BUILDING MATERIALS
Moisture Resistant Drywall, Mold Resistant Drywall

Waterproof Drywall? Or Moisture Resistant Drywall?

Over the past few years, drywall manufacturers have moved from marketing both mold-resistant drywall and moisture-resistant drywall, and are making products with both benefits. However, they are clear about this: they aren’t saying their drywall is immune to mold, but resistant to mold, and moisture resistant, not waterproof.

In areas where moisture is present, like bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements, you don’t want to reach for another sheet of regular drywall…when damp, the paper facing and backing provide a good home for mold, and as we know, some molds are toxic. And in the shower, even moisture-resistant drywall is out-performed by cement board…it’s not really waterproof drywall, but that’s what people call it.

At a Glance: Green Board, Blue Board, Purple Board

Green board, or greenboard, has a moisture-resistant coating on the side facing the room, and this is what prevents mold from finding a home. Green board is typically used where you’ll find occasional moisture and condensation, such as the non-shower walls in bathrooms, behind kitchen backsplashes, etc. Traditionally, mold-resistant drywall has an even higher level of moisture resistance, but with the emphasis on combined attributes, it pays to compare the manufacturers’ spec sheets…and our price sheets!

Don’t confuse that familiar greenboard with a similar product: blueboard. The blue facing material on blue board is specifically for veneer plaster…it’s not moisture-resistant drywall at all. Veneer plaster can only be used with normal drywall if the joints are sealed and you use a special primer, so blueboard is a faster, more economical solution.

That brings us to a third color, purple. PURPLE® drywall is a brand name of National Gypsum, one of the premier drywall suppliers to the construction industry. It’s a specially treated, fire- and moisture-resistant gypsum core, sandwiched between moisture- and mold-resistant paper…purple on the front, gray on the back. Greenboard is only moisture-resistant…PURPLE® moisture-resistant drywall is also mold and mildew resistant.

FBM Offers Multiple Vendors’ Moisture/Mold Resistant Drywall

Since we stock over 180 drywall supply locations throughout the United States and Canada, Foundation Building Materials offers powerful incentives for drywall manufacturers to offer us discount pricing. Lower costs on top-quality products are great, but so is the fact that at FBM, the manufacturers have to compete with one another. That means our customers can shop their seasonal promotions, getting the best deals without skimping on quality…and then work with FBM on just-in-time materials delivery.

FBM proudly offers moisture-resistant drywall from American Gypsum, Certain Teed, Georgia-Pacific, National Gypsum and USG. Check out Certain Teed’s M2Tech® Moisture and Mold Resistant Drywall, USG’s Sheetrock® Brand Mold Tough products and USG Durock® Brand cement board (and other products…this is how you get real “waterproof sheetrock”), American Gypsum’s M-BLOC® products, as well as the other National Gypsum line, Gold Bond® XP Gypsum Board with Sporgard™ which is an improved moisture-resistant drywall board with added mold resistance in the core and paper. Another popular line is Georgia-Pacific’s ToughRock® Mold-Guard™ mold-resistant wallboard, or their fire-rated version, the ToughRock® FireGuard X® Mold-Guard™ gypsum board.

Clearly, drywall companies have heard the market asking for better solutions for dealing with moisture and mold, and their chemists, materials engineers and manufacturing processes are improving the range of options available.

Some Of The Drywall Brands We Carry

Foundation Building Materials partners with the leading drywall manufacturers listed below.