Anyone try this yet? Saw it in the Lowes circular, roughly 12 bucks a sheet, 4×8. said it was fiberglass both sides and had me wondering how easy it is to cut.
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Replies
cuts the same, heavier, itchy
itchy huh, not gonna like that. glad it cuts the same, score and snap?
itchy like insulating a attic in july! other wise handles like reg. excuse me while i scratch.larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
so is this stuff really mold-proof as advertized?
don't know, but that's why i'm interested.
thats the claim,no paper no mold,we'll all see in 5 years.larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
I've been using nothing but this stuff lately (1 beach house full remodel, 2 bathrooms in another house), and the only thing I can add is that it seems SLIGHTLY easier to have the screws 'punch through' the surface, and a little less stiff than the paper-backed sheets. I figure it's worth a try for mold-proofedness.
Personally I didn't find it too itchy, I think those other guys might just be pansies.
:)Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
i would think so...their is nothing organic in it.
I used a couple of sheets in our bathroom wheer it wasn't tiled. The only difference I noticed was the texture of the surface is rougher than the normal paper drywall. As a result the texture difference between the actual drywall surface and the mudded areas was much more noticable, especially when using something other than flat paint. It took a couple of extra coats to be acceptable. Fortunately it was a small area. If you were doing a gloss or semi, you might want to skim the whole thing.
<<If you were doing a gloss or semi, you might want to skim the whole thing.>>
Ah...that's the real deal, right there. Using this material in a bathroom, where mold is often a concern and semi-gloss finish is also desireable, means skimming the entire suface, huh? No thanks, not up for that. Way too much hard work for me.
my thoughts exactly. want less work, not more.
There are at least two types of the GP stuff, DensShield and DensGlass. DensShield has a slighty rough surface so that you can tile it. DensGlass is smooth.The idea is to use DensShield where you want to tile and DensGlass where you want to paint. And use only setting type compound in a bath.As to whether the claim about mold is true or not, I don't know. But I did use it in a bath remodel.Edit to add: Oh, and use fiberglass tape. No point in using paperless drywall if you introduce paper tape.
Edited 4/11/2007 9:38 am ET by BryanSayer
DensGlass is the exterior sheathing. DensShield is the tile backer board. DensArmor is the sheetrock replacement.
Anyway, DensArmor is the stuff I used and while it was smooth it still seemed to me to have more texture than the paper stuff.
In terms of texture, how is the DensGlass versus the DensShield?
"There are at least two types of the GP stuff, DensShield and DensGlass. DensShield has a slighty rough surface so that you can tile it. DensGlass is smooth."
DensShield is a tile backer with a waterproof surface film. (And it's heavy -- just moved a stack of 5/8" yesterday and my back is still complaining!) DensGlass is sheathing. DensArmor and DensArmor Plus are paperless wallboard products.
You're right -- use glass tape and you should also use setting compound for DensArmor. Pre-mixed, when damp, is considered "lunch" by mold spores.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I used DensArmor Plus in my basement that was damp for a while. No mold on the DensArmor, mold was elsewhere. The surface is a bit rough, If you want a perfect surface, you must do a light skim coat which is really not that big of a deal. In my basement I did not care.
Setting compound? Like durabond 90, the stuff in the brown bags?
"Setting compound? Like durabond 90, the stuff in the brown bags?"
Yep. I think that's what GP recommends and I recall reading a post here a while back about someone having a problem with the premixed orange peeling on the Dens product. Anyway, just seems like common sense that you wouldn't want to use water-soluble premix in a damp location, and I can't see any reason to subject yourself to the "fiberglass blues" that you'll get from working with Dens unless it's a damp location.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I keep wanting to think that the DensArmor is the sheathing stuff (armor on the outside, like a suit of armor). And why put glass on the outside? But anyway, I'm wrong - it's the DensArmor for the interior.
The names are so confusing on these GP products, makes me wonder why they didn't aim for a little bit more simplicity.
Either way, nobody has mentioend the difference between DensArmor and DensArmor Plus - both of which are for mold resistant drywall applications.
DensArmor is gypsum sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass mat.
DensArmor Plus is the same thing, but the gypsum core is also treated to resist mold.
...correct me if I'm wrong, but I figured I'd share that since I just figured out the different this past week. Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Remodelerator
I don't have any problem with the finish you get from this board. I don't think it's enough of a difference that I wouldn't and haven't used paperless and paper board in the same room. Good primer followed by two coats of good paint has seemed to me to do a nice job.
I do notice a subtle difference (maybe it's my eyes) and I could understand skim-coating if it just has to be perfect. But under normal circumstances...naah.
Oh, I haven't noticed mudded and sanded joints/fasteners contrasting with the field of the paperless board, either.
Or maybe I'm just a good painter.
How do we dance while our world keeps turning? How do we sleep while our beds are burning?
Or maybe I'm just a good painter.
Could be....:-)
I always tell the pro painters I run into that they are the scariest people I know. They make it look so easy that anybody could do it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
I have a really small narrow bathroom (5X7) with a glass block window on one end of the long part and the door on the other end up against the wall. Straight on every thing looked fine, but every time I walked into the room the angle was just perfect to see the difference,
Edited 4/11/2007 1:04 pm ET by rvieceli
Better to cut than papered drywall, great for outdoor applications. I used it in this application, was very happy w/the results
I am a DIY but I have been doing lots of drywall lately.
Dens armor plus is uncomfortably itchy to move/load/install my forearms where I brace against the material to carry it were all red and irritated.
Heavy. 1 sheet of the half inch DAP feels about the same weight as the 5/8 firerated stuff I had to use in other parts of the house. Oh but it is harder to carry and hang since it is more floppy.
More flexible. In my application I am replacing 70's wood paneling on 34 year old framing, not exactly square or straight. All the other places in the house it looks fine, the DAP looks wavy, you can see all the studs.
Easier to punch screws through. I have had a bear of a time keeping screws at any kind of 'dimple' before they pop through. I even had a starting screw go in fine and not pull through only to pull through when I took my hand off to get another screw. aaaarrrrgh.
The surface is more rough, but I have not gotten to the finish stage yet.
I was going to do the whole bathroom and the opposite side of the bathroom walls in this stuff, but now I am sticking with just the bathroom.
Maybe the pro's can get the hang of it but for DIY me, it is just a PITA.
I second everything you say. I have just spent a week hanging the stuff and I am sick of it. I think I would rather take my chances with mold.
Webby
Just to clear up something in your post.... all drywall is "fire-rated". A wall built of a layer of 5/8 on both sides is rated for 1-hour. That just varies dependant aupon the accumulated thickness of the drywall on a wall assembly.
http://www.petedraganic.com/
Thats exactly what I was saying a buncha posts back..I had to skim coat the boards...way too rough to paint. Really not worth it at all!!
I'd stick with blue board if I was concerned.
"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit." Abbie Hoffman
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
>>I'd stick with blue board if I was concerned.Many suppliers are phasing out blueboard (it was crap anyway). My local branches of Lowes have replaced it with DensArmor Plus. Might as well get used to the stuff. Fact is, it IS far superior to blue board. I just used some DA Plus today, matter of fact. Sort of liked it! (one bonus--shaving a tapered edge to just fit is a snap w/ your basic dyrwall rasp..no paper to fray and clog).
Is blue board the same as grandprix board? Veneer plaster board?Its a horse thing!
Yeah - my local LOWES only had the Dens Armor stuff. More expensive, harder to work with, and itchy too. Yuck.I noted the manufacture date on the stuff I bought was January. Must not be selling much of it.
You might want to try USG's Aquatough. It is paper less-no fiberglass and is almost as smooth as regular drywall. We are using it in non-wet areas of all our bathrooms now and it is a real stiff so it is easier to use than hardi in non wet areas as a backer for tile.
Bruce
<< I'd stick with blue board if I was concerned. >>
wait a minute, don't you mean green board?Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Remodelerator
M.R sorry
"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit." Abbie Hoffman
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
oh no Andy, I was referring to the addition of blue board to the discussion. From what I've heard, blue is for plaster and green is moist rooms.Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
Your Friendly Neighborhood Remodelerator
I wouldn't swear to it but I would think any boards that work in a moist room would work for plaster but I wouldn't stake my life on it.
"Revolution is not something fixed in ideology, nor is it something fashioned to a particular decade. It is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit." Abbie Hoffman
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Just as a point of reference, 5/8" firerated M.R. board is blue not green.
Glamorous