The short answer is not much.
Gyprock is also known as gypsum board, drywall, or plasterboard.
For thousands of years, plaster made from lime, sand, animal hair and other ingredients was used to create a smooth interior finish on building walls and ceilings. Ancient Egyptian tombs feature paintings on the plaster walls that line their interiors as did the Romans buildings. Even up until the 1940s, most Australian homes had timber nailed across the frame and then covered in plaster (lath and plaster) to provide a smooth finish for painting.
But a process was invented in 1894 of setting a layer of gypsum plaster between layers of felt paper that was called Plasterboard. These sheets of board provided a smooth finish for painting (or further plaster), as well as insulation, and were faster and easier to put up.The plaster was already dry, between the layers of paper, hence the term Drywall.
Unlike the lime-based plaster that was applied wet, it was found that gypsum-based plasters that had a faster drying time for manufacturing the plaster boards, and that is where the name Gyprock comes from.
A USA company made further improvements to the products’ fire resistance and called their product Sheetrock. Further advances followed in making the product less brittle and easier to handle.
This new form of plaster grew in popularity because it could speed up the building process.
Standard plasterboard is manufactured by sandwiching a gypsum plaster layer between two very thick sheets of specialised paper. There are variations to this process and materials used which can result in gyprock sheets that can be used for soundproofing or have water-resistant properties.
At SY Plastering, we have many years of experience with plasterboard on jobs all over Brisbane and Queensland. We are familiar with the variations in Plasterboard and where they are best used. DIY can be fun, but the right product and technique is important – for example in settings that experience moisture and humidity problems.
And the whole point of gyprock is to have the smoothest possible finish for painting.
A good painter can find it very hard to make up for a rough wall.
Hi Scott
I was just reading your article about plasterboard and gyprock
A very interesting article, thank you
But incorrect use of plural / apostrophe really bug me… if I may suggest
…even up until the 1940’s, most Australian homes 1940s is plural and does not require the apostrophe
Hi Jay,
Scott wanted to thank you for reading his post.
We have also corrected the grammatical error (we double checked and you are correct).
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Alex
Morningstar Digital
Hi Jay
I was just reading your comment about the incorrect use of plural / apostrophe
A very observant comment, thank you
But incorrect use of regular verbs in the present tense really BUGS me… If I may suggest
… when the third person subject is singular, the verb should have an s on the end.
Is there a difference between the claims made by some manufacturers of wall lining (in wet areas such as showers ) being MOISTURE RESISTANT & MOISTURE PROOF ?
Is it necessary for either to be waterproofed prior to tiling ?
How can a consumer compare the costs of dry wall to the cost of render/hwp coating?
Hi,Scott
Can you tell me what type or the name of gyprock that use for shower wall tiles. As my dad renovated his shower walls it leave for a day to dry, when it get contacted to water it soft and you can scrap it out from your finger.
Thank you.
Only use fibre cement sheeting for bathroom showers. Common Plasterboard does not meet Australian Standards for wet areas.
Alternatively you can buy waterproof sheeting manufactured from specially treated plasterboard…whatever you use it should be waterproof, or highly water resistant at the very least. Using ordinary plasterboard comes with serious defect problems if it is used in wet areas.
Only use fibre cement sheeting for bathroom showers. Common Plasterboard does not meet Australian Standards for wet areas.
Alternatively you can buy waterproof sheeting manufactured from specially treated plasterboard…whatever you use it should be waterproof, or highly water resistant at the very least. Using ordinary plasterboard comes with serious defect problems if it is used in wet areas.
I appreciate that you explained how plasterboards possess sound-proofing properties. Now that my wife and I have a home theater set up in our house, we would like to ensure that we do not disturb our neighbors with loud sounds at night. Perhaps adding some plasterboards to our room would allow us to keep the sound inside of our home.
To sound proof your room, use insulation of some kind in the frame before you install the plaster board.
Good afternoon. Thanks for this info! Useful article!.
I really appreciate you for publishing this blog here about what is the difference between plasterboard and gyprock and why is my drywall dry; it’s really a helpful and very useful for us. This is really appreciated that you have presented this data over here, I love all the information shared. Great article!
I really appreciate you for publishing this article.
Jay, I just read your comment now and I think it’s really rude of you to comment on people’s grammatical errors. Let me remind you that the aim of communication is first and foremost to be understood. It seems to be that this aim was achieved so why on earth would you be so nasty and unkind