5/8" vs. 1/2" Drywall - Let's begin this discussion by making it clear that SureWalls' profiles can be made in dimensions that work perfectly well for 1/2" drywall. That being said, we believe that the effort should be made to transition the industry, mostly the single family homebuilding industry, away from 1/2" drywall to the 5/8" product. Why? Because it's simply better and we think that, with the right planning for wall construction, it will be no more costly than 1/2".
Half Inch drywall is making waves - and not in a good way. In our own testing of non load-bearing partition walls, we utilized 5/8" drywall with studs (either metal or wood) at 24" on center. We found the test results to be exceptional for sound attenuation, wall strength and wall aesthetics. This standard eliminates an additional stud that would be absolutely required to help reduce weakness and waviness in the wall if the installation were made using 1/2" drywall. Partition walls made using 1/2" drywall must be at 16" on center to have any reasonable integrity. Eliminating one stud by going to 24" O.C. with 5/8" drywall increases sound attenuation by adding mass and, with a SureWalls installation, greatly minimizes the number of mechanical connections of the drywall to the studs. It also saves the cost of one additional stud per 4' section of wall saving significant money. And, it helps to overcome wall imperfections by refusing to bend and conform to every imperfection of the stud framing. Notably, the SureWalls profiles, that allow for slight adjustment, also help in minimizing any stud framing issues. It just makes for a better quality, cost-effective wall in every conceivable way.
Why is 1/2" drywall a single family homebuilding standard? Is it a cost factor? The difference in cost depends of the type of drywall being used, but even Type X, fire-rated 5/8" drywall is only approximately $4 to $5 more than 1/2" ultralight drywall. That cost difference is more than made up by eliminating one metal stud from the wall construction and is very close to even by eliminating a single wood stud. Is it the weight difference for the installers? On average, a 4'X8' sheet of 5/8" drywall weighs approximately 20 lbs. more than a 1/2" sheet of drywall. Our expert installer, Roberto Lopez, featured in our homepage installation video, is a middle-aged man of average build. Working alone, he pretty easily managed installing 5/8" drywall panels using the SureWalls system. Imagine how much easier it must be for two men to handle the same job. Surely the weight difference should not be a truly significant issue. Is the wall performance somehow better using 1/2" drywall over wall framing at 16" on center? The clear answer is a definitive NO. So why is 1/2" drywall a homebuilding standard? We think the answer lies, not in actual objective measures, but rather in considering long-time habits and old standards, resistance to change, and mistaken beliefs and reasoning.
Architects, Engineers and Forward-thinking Builders will lead the way.