Anyone knows when drywall became commonly available as a building material? I have notes of a demo on my old house a couple years ago, found a signature by the carpenters dated 1925 (along with old 1908 and 1911 Coke calenders in the wall cavities, with prints of pretty models) . DW was 3/8″ thick, but much stonger than similar stuff today.
Another strange discovery for me at least: renavoting a bathroom for a client, removed a medicine cabinet and discovered the other side of the wall was DW that’s 16″ wide, layed horizontally. I’m not making this up, that’s 2 tapered edges 16″ appart!! That wall was the kitchen, done about 15~20 years ago. wassupwiddat?
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no idea on the time frames but that 16" stuff you found is rock lath.... interior wall plaster base...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I did a remodel on my house, built about 1925. It had 3/8 drywall on it. That stuff was HARD! It also had wood particles in it.
When I took down a non-structural partition, I was amazed to see that the drywall was between the top plate and the joists. Apparently they built the house as a shell, put up the drywall, and then added the partitions! There are a number of identical houses in my neighborhood, and everybody who has had work done has seen the same thing.
I just did a Google search "drywall invented year" and came up with the following:
U.S. Gypsum patented the world's first drywall panel - the SHEETROCK Brand panel - in 1917. Following years of refinement, these gypsum panels revolutionized home building techniques during the 1940s and 1950s by providing an economical alternative to conventional plaster wall construction. Their development enabled builders to meet an unprecedented demand for new, affordable homes during the post-World War II housing boom.
Actually, I've got the same odd drywall in a bathroom I just finished tearing out.
Horizontal install, 16" high. The house is from around 1928. I do see one tape at the butt joint where there are some numbers stamped on there. What I found strange was that the drywall is more like a sheet of pegboard -- it has dime-sized holes that were filled in, maybe with a skim-coat of plaster from the outside.
rock lath...
replaced the wood lath used with plaster..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Thank you all guys for the info. Never seen this rock lath before in this size, and because I only got to see it from the back (no edge) it looked like DW.
Another type of wallboard I found in my old house in the newer sections/additions is like a dense cement board, tougher and harder than CBUs, more like concrete. Wider panels than 16", skimmed with plaster. I assume that's rock lath as well.
yup...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!<!----><!---->
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Thanks IMERC,Probably would have helped if I had read the end of your thread before I hit post. Thanks for the info.