3/8 vs. 1/2

dberladyn

3/8" should not be used period. It is made for specific purposes as I stated above.

New houses here are built with 1/2" regular drywall.

5/8" or 1/2" Fireguard is not required, nor does it make the garage "Fireproof".


Fireguard, Type C or Type X... all it means is that it has a rating, a set of properties. It simply performs a certain way at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time.

Even 1/2" regular will "protect" against fire to a certain degree.

sixeightten

It has been a while since I hung drywall, but I am pretty sure that the house/garage wall must be hung with firecode drywall. I seem to recall doing that every time.

dberladyn

Again, that would be code specific to your area. Here it's not required.

rusty baker

There are no codes on drywall at all, here.

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"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

Jim F

They use 3/8" on interior walls in mobile homes, presumabably to make them lighter for travel.

Gary in WA

You may be under the IRC, the footnotes are interesting; http://publicecodes.citation.com/ico...002_par010.htm

Gary

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dberladyn

Informative site!

For the record, I did do my garage in 5/8" Type "X" - however the dried out cedar which was originally on the ceiling for 40 years never caught fire once.

rusty baker

Those codes only pertain if adopted by local entities. Many rural areas, like mine, have no codes. There is no code inspection body because our rural areas are not zoned.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

Gary in WA

True, but wouldn't you want to know the bare minimum safety standards from the drywall manufacturer? That's why I stated the word "may" like the rest of the U.S. I appreciate codes and inspections for safety reasons, proof shown many of the decks pictured are not even up to minimum........ not to mention; floor joists, rafters, posts, piers, electrical, plumbing, ect. all there for our safety whether a AHJ is inspecting or not.

Gary

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rusty baker

Many code standards are overblown like the asbestos and lead paint standards.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

dberladyn

I understand where you are coming from but I don't agree with your statement. I took a course on Asbestos and Asbestosis. It only takes one fibre to kill you, and it's a nasty nasty death.

Lead Paint... would you knowingly put your own children in a room where it was peeling off the walls?

rusty baker

Being a flooring installer, they lumped floorcovering into the asbestos scare even tho the danger was very remote and easy to avoid. The same with lead paint. Unless the child is eating it, there is very little danger.
Did you know that homeowners and churches are exempt from rules on both? How much sense does that make? Did you know that a church run daycare is exempt as long as it is in church owned property?

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

dberladyn

And how do you avoid it? As soon as you disturb that asbestos ladden product you run the risk of releasing asbestos fibres into the air. My home was built in 1969, there is asbestos in just about everything original in this house. The floor tiles, the linoleum, the drywall, the texture.. I am coming across a bit hard in these posts but that's because the new regulations are there for a reason. I know the risks, I've taken courses on it... and I might very well die from all the years I did things in my industry when I had that "rubbish" mentality. I doubt I'll develop asbestosis but I don't rule out, I've done a lot of renovations as an occupational drywaller without even a simple paper mask (which will NOT protect you from asbestos).

Lead. We all have lead poisoning, everyone. It's a fact, google it. However scraping/sanding old lead bases paint will be very bad for your health. The regulations are there for a reason.

As far as homeowners/churches... I'm not even going to get into that. There's the practicality issue... for the most part the regulations are there to protect those who work with these situations on a daily basis.

rusty baker

Asbestos is only dangerous when it is friable. With flooring that is easily preventable. And that is also the biggest danger with lead paint, also easy to prevent.

__________________
"I'm twisted, not sick. Sick implies, I'll get better"
Semi-Retired Installer
Installing since 1973

AllanJ

One layer of 3/8" drywall is too flimsy for most purposes.

In an earlier lifetime I remember a fellow student saying he slammed the door not that hard and it made a hole in the wall. (He went on to say he hung a picture over the hole.) Another time (also in college) I was in a quick meeting held in a hallway and someone was leaning his leg on the wall and it broke through the drywall.

If you accidentally put 1/2" drywall on the wall between the garage and the house you can add a layer of 3/8" to get the needed fire protection rating.

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