Gypsum industry news

US: The Gypsum Association has elected Timothy Power as the chair of its board of directors. Power is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Continental Building Products. Other appointments that have been elected include Georgia Pacific's Charles R Harrison as the vice-chair of the board, USG's Albert R Zucco as the treasurer and the Gypsum Association's Stephen H Meima as the secretary. American Gypsum Company's Peter Bauser is the past chair of the board. Officers were elected at the recent meeting of the Association's board of directors in Albuquerque, New Mexico. All terms are for one year and are effective from 1 May 2017.

US: The Gypsum Association (GA) has released revisions to five of its technical documents to update them with current best practice. These include: GA-220-2016 Gypsum Board Winter Related Installation Recommendations; GA-223-2016 Gypsum Panel Products, Types, Uses, and Standards; GA-226-2016 Application of Gypsum Board to Form Curved Surface; GA-234-2016 Control Joints for Fire Resistance Rated Systems; and GA-338-2016 Guidelines for Prevention of Mold Growth on Gypsum Board.

"Regular review and revision of GA documents is a key component of the association's technical services mandate and the GA's Building Code and Technical Committee (BCTC) has made a three-to five-year revision cycle for all documents a high priority," said GA Director of Technical Services Michael Schmeida.

All the documents are available for free via the GA.

US: The Gypsum Association (GA), which represents the North American manufacturers of gypsum wallboard, has released an industry-wide environmental product declaration (EPD) for glass mat gypsum panels. The EPD provides environmental performance information addressing energy consumption, water consumption, global warming, waste, air emissions and other metrics related to production.

"The development and release of this ISO 14025 conformance, Type III, cradle-to-shipping gate EPD, demonstrates that our member companies are committed to transparency as a means of improving the environment and increasing the sustainability of building products," said Stephen Meima, LEED Green Associate, executive director of the Gypsum Association.

The international standards organisation, ASTM, served as program operator for the EPD. The GA commissioned the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute (ASMI) to perform the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) that informs the EPD and to produce the EPD Project Report.

Glass mat gypsum panels are specialised performance products consisting of a no-combustible moisture resistant core encased in fibreglass facers on front and back surfaces and long edges. Also known as 'exterior gypsum sheathing,' this product provides extended weather protection, mould and moisture resistance, and fire resistance when specified as a component of a building's exterior envelope. Glass mat gypsum panels are compatible with a wide variety of exterior claddings including wood, masonry, metal, vinyl and stucco. Glass mat panels are increasingly used in the rapidly expanding multifamily residential sector.

US: The Gypsum Association has been designated a Preferred Provider under the International Code Council (ICC) Preferred Provider Program (PPP). The Gypsum Association already is an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education System (CES) Provider.

The ICC PPP provides building code officials and others with education related to codes, standards, and guidelines, as well as building construction materials, products and methods. The Gypsum Association intends to provide online education for its GA-600 Fire Resistance Design Manual, a publication offering fire resistive designs referenced by model building codes.

US: The Gypsum Association (GA) has announced the release of the 21st edition of the Fire Resistance Design Manual (FDRM) GA-600-2015.

Revised on a three-year basis, GA-600 has been referenced by the model building codes as a source of fire resistive designs for more than 40 years. The 2015 edition contains nearly 100 new systems that supplement existing assemblies for walls and partitions, floor-ceiling systems, area separation walls and others. Among these are 20 new head-of-wall and base-of-wall systems that expand the options for perimeter relief.

The FRDM is currently referenced by the International Building Code and The National Fire Codes, as well as many state and local jurisdictions in the US and Canada as a source document for fire-resistance and sound-control rated designs that incorporate gypsum board in a variety of building systems. A recently revised ICC-ES Evaluation Report (ESR 1338) incorporates a reference to the 2015 edition of the Fire Resistance Design Manual as an acceptable source of generic fire-resistance and sound-control systems. Over the years, the FRDM has broadened to address sound and other factors of concern for designers, builders, code officials and the public, featuring more than 700 systems.

US: Stephen H Meima has been named as the executive director of the Gypsum Association. In this position, he leads the organisation's day-to-day operations, oversees its significant contributions to model building codes and standards and ensures that Association member companies and their customers receive vital services, including technical information on the proper selection and installation of gypsum panel products. The Gypsum Association represents all of the active gypsum wallboard manufacturers in the United States and Canada.

"The Gypsum Association has a lengthy history of service to both the gypsum community and the public in North America," said Meima. "I am proud to represent a building materials industry with a tradition of innovation and sustainability and an established commitment to safety and consumer satisfaction."

In addition to serving as the Gypsum Association's director of promotion from 1996 to 1999, Meima returned as CEO in 2013. During the interim, he served within a Gypsum Association member company for over a decade, taking on various marketing and communications leadership roles. Meima also headed marketing and membership at the Design-Build Institute of America.

A LEED Green Associate credential has enhanced Meima's ability to serve building professionals at a time when sustainability has taken on new and growing significance within the industry. In addition, Meima holds an Accreditation in Public Relations from the Public Relations Society of America.

UK: The new Quality Protocol (QP) for recycled gypsum will put an end to its use in agriculture as well as impacting negatively on the plasterboard recycling industry, according to the Gypsum Re-processors' Association UK and Ireland (GRAUKI).

GRAUKI also believes that there will be a short-term increase in the illegal disposal of waste plasterboard due to the removal of agricultural soil treatment as an approved end-use for recycled gypsum in the QP.

The QP for the production and use of recycled gypsum from waste plasterboard was published by the Environment Agency and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in consultation with UK governments and other regulatory stakeholders. It was published in March 2014 and is applicable throughout the UK. The QP designates just two permitted end uses for the of recycled gypsum, which are wallboard manufacture and cement production. As a result, recycled gypsum can now only be spread to land as a waste, for which gypsum re-processors will need to apply for a permit.

According to GRAUKI, "In practice the cost and legislative constraints are such that GRAUKI members feel that this will put an end to the beneficial use of recycled gypsum in agriculture." The Association added, "This change will have a negative impact on the overall capacity of the plasterboard recycling industry in the UK, which is already struggling to cope with the amount of gypsum waste generated."

GRAUKI previously raised concerns in 2013 that the EA could 'strangle' the plasterboard recycling industry unless it permitted more end uses for recycled gypsum.

US: The Gypsum Association has released GA-227-13, 'Recommendations for the Prevention of Ceiling Cracking', a publication outlining methods to mitigate cracking in large-span wallboard ceilings due to fluctuations in temperature and humidity.

GA-227-13 explains that ceiling cracks can appear at gypsum board joints when the span between framing members approaches or exceeds 4.5m. The centreline cracks can occur because materials such as gypsum wallboard and wood framing shrink and expand at different rates due to periodical changes in moisture content and temperature. To address the issue, the document details how resilient channels can reduce the occurrence of cracking.

"The methods for the use of resilient channels described in this document have been shown to be very effective in preventing ceiling cracks due to swings in temperature and moisture content of wood framing - particularly in long spans," said Robert Wessel senior director of technical services for the Gypsum Association. "The swings usually occur during a change in season from summer to winter or in dry areas such as desert environments."

US: The Gypsum Association, the gypsum industry association for North America, has announced that Stephen H Meima has assumed the position of Deputy Executive Director / Chief Operating Officer. The association said that, in this role, Maima would help strengthen the organisation as the gypsum wallboard industry's pre-eminent resource for leadership, education and objective expertise.

"I'm looking forward to working closely with Gypsum Association Executive Director Michael Gardner, the Board of Directors and committees and the staff to promote the value and sustainability of gypsum board and gypsum panel products," said Meima. "I am, indeed, eager to help advance the development, growth and general welfare of the gypsum industry in the US and Canada."

Michael Gardner praised Meima's extensive background in marketing and building materials management. "This position will contribute significantly to the Gypsum Association's ability to meet the challenges of representing a building materials industry as the economy continues to recover," said Gardner. "Steve's strong industry background and his experience in sustainability issues impart a substantial talent to our organisation."