Now this is a product well worth looking at for all those people who loathe stud partitions that are constructed using plaster board. Fermacell is technically far superior to plasterboard. Fermacell is constructed using raw gypsum, cellulose fibres derived from recycled paper and water. The product is manufactured in a recycling process which means that all by products are fed back into the system ensuring that no waste is produced. The product and the process was awarded the coveted Austrian Institute of construction Biology and Ecology certificate. This means that Fermacell can be used for “Green” applications. The unique nature of Fermacell board offers drylining solutions with high levels of Fire resistance, acoustic insulation and impact strength combined with exceptional screw holding ability and inherent moisture resistance. Unlike plasterboard a 12.5mm sheet of Fermacell will hold a 30 kg weight from a single fully threaded screw at any point on the sheet and when that screw is used with a plug it can bear a weight up to 50kg.

We at Energybuild were impressed enough with this product to use it in our test house. Unlike plasterboard, Fermacell is fixed in position with screws. The sheets are machine cut with precision edges so that jointing is accurate and precise. It is a self finished board which means there is no need for plastering as one would do with plasterboard. It can be painted directly which gives an excellent finish or if you want a pristine effect, a coat of extra smooth finishing may be applied with a squeegee tool in extra quick time by an unskilled person. We choose 8ft x 4ft boards which were a lot heavier than plasterboard and as a result were difficult to put up. But Fermacell can also be purchased in one man sheeting sizes that will overcome this problem. There was only one drawback we found with the construction method. Because there is no use of plaster, which is often a compensation leveller for bad workmanship, it is essential that your underneath construction work is good quality. Sometimes this can be difficult as softwoods purchased here in Ireland are not always up to quality because of storage facilities. Fermacell is much more expensive than plasterboard but when you allow for the fact of labour and cost savings on plastering then we reckon it is no more expensive. Overall, this product can only be described as a brilliant step forward and full credit must go to the inventors. We found that being able to approach and use a stud wall, for the purpose of hanging items on, as one would approach a solid wall was fantastic. The acoustics, from experience, are far superior and because the boards have impact resistance qualities, there is a far more solid feel about the house.

Definitely a product to use when building your dream house.