When using traditional paper-faced drywall, the water contained in finishing compounds can soak into the paper, which makes it dry more quickly.Most of us know what drywall looks like. This stems from the fact that the fiberglass mat facing allows little or no water to penetrate toward the gypsum core. Finishing compounds take slightly longer to dry. Paperless drywall can be used in any other part of the home where you might otherwise use traditional drywall. Examples: exposed wall surfaces above ceramic tile in tubs and showers, around vanities and toilets, and so forth. Paperless drywall can be used in bathroom areas where you might expect high humidity but not necessarily water contact. The skim coat offers a secondary benefit of fixing minor imperfections that might appear in the drywall finish. It is best to skim-coat the paperless drywall after it has been sanded. If the humidity is low, the skim coat dries very rapidly. Apply the topping compound to the paperless drywall with a thick-napped paint roller, and then immediately remove it with a wide, flat knife. One method that has worked well for me is to add some water to drywall topping compound, transforming it into a thick paint. There are many different methods of skim coating, as well as large tools to make the job go faster. This problem is easily solved if the entire surface of the paperless drywall is skim-coated with drywall topping compound. The filled glass mat has a very different texture from unfinished paperless drywall. The smooth areas are created when the creamy joint compound fills the small voids in the fiberglass matting. Smooth racing stripes might also be visible at corners and flat seams where joint compound and tape were used to finish the unsightly seams caused by two pieces of drywall touching one another. If a rookie drywall finisher and painter work on paperless drywall, you might see smooth polka dots where screws and nails are covered with finishing compound in the drywall. At night when light washes down a wall from above at a low angle, the texture of the fiberglass matting is very apparent. But when you get closer and look at the surface of the paperless drywall, you can see and feel the fine fiberglass matting. When viewed in daylight at a distance of more than 6 feet, the surface of paperless drywall appears nearly identical to that of traditional paper-faced drywall. Drywall screws and nails penetrate paperless drywall just as they do traditional drywall. Aside from the slightly rougher surface when handling it, I could detect no other difference when I cut the paperless drywall with a traditional razor knife. I used paperless drywall on two recent projects in my own home. Some molds actually feed on the paper facing of traditional drywall if the drywall becomes wet or damp and stays moist. The fiberglass mat that replaces the paper is not a known food source for many common molds. Paperless drywall was created to help minimize the spread of mold in homes. Not all traditional drywall has this kind of core. It also comes with a moisture-resistant gypsum core. Paperless drywall is covered front and back with fiberglass that naturally is highly water resistant. Some drywall products have colored paper facing (blue or green) that inhibits the absorption of water that might otherwise soften the gypsum core. Not all drywall has the same paper facing. Traditional drywall has a firm gypsum core that is wrapped with special paper, both front and back. But paperless drywall solves a few annoying problems that users of paper-faced drywall have struggled with for years. Traditional drywall with paper facing is fine in many instances - I have it on virtually every surface of my own home. Q: Is paperless drywall as easy to cut, install and finish as traditional drywall that has a paper facing? Why would I choose paperless drywall? The texture of the paperless drywall is definitely rougher, and I am worried the walls and ceilings in my house will not be smooth.Ī: Paperless drywall is one of those why-didn't-I-think-of-that products.
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