Gib Board Alternatives

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Gib Board Alternatives

1 | 2

Bung

6487 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#2917098 22-May-2022 15:15

nickb800: GIB does a lot of its bracing testing in house. So BRANZ isn't the huge handbrake that it may appear.

If Gib does a lot of testing in house is BRANZ able to offer a parallel test facility?

Any alternatives have a narrow window before Gib opens its new factory in Tauranga with twice the existing capacity. Do they plan to keep existing factories going?

wellygary

8328 posts

Uber Geek

#2917345 22-May-2022 19:51

Bung:
nickb800: GIB does a lot of its bracing testing in house. So BRANZ isn't the huge handbrake that it may appear.

If Gib does a lot of testing in house is BRANZ able to offer a parallel test facility?

Any alternatives have a narrow window before Gib opens its new factory in Tauranga with twice the existing capacity. Do they plan to keep existing factories going?

BRANZ will test anything as long as you pay them....

The gap until GIB in Tauranga is so small, ( less than 12 months) that its becomes not economic for the alternatives to really push into the market,

also the crazy shipping prices right now mean that there is not much profit in this market anyway. ( well except for Fletchers)....

nickb800

2719 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2917453 23-May-2022 06:41

Yeah the often quoted 8x increase in containerized shipping costs must fundamentally shift the economics of importing building materials, especially plasterboard which is probably has the lowest $value to volume ratio.

dt

1152 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#2917475 23-May-2022 09:11

Friend of mine is building at the mo and due to the gib shortage his builder has stated he'll be bracing the house using plywood externally with weatherboard over the top and elephant board internally, it passed it's consent. more expensive but beats being delayed from anywhere between 6-12 months! [already 3 months behind schedule as it is!]

I could only imagine plywood would stiffen the house up so much more than plasterboard ever could as well

mdf

3516 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2917536 23-May-2022 11:11

dt:

Friend of mine is building at the mo and due to the gib shortage his builder has stated he'll be bracing the house using plywood externally with weatherboard over the top and elephant board internally, it passed it's consent. more expensive but beats being delayed from anywhere between 6-12 months! [already 3 months behind schedule as it is!]

I could only imagine plywood would stiffen the house up so much more than plasterboard ever could as well

I am just a DIYer (not a builder or engineer), but I'm pretty sure while plywood is a lot _stronger_ than plasterboard, plasterboard is a lot stiffer. We're talking about bracing against racking, and there is zero flex in glued plasterboard in that situation.

External ply or rab board seems to be a pretty common building method nowadays, though (as far as I can tell) it is mostly about weather tightness and barrier protection. But great if it can also be used for bracing and building consent purposes.

Scott3

3970 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2917543 23-May-2022 11:47

To answer the headline.

Yes there are alternative plaster board options. (like Elephant board for example) - But the building would need to not be reliant on it for bracing, or designed for it's proprties.

Non plaster board options could also be considered.

Plywood, particle board etc.

Obviously the surface isn't as true as with gib board, so doesn't suit being jib stopped and painted white.

But with the right interior design, can look quite nice with the rough finish and wood color viable (uncoated of vanished).

t0ny:

....

Seems like if we stopped bracing using interior sheet linings, more options can open up.

Absolutely, but if you are not using the interior sheet lining for bracing, you need to brace the building by other means. Can be done of course, but does add cost and construction time.

Quite elegant having the plaster board do double duty.

Metsecman

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#2939054 7-Jul-2022 10:12

1. External walls can be braced using either structural ply with a building wrap overlay, a cement fibreboard such as Hardies RAB or ecoply barrier. This is fixed on the exterior face of the wall framing.
2. Internal walls can be braced using ply but may require a facing material fixed over the ply because bracing elements require a particular fixing pattern which may not be attractive to most.(Note it is difficult to hide ply fixings)
3. Internal walls can be braced using something like the Gamma bracing unit which fits within the wall frame.
4. It should not be too difficult to get the designer of the bracing to re-calculate the bracing elements provided the plasterboard manufacturer chosen can supply bracing unit values for their products. (It would take me about half an hour for one of my designs , say three/four bed house.)
5. Aqualine water resistant plasterboard is not required. A decent paint specification will provide adequate water resistance.(Talk to Resene)
The main problem has been caused by consenting authorities demanding full amendment to consent applications for materials substitution. The MBIE have now suggested to those authorities that they should accept on site amendments provided that sufficient information regarding the suitability of the alternative product is supplied.

1 | 2