Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk chalk. Gypsum also crystallizes as translucent crystals of selenite. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison.
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "render" commonly refers to external applications. The term stucco refers to plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces.
Drywall is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick sheets of facer and backer paper, used in the construction of interior walls and ceilings. The plaster is mixed with fiber ; plasticizer, foaming agent; and additives that can reduce mildew, flammability, and water absorption.
Calcium sulfate (or calcium sulphate) is the inorganic compound with the formula CaSO4 and related hydrates. In the form of γ-anhydrite (the anhydrous form), it is used as a desiccant. One particular hydrate is better known as plaster of Paris, and another occurs naturally as the mineral gypsum. It has many uses in industry. All forms are white solids that are poorly soluble in water. Calcium sulfate causes permanent hardness in water.
USG Corporation, also known as United States Gypsum Corporation, is an American company which manufactures construction materials, most notably drywall and joint compound. The company is the largest distributor of wallboard in the United States and the largest manufacturer of gypsum products in North America. It is also a major consumer of synthetic gypsum, a byproduct of flue-gas desulfurization. Its corporate offices are located at 550 West Adams Street in Chicago, Illinois.
This page is a list of construction topics.
BPB Ltd was a British building materials business. It once was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2005, the company was purchased by Saint-Gobain of France. The company's subsidiary British Gypsum, which was the UK operating arm of the company, operates as a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, with five manufacturing sites in Britain as of 2012.
A lath or slat is a thin, narrow strip of straight-grained wood used under roof shingles or tiles, on lath and plaster walls and ceilings to hold plaster, and in lattice and trellis work.
Autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) is a lightweight, precast, cellular concrete building material, eco-friendly, suitable for producing concrete-like blocks. It is composed of quartz sand, calcined gypsum, lime, portland cement, water and aluminium powder. AAC products are cured under heat and pressure in an autoclave. Developed in the mid-1920s, AAC provides insulation, fire, and mold-resistance. Forms include blocks, wall panels, floor and roof panels, cladding (façade) panels and lintels. It is also an insulator.
Fireproofing is rendering something resistant to fire, or incombustible; or material for use in making anything fire-proof. It is a passive fire protection measure. "Fireproof" or "fireproofing" can be used as a noun, verb or adjective; it may be hyphenated ("fire-proof").
Magnesium oxide, more commonly called magnesia, is a mineral that when used as part of a cement mixture and cast into thin cement panels under proper curing procedures and practices can be used in residential and commercial building construction. Some versions are suitable for general building uses and for applications that require fire resistance, mold and mildew control, as well as sound control applications. Magnesia board has strength and resistance due to very strong bonds between magnesium and oxygen atoms that form magnesium oxide crystals.
"Chinese drywall" refers to an environmental health issue involving defective drywall manufactured in China, imported to the United States and used in residential construction between 2001 and 2009 – affecting "an estimated 100,000 homes in more than 20 states".
Demolition waste is waste debris from destruction of buildings, roads, bridges, or other structures. Debris varies in composition, but the major components, by weight, in the US include concrete, wood products, asphalt shingles, brick and clay tile, steel, and drywall. There is the potential to recycle many elements of demolition waste.
National Gypsum Company is a company based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that produces drywall gypsum boards in the US. It has 17 gypsum board plants in the US and presents itself as a fully integrated building products manufacturer. It is a private company, incorporated as New NGC, Inc. in 1993 after previously filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1990. It is one of the six producers which hold approximately 81% of the worldwide wallboard market
Knauf Insulation is an international company owned by the Knauf family and is an important manufacturer of insulation products in the US and Europe. The company is a producer of insulation materials such as glass wool, stone wool, wood wool boards, EPS, XPS, as well as the Heradesign wood wool based acoustic ceiling systems.
Gypsum block is a massive lightweight building material composed of solid gypsum, for building and erecting lightweight, fire-resistant, non-load bearing interior walls, partition walls, cavity walls, skin walls, and pillar casing indoors. Gypsum blocks are composed of gypsum, plaster, water and in some cases additives like vegetable or wood fiber for greater strength. Partition walls, made from gypsum blocks, require no sub-structure for erection and gypsum adhesive is used as bonding agent, not standard mortar. Because of this fundamental difference, gypsum blocks shouldn't be confused with the thinner plasterboard used for paneling stud walls.
Gypsum recycling is the process of turning gypsum waste into recycled gypsum, thereby generating a raw material that can replace virgin gypsum raw materials in the manufacturing of new products.
Grenzebach BSH (GmbH) was established following the take-over of Babcock-BSH GmbH by Grenzebach Maschinenbau GmbH. Grenzebach BSH GmbH has its registered office in Bad Hersfeld, Germany, and has been a member of the Grenzebach group since October 2002. The company employs some 350 people and at the Bad Hersfeld location continues its predecessor's activities as a supplier of equipment and services for the wood processing and building materials industries as well as the process technology sector. Its offices and workshops were first located in buildings that in part dated back to the old Schilde AG. Beginning in the summer of 2007, engineering and administration were the first departments to move into a new office building located at Gewerbepark Hohe Luft, a business park at the periphery of Bad Hersfeld. Construction of a new factory building right next to the offices began in 2008 and was completed in 2009. Manufacturing and the remaining departments such as R&D and logistics then also moved in from mid-2009. By the end of 2009 all buildings on the former Schilde premises in the town centre were vacated and handed back their owner, the town of Bad Hersfeld.
Mineral bonded wood wool boards are building boards made of wood wool fibres, water and the binding agents cement, caustic magnesia and gypsum. Mineral bound wood wool boards are used in a wide range of applications, e.g., thermal insulation, acoustic insulation, indoor decoration, etc.
Clay panel or clay board is a panel made of clay with some additives. The clay is mixed with sand, water, and fiber, typically wood fiber, and sometimes other additives like starch. Most often this means employing the use of high-cellulose waste fibres. To improve the breaking resistance clay boards are often embedded in a hessian skin on the backside or similar embeddings.
