serve as a decent primary air barrier as long you don't put big holes in it.
- erik_seaberg 4y agoOnly the treated surface is water resistant, so you might get mold or rot inside.
- danans 4y ago> Shouldn't the author have also mentioned cheap drywall? To me that led to worse yet much faster and cheaper construction. It's also so easy to work with that even I learned how to do most things (slowly but well). My expensive bay-area wall feels like a carton box and I think it's because i grew up in a masoned house If it's a production builder built house, it might have 3/8 inch drywall. 1/2 or 5/8 inch drywall makes a big difference to how solid a wall feels but that usually only happens in custom high end builds.
- jeffrallen 4y agoIn Europe we use Fermacell, which is like drywall but much more substantial. It is made from recycled paper and cement.
- dmtroyer 4y agoI think balloon framing preceded drywall by quite a long time.