Rivagips BG Ltd

Standard gypsumboard AB	Moisture resistant AY	Fire resistant AК

Drywall, also commonly known as gypsumboard, plasterboard (UK, Ireland, Australia), gibraltar board or gib (New Zealand – GIB being a trademark of Winstone Wallboards), rock lath, sheetrock (a trademark of United States Gypsum Company), gyprock (Canada and Australia – likely a portmanteau of „gypsumboard“ and „sheetrock“) is a common manufactured building material used globally for the finish construction of interior walls and ceilings.

Plaster made from gypsum has been used as a construction material for thousands of years. The earliest known use of gypsum as a building material was in Anatolia around 6000 B.C. In fact, plaster applied at least 4,000 years ago to walls inside the Great Pyramids of Egypt is still in good condition. Gypsum is found on every continent in the world and is one of the most widely used minerals.

Synthetic gypsum is generated as a byproduct of industrial processes. In the world, the most common source of synthetic gypsum is FGD systems used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fi red electric powerplants. These FGD systems not only keep the air clean but they also can provide a sustainable, ecologically sound source of very pure gypsum. Synthetic gypsum also is generated by various other acidneutralizing processes.

The United States continued to lead the world in gypsum production in 2005, accounting for about 17.9% of reported global output.

Today drywall panels are widely utilized in modern construction around the world.

Gypsumboard is a cheap construction material, which, according to the statistics for the year 2005, is the most widely used construction material for walls and ceilings. The gypsumboard is made mainly of gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) and is formed as a sandwich of wet gypsum placed between two sheets of heavy paper. The thus formed panel is cut to the required size from the virtually endless line, resulting from the continuous production process. The most often used in Bulgaria gypsumboard is 1200 mm wide and 2500 mm to 3000 mm long, the lengths varying by ten centimeters. Panels of greater length are used for quicker installation, while in case of acceptable for the producer quantities, special lengths according to the customer’s order can be made to reduce the losses. After the gypsum sandwich dries, the panel becomes rigid and sufficiently strong to use as construction material. The thickness of the gypsumboard depends on the standards of the country of manufacture. The most widely used thickness is 12,5 mm (12 mm, 12,5 mm or 12,7 mm, depending on the country of manufacture), but it varies from 6 mm up to 25 mm, depending on its purpose. Usually, for sound insulation and fire-prevention, two layers of gypsumboard are installed.

Gypsumboard is an environmentally clean product. Plaster is obtained from natural gypsum extracted from quarries or synthetic gypsum produced by removing the sulphur from the smoke from coal-fired power stations.

Nearly half the gypsum used by the Division is synthetic. Paper-board comes from recycled paper. Made from largely recycled materials, plasterboard is itself entirely recyclable.

Fire resistance: when used as a component in fire barriers, gypsumboard is a passive fire protection item, subject to stringent bounding. In its natural state, gypsum contains the water of crystallisation bound in the form of hydrates. When exposed to heat or fire, this water is vapourised, retarding heat transfer. Therefore, a fire in one room, which is separated from an adjacent room by a fire-resistance rated gypsumboard assembly, will not cause this adjacent room to get any warmer than the boiling point (100°C) until the water in the gypsum is gone. This makes gypsumboard an ablative material because as the hydrates sublime, a crumbly dust is left behind, which, along with the paper, is sacrificial. Generally, the more layers of Fire resistant gypsumboard one adds, the more one increases the fire-resistance of the assembly, be it horizontal or vertical. Fire resistant gypsumboard is formulated by adding glass fibers to the gypsum, to increase the resistance to fires, especially once the hydrates are spent, which leaves the gypsum in powder form. Fire resistant gypsumboard is typically the material chosen to construct walls and ceilings that are required to have a fire-resistance rating.

The high quality gypsumboard panels of Lafarge Dalsan are suitable for lining walls and ceilings and for erection of partition walls. They are made of natural gypsum of high purity, which provides for their high strength, low weight, rigidity and easy work. They have excellent working characteristics, easy installation, low number of damaged panels and residual materials. A wide range of fixing and connecting accessories and consumables are offered for sale.

The use of the materials’ advantages allows the creation of high-quality oval forms out of ordinary gypsumboard panels, while at the same time saving time and money. Since the materials for drywalling do not need time to dry, the flowing operations can begin immediately, reducing the required time and budget for construction.

For prestigious indoor facilities, such as multiplex, movie theaters, recreation complexes or luxurious hotels, the Lafarge drywall systems provide new possibilities for the erection of complex and beautiful three-dimensional shapes.