What’s best Sheetrock to use in basement?
martino5150
| Posted in GBA Pro Help on
I’m finishing my basement and am very sensitive to mold and chemicals — what sheetrock would you recommend I use?
I’ve heard of Georgia Pacific’s DensArmor sheetrock, but would rather not have to pay for that. Also, I heard it’s very hard to work with.
Would love your suggestions for best Basement sheetrock.
Many thanks in advance!
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I know this sounds obvious but I think you should put your energy into making sure the basement does not provide an environment that mold would grow in in the first place. If mold is growing on your Sheetrock it is also growing elsewhere. If you are using mold resistant Sheetrock in places like bathrooms it is because you are getting spikes in humidity but that then equalize to an acceptable humidity level. In the basement this is not the case. You are basically trying to combat a permanently humid environment with Sheetrock, which is a losing battle.
Thanks for your response. We don't have mold growing in our basement. We have everything in place to avoid mold -- french drains, top of-the-line dehumidifier, rigid foam insulation, metal stud frames, air circulation and we plan to tile the floor, etc., but just in case we were to get water some how I want to protect the sheet rock.
Ok well I guess my question is this, what happens if you do get water in there? Do you just leave your drywall in place and hope it stops?
If I was to do anything I would just use greenboard as the dens products generally don’t have fillet edges and so is harder to finish.
If water is truly an anomalous event rather than an expected problem, then green (or purple, depending on manufacturer) board is likely a good approach.
The paperless drywall (e.g. DensArmor) is an excellent product, but because of the fiberglass face, it needs to be skim coated if you want a typical smooth finish. I have it in utility areas of my basement where the additional texture is not a problem.
To clarify one thing mentioned, DensArmor *does* have beveled edges. It's different from the sheathing product in that way.
I found a place that had densarmor but it was more expensive and harder to finish. I decided to use green board and worked on ensuring there wasn’t an environment for mold to grow. I cut the drywall a few inches high and covered with pvc baseboards in case there was ever water at least the bottom 2-3 inches would be safe from getting wet.