Drywall Thickness

The introduction of drywall materials completely revolutionized the way interior wall finishing was done. Before they arrived on the scene, it was a laborious and time-consuming job due to traditional plastering methods. Their introduction changed it all and enabled people to finish interior walls faster and reduce delays in construction time. Two important parameters that need to be taken into consideration, while selecting them for installation, are their sizes and thickness.

Drywalls are sheets or panels created by the pressing of gypsum plaster material, between fiberglass or paper sheets. It is an effective substitute for traditional plaster based interior finishing. They are known by many other names like wallboard, gypsum board, and plasterboard. Due to ease of installation, the plastering process can be finished in a matter of days.

One of the most important properties of a drywall is its resistance to fire, due to the layer of gypsum that it has, in between its sheets. This fire resistance has a relation with the thickness of the installed material. It is essential that one knows about standard thickness and sizes, when going for an installation.

In some states, there are local building codes, which make it mandatory that an installed drywall has a minimum standard thickness. Before going for an installation, make sure that you check out local thickness requirements. Although, the thickness can vary over a range of sizes, the highly preferred thickness sizes are:

⅝ inch (1.59 cm)
½ inch (1.27 cm)
¼ inch (0.635 cm)
⅜ inch (0.952 cm)

All these sizes have different applications as thickness affects flexibility and strength of the panels. The thickness of a panel is a property that decides how resistant it is to fire and heat. Panels of high thickness are costlier than thinner ones due to the extra layers of gypsum.

People prefer going for the ¼ inch panels, when they need to cover curved walls or apply drywalls over previously applied plaster. Panels of this thickness usually come in sizes of 10 feet and 8 feet, each weighing about 38 pounds.

The most commonly used thickness size is the ½ inch thick panel. That is why, they are also available in a variety of sizes. Thickness of a drywall for a ceiling, is generally of this measure. These ½ inch panels come in various sizes, ranging from 8 feet, 9 feet, 12 feet, to about 16 feet. Most buildings have a ½ inch thick drywall and it is used in finishing both roofs and ceilings.

Panels of ⅜ inch size also come in a range of sizes. They are usually used for the purpose of partition remodeling and in some cases, it is also used for patching up damaged parts of panels.

The ⅝ inch size is the thickest variety and it is extensively used as a fire resistant drywall which doubles up as a soundproofing material. Higher thickness makes these panels the heaviest ones. Thickness of drywalls for basements, which require soundproofing, may be of this measure.