Question from Teresa
Hi Lisa,
Can you please share the best safest types of drywall? I was looking at Magnesium oxide but hearing things about cracking.
Thanks
Lisa’s Answer
I have also read about pervasive cracking with magnesium oxide boards.
EWG has a helpful guide on drywall. They recommend looking for Greenguard Gold certified products. I used National Gypsum Company’s Gold Bond for my house. We then safeguarded our air quality by following instillation guidelines from Prescriptions for a Healthy House (Baker-Laporte, Elliott, &, Banta, 2008). I recommend this book as a great guide for very specific information on new building and renovations.
There are alternatives to gypsum board, one of which is magnesium oxide boards, but I could not get comfortable with their potential cracking issues. Another alternative is a paperless product called DensArmor Plus. I don’t have any experience with this nor do I know its shortcomings but it is both Greenguard Gold certified and recommended in the book mentioned above.
