Anyone have an opinion or data on drywall vs. plaster, specifically in regards to health and environmental concerns? I’ve been told that skim-coat plaster emits less v.o.c.’s than standard drywall and is therefor healthier for people with immune system suppression,allergies, chemical sensitivies, etc. This may be a reflection more of the additives in the respective finishing compounds than a difference in boards themselves. I don’t know. Also, what is your experience in price differences(hang and finish) between the two?
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No idea on the voc's. I'm a rookie when it comes to plaster, though I've been wearing a good deal of it this week. Plaster itself isn't all that expensive for the materials, but the labor takes longer than your regular finish on drywall. Even for "skim coating" or veneer plaster, as it's called. There's a base coat and a finish coat. Those go on blueboard typically, which is a little more cost than regular drywall, major difference being the thickness of the paper, and thereby the absorption and the "suction" it creates, which plaster needs. Of course, you don't sand the plaster, but you do tape and mud the joints of the blueboard with durabond to level before the base goes on.
Healthwise? Cured it's fine. You can paint it like anything else so long as you use a masonry primer first. Honestly, never heard of drywall emitting enough of anything to cause issues, but then I don't have hypersensitivities like you're talking about either.
" An example from the monkey: The higher it climbs, the more you see of its behind." Saint Bonaventure
latex paint is a vapor barier.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Jeff, I know paint is a vapor barrier but consider this; I have a son with environmental sensitivities and my understanding is that drywall is relatively inert until you cut it and release the v.o.c.'s into the air. A minute amount of dust will always remain in the house and this is what concerns me. My son had seizures until he was two and then they quit. We built our own house and moved in when he was eight and his seizures started again and lasted for three to four years before stopping. I can't say that the drywall caused the seizures because we also have o.s.b., carpet, adhesives, etc. that all have v.o.c.'s and outgas, but our next house will be as "green" as possible.
We are also involved in building a "green" school and we will have a small group of students who are chemically sensitive, so we are looking to eliminate any potential health problems attributed to building materials. I had been told that drywall was not as "healthy" as plaster and wanted more info.
I don't think that there are any VOC's with either system. AFAIK the only think that will be released is water vapor and that only for a very short time.
Check the manufacturers spec sheets.
Dust is another issue. Drywall is usually sanded, but there are vaccum systems that will get a lot of it.
I don't realy know about the plaster, but I don't think that it there is any sanding. Also you might be able to color it and then not even need a paint.
Read the msds sheets to see what VOCs are present in the drywall products. http://www.usg.com/literature/lit_index.asp?sp=true&typ=msds
Thanks for the info on usg site. The msds were what I was looking for.
A less expensive option would be to go to a 5 grade drywall application. It costs =+ 5 cents a foot. In this application the entire drywall sheet is covered with mud in 5 coats. A plaster look a like.
Drywall, at least the white stuff, contains no VOCs. It is very inert. The green stuff might have some as a sealer, to make it moisture resistant, and since you are supposed to use the green stuff as the base board for a skim plaster job the I would think that the basic white stuff would be much safer for someone with sensitivities. The glue in many products is often the culpret. Any product that uses glue will emit VOCs for a very long time. Those products include plywood, OSB, gluelams, paneling, MDF, most paints, most clear finishes for cabinets, anything with Vinyl or most other plastics. In fact, most modern products contain VOCs which is an offshoot of the incredible number of products derived from crude oil. You just happened to ask a question about a product that does not. If you need to construct a building that contains no VOCs then you have a very big job ahead. You should only consider materials such as solid wood, steel, cement, glass and drywall. Any glue that is used to glue up doors should be Epoxy that cures chemically and not through evaporation. Any sealers should be water based which still contain some VOCs but much less than oil based products. You should consider milk paint to paint anything. If you can do it you will actually make a very nice house.
Good Luck.
All clean room work is lime plaster, not gypsum, and never drywall.
Don
Am I right that he could mix pigments in the plaster and not even have to paint it.
Bill; In my experience that might be possible but is likely to be a very difficult maneuver. The plasters setting action and dissolved minerals and salts from the undercoats make it very difficult to get a pleasingly even look. Also the unsealed plaster is a very porous and thirsty surface which is easily soiled. In Italy it is traditional to finish tinted plaster walls with beeswax and buffing which gives a surface that has multiple shades of color but gently blended. That might be a good finish for the chemically sensitive but because the beeswax contains pollen and also for its own chemical composition I think that would have to be carefully considered per the individual involved.
What is lime plaster? Never heard of it. By the way USG msds on plaster and drywall board lists no voc's. There are voc's in joint compound however.