Drywall is a construction material used to create walls and ceilings. It's also used to create many design features, including eaves, arches and other architectural specialties. It's quick and easy to install, incredibly durable, and requires only simple repairs when damaged. In the commercial building world, drywall is used to wrap columns to conceal steel beams and is an easy and inexpensive way to top off masonry walls above ceilings. Drywall is also used to add fire resistance at walls and ceilings, containing the spread of fire so people can evacuate safely during an emergency.
Before drywall became widely used, building interiors were made of plaster. For hundreds of years, walls and ceilings have been constructed by placing layers of wet plaster over thousands of wooden strips called laths.
. Damaged drywall can be patched up in a quicker and easier fashion than plaster, and drywall also has a greater degree of fire-resistance. Despite all these benefits, the use of drywall was slow to catch on with builders. It was only in the past 50 or 60 years that this material truly gained any respect.
