Eco-friendly drywall options

Hi Dee, The EcoSmart is a good choice. BuildingGreen gave it a top 10 award this year because it generates less C02 during manufacturing than standard gyp board and is lighter to transport, so it can reduce carbon output further. ExtremeGreen MgO is essentially a cement board made with magnesium oxide rather than portland cement with fiberglass reinforcement/face. These can be good products in the right application as a replacement for cement boards due to their moisture resistance and structural strength, but they are overkill as a replacement for standard gypsum board in most applications. I haven¹t dug into this product specifically, but last I looked all MgO for board production is mined in China, where they apparently have a mtn of the stuff. Before the recession there was a glut of these boards coming over, but most of those companies have disappeared in the US. Note that MgO has to be calcined, similar to portland cement, which results in significant carbon emissions. Fewer emissions than portland cement, but still not great. The company claim that it absorbs CO2 during curing is true, but overstated and borderline greenwash, similar, again, to portland cement. I had not heard of Durra Panels from Australia. The website says they are a mix of wheat and rice and PVA (elmers/white glue). This might be a fine product, but I don¹t see it as a gypsum panel replacement, more of an MDF replacement for applications that will never come anywhere near moisture. No idea what the cost or lead time would be on that panel. I¹d look to the CalPlant rice MDF (coming in first 1/4 of 2020) if I was looking for a agfiber panel like that. A non-gypsum drywall replacement is a tough ask. Since Ecosmart is available, cost-competitive, and similar or easier to install than standard gypsum, I¹d personally go that route. Brent Fro

The only caveat I would offer to the EcoSmart panels is to watch your STC ratings for partitions, if that is critical to your project. A selling point of EcoSmart is its lighter weight, which according to USG does impact acoustic performance. Last time I talked to them they had not yet performed any tests with EcoSmart. Likely not a huge difference unless it is a major performance metric for you project. James Roseberry. AIA, CDT, LEED AP BD+C Project Manager | Associate [cid:image004.png@01D4C2CF.934CCDD0] 314.446.5055 d 314.724.3968 m www.trivers.com

I have a copy of the USG EcoSmart Sound Performance Selector for various assemblies. If anyone wants a copy, let me know. brent@buildinggreen.com

Hi Brent - I'd love a copy of the sound performance selector. Laura.soma@gly.com

Yes, that would be nice to have Brent. Thanks for clarifying MgO board. Cindy Davis LEED AP BD+C Senior Associate MG2 1101 Second Ave, Ste 100 / Seattle, WA 98101 Direct 206-962-6654 / Main 206-962-6500 MG2.com Disclaimer: The contents of this e-mail and any attachment(s) are confidential and the property of MG2. From: Brent

I've been really struggling to get EcoSmart accepted by the acoustical consultants we work with. USG claims that the small reduction in STC is insignificant, but so far I've not found an acoustical consultant that agrees. They are not satisfied with the lab test data published by USG, as this does not describe performance at various frequencies. We've even had pushback about reductions in sound privacy between offices and isolation between classrooms. I have connected one of our consultants with the USG acoustical engineer, but so far have heard nothing conclusive. Just yesterday I sent USG another email about this, because at this point, it should be their role to proactively convince our acoustical consultants about when a one-for-one swap of EcoSmart for standard-density board is adequate and when additional EcoSmart panels might be necessary to achieve expected performance. Has anyone had this product tested in the field with results across the full frequency spectrum, especially in critical sound performance spaces? Thanks! Mike Manzi RA, CSI, CDT, LEED BD+C Bora Architects 503 226 1575

Agreed.

Several people have asked for a copy of that EcoSmart acoustics catalogue. I didn¹t realize how massive the file is, though. I can¹t send it via standard email. Sorry about that. If anyone wants a copy and has a plan b for uploads then let me know. In the meantime, I reached out to USG again. I have been down this road with them re acoustics but am hoping for a clearer answer to the question posed by Mike and others. I¹ll let you know what I find out. Brent Fr

Thanks for posting that link, Dee! Clicking on it didn't work for me, but I was able to edit it and get it to work. Here it is. Mike--did you ever make progress with the acoustics consultants, and getting data at different frequency ranges? This is coming up again now on a large project...

It's complicated. We did finally get EcoSmart into a large office project. The acoustical consultant on that project (not one we had talked to previously about this) did some analysis and came up with a combination of EcoSmart paired with a structurally enhanced thin-gauge metal framing system (BOD was SCAFCO Supreme Framing System, 0.0179" thick, 18 mil, but they ended up using something comparable by ClarkDietrich) that met his needs for acoustical privacy. This combination of EcoSmart and lighter studs provided significant carbon reductions (project is piloting ILFI Zero Carbon for CI) and cost savings, too. However, we have not received any new acoustical data or additional input from USG, and for performance spaces (music practice rooms, etc), our acoustical consultants are still telling us we'd need additional layers of EcoSmart compared to standard-density gypsum board. So, for projects that have lots of such spaces, we are still using standard gypsum board. Where there is more of a mix, it becomes a question of whether the contractor wants to have multiple types on the job (in addition to moisture-resistant and other types) or not. Mike Manzi RA, CSI, CDT, LEED BD+C Associate Principal he/him Bora Architecture & Interiors Working from home, please use email

great to see this gypsum design and specification discussion on the front-end. on the back-end, are your projects requiring site-separation of clean gypsum waste? From my tours and discussions with Material Recovery Facilities and their operators I've been informed that any gypsum in mixed debris dumpsters is destine for landfill because, unlike other building materials (metal, wood, etc.), gypsum can't be recovered from mixed loads. gypsum in landfills causes all sorts of problems, some disscussed here whether or not you can get EcoSmart Panels in specific projects, you may want to also consider requiring something like the following on ALL projects:

• Site-separate paper-faced clean gypsum board waste in container(s) that keep the material dry and protected from rain and snow and hauled and separately from mixed C&D waste so it can be recycled. Fiberglass-faced gypsum board cannot be recycled. 

Conor - I'm curious to learn more about the issues (and potential opportunities for advocacy!) with recycling fiberglass-faced board.
We see lots of this product on projects for early sheetrock (before the building envelope is buttoned up), impact-rated products (school hallways, etc) and some abuse-resistant products, not to mention ALL our exterior wall sheathing.