Re: New technology in drywall can prevent mold at home

[Guest guest]

Now I wonder about the future claims of the construction workers exposed to the

fiberglass particles floating around in the air when the board is cut to size

for installation. I wonder if someone is going to tell the guy who just left his

business card on my mailbox. It was from - offering " Home Remodelations " .

I think I miss my old lathe and plaster house!

Serena

www.freeboards.net/index.php?mforum=sickgovernmentb

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[Guest guest]

I predict this fiberglass-coated gypsum board product by Georgia

Pacific will have trouble holding paint. Contractors will get tired

of warranty work for paint failure and the product will go back to

its proper use - sheathing on highrise buildings.

Paper-faced gypsum board is fine so long as it is used correctly.

They need to pay more attention to flashing, cladding, window/door

installation and plumbing. The lazy option is this product on the

interior. What are they going to do with OSB. I get horrendous

samples from this common sheathing, flooring and roofing product.

" Build it right " is the only silver bullet.

Regards,

Greg Weatherman

aerobioLogical Solutions Inc.

Arlington VA 22202-2020

gw@...

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--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2C@n...>

wrote:

> The Daily News

> Online Edition Wednesday, May 04, 2005

>

> New technology in drywall can prevent mold at home

>

> http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/04/n/nstory.pl?fn-wallboard.0504

>

> By Bradley

> Associated Press

>

> Of all the food sources toxic molds feed on, none is more daunting

> for homeowners to control than damp wallboard.

>

> If unchecked, mold is the scourge of sufferers of any of a host of

> respiratory ailments. And mold is a repeat offender. Drywall

readily

> soaks up moisture, whether from a catastrophic storm, a slow leak

or

> high humidity. Given that some experts say even new homes will

> eventually leak, homeowners face the possibility of frequent

> replacement of wallboard, aka drywall.

>

> But some new wallboard provides a surprisingly simple answer:

Remove

> the food, remove the mold.

>

> That's the thinking behind the residential rollout of inorganic,

> paperless wallboard that denies mold spores a toehold on the

edible

> surface the fungi is notorious for colonizing.

>

> The " paper " is instead fiberglass mats atop the usual gypsum core.

> Gone, too, are mold-friendly starches used to bind paper to the

> gypsum. The paperless wallboard proved its mettle in commercial

> settings and is now showing up in residential construction.

>

> According to the product manager for the wallboard, sold under the

> name of DensGuard Plus, this is one way for homeowners and

builders

> to get a handle on the inevitable entrance of moisture into a home

> through flashings, windows, eaves or siding.

>

> " It's really all about removing the food source, " says Barry Reid

of

> Georgia Pacific, maker of DensGuard. " Once the paper is gone, mold

> has nowhere to go. It can't eat fiberglass mats. "

>

> Under the right conditions of moisture and heat, mold can

establish

> itself in as little as 24 hours. Reid says the fiberglass version

> aced standard industry mold tests. After 28 days of constant

> exposure to heat, humidity and direct moisture, no mold appeared.

>

> That's welcome news to homeowners and contractors who could get

> caught in a cycle of replacement after every storm. Even if storm

> waters don't penetrate a house, air conditioners and dehumidifiers

> shut down by electricity loss can create ideal conditions of heat

> and humidity to trigger mold growth.

>

> Otherwise, this new wallboard can be primed and painted like other

> drywall. Reid suggests the user can make walls completely

inorganic

> by substituting fiberglass mesh tape in place of paper tape on

wall

> seams.

>

> The wallboard is a good candidate for areas where water sealing is

> also needed, such as basements, bathrooms and shower stalls. The

> acrylic coating " stops moisture from going anywhere, " says Reid.

>

> The issue of mold growth on traditional drywall will continue to

> worsen instead of improve, according to Reid. As builders create

> more airtight homes for energy conservation, circulation of air

that

> could dry damp walls is all but eliminated.

>

> Ideally, homeowners want to keep indoor humidity levels in the 40

to

> 60 percent range. Conditions for mold spores to latch on to edible

> surfaces are favorable above those levels, says Reid.

>

> " Homes may be built to last, but you will get a leak at some

point, "

> says Reid. " This new wallboard at least keeps the moisture problem

> from becoming a mold problem. "