Thread: Sheetrock?
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Doug Houseman Doug  Houseman is offline
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Default Sheetrock?

In article
,
Sonny wrote:

Actually, I wasn't thinking, last night, when I posted the query. I
recall thinking something wasn't right, in that, I was aware it was
the Chinese plywood that had issues with formaldehyde (FEMA trailers
especially, post-Katrina), not sheetrock. Anyway.....

My post was on behalf of a lady in a gardening chat room, I visit.
She is in the Corpus Christi, Tx area and is having some remodeling
work done. She stated her contractor told her there was no problem
with sheetrock, but she didn't know any better.... if it was sheetrock
(or something else) that had issues concerning formaldehyde. Her not
knowing any better, she mentioned her concern in the chat room and I
told her I would ask, here, to make sure. I gave her the link to
here, so she may pop in for commenting. Her name is Jan. I'm sure
your comments will be a relief for her. Thanks.

Other chat room members were interested in the facts, also.

Sonny


Sonny -

The problem was that the Chinese mixed fly ash and the limestone from
the fluidized bed of their coal fired power plants. Most Gypsum used
today is a by-product of a coal fired power plant and if it is done
correctly (regulations in the US and quality control at US plants mean
that 99% of the time it is here) there is no harmful chemicals in the
wall board. In the case of the Chinese Wallboard, the wallboard
manufacturers had a lack of raw material, so scooped up anything that
was a waste product of the plant. That included fly ash that had a large
amount of sulphur compounds in it. The wallboard leached sulfuric acid
and sulfur dioxide (stank and eroded fasteners, etc).

China now has a quality control process in place and has segregated the
waste products.

Domitar and others make wallboard in the USA and Canada. Lowe's and
others have Greenboard and paperless board that pretty much all is made
in the USA or Canada. If you are willing to go a grade above the plain
old wallboard, you can normally find on the edge tape a "Made In xxx"
label on the edge tape that holds two sheets together.